Photo Source

The following are the genus names of some of the food plants of the Orange Bellied Parrot, that we will be identifying at Killarney on Monday. Get a picture of each of these plants, so you can identify them on our excursion. Remember to bring a digital camera or mobile phone to take pictures of plants we cannot identify. Other equipment required includes: tape measures, metre rulers, clipboards, pencil, field guides for coastal vegetation and suitable footware for wet ground.

 Sarcocornia
Halosarcia
Sclerostegia – (glassworts)
Chenopodium – (goosefoot)
Atriplex – (saltbushes)
Frankenia – (sea-heath)
Suaeda – (sea blight)
 

Photo Source

After the worst floods in decades and the serious threat of a major cyclone, Queensland has been struck with an unprecedented environmental disaster. A cargo ship, which lost containers during the cyclone, had it’s hull damaged by the containers and a significant quantity of diesel fuel (about 1,000 tonnes of oil) leaked from the ship. Moreton Island has been most severely affected, with oil washing ashore over 50 km of beach.

Martin Taylor from WWF said everything from fish and crabs to waterbirds, dugongs and dolphins, would feel the effects – in fact, every level of the food chain.

Nine MSN report here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/770634/oil-spill-clean-up-begins-in-qld

The Age Video here: http://media.theage.com.au/national/national-news/queenslands-oil-spill-clean-up-416195.html

Cosmos magazine article here: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2619/birds-and-turtles-risk-queensland-oil-spill

Story of Stuff

This 20-minute animation video is a great introduction to Environmental Management Systems (EMS), Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). Annie Leonard explains the unsustainable five-step production system (Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal) that drives global economies.