The most important thing about our garden receiving 594mm of rain this month, (the 50 year December average is 123.2mm), is that I have now lived here and successfully grown food through both extreme, prolonged drought and prolonged, saturating rain, a period covering seven years. December brought no flooding in this property. Some stormwater escaped…
Tag: Queensland
‘Bellis’ – A Model 21st Century Garden
‘Bellis’, Brisbane’s award winning sustainable house and garden, is now seven years old. Last October this place won a national Save Water! Award in the Built Environment category. Since its inception, this 810 square metre property has collected over 7 megalitres of rainwater and recycled over 3 megalitres of sewage water. In the ornamental subtropical…
A Rare Honour
Our Phillip Island Hibiscus, Hibiscus insularis, has been immortalised in a botanical illustration by Halina Steele. This work is now part of the collections of the National Herbarium of NSW… “Dear Jerry I have finally finished my painting of Hibiscus insularis and as you were kind enough to send me photos of this plant, I…
Sloppy ABC Reporting Could Harm Threatened Species
Letter to the editor, ABC News on line: “Regarding ‘Unwelcome bats just won’t beat it’, mere sensational reporting isn’t journalism. This report is misleading, and factually incorrect. The presence of starving, and stressed flying foxes outside their normal range is currently a result of famine in their natural range.
Queensland’s Flying Foxes Are Starving – Again
Pictured: driven by famine, a black flying fox drinks nectar from my banana flowers before sunset Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld President, Louise Saunders, is alarmed by the large number of reports about hungry flying-foxes staying by food trees through the day and not returning to their camps. “This is of huge concern as bats…
First Flowering: Pandanus cookii
This summer my fifteen year old specimen of Pandanus cookii flowered. It was collected from Cape York by Yuruga Nursery in the Atherton Tableland, where I bought it. Like all Pandanus, they are intolerant of frost and grow best in sub-coastal gardens in full sunshine in an open position with excellent drainage. I watered my…
Rudd Gives Up On Reef And Climate Leadership
According to Queensland Conservation (QC) and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), Kevin Rudd has accepted the inconvenient truth of climate change and then given up on solving it. They say he has ignored the science of climate change and let down so many who voted for him at the last Federal election… “The best…
Save The Mary!
THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY FLOATILLA Today we drove to Traveston Crossing to take part in the dryer parts of the third anniversary floatilla. Nicholas de Boos, a photographer friend from Sydney, came along too. Here are some impressions of the day.
Why Your Vote Can Save More Than The Mary River
As an Executive Member of Queensland Conservation, I wholeheartedly support the Save the Mary campaign. I am deeply concerned that any government could consider building the Traveston Crossing dam for several reasons.
King Tides Now – Commoners By 2050
Rising sea levels have major implications for coastal gardens. Yesterday’s king tide gave us the perfect opportunity to see what will be commonplace by 2050. One corner of the world that is experiencing greater than average sea level rises is north eastern Australia. Even if all greenhouse gas emissions ceased immediately, oceans respond more slowly….
Lood Mitigation For Southeast Queensland Starts Here
Today Tamworth is cut into two by floodwaters from falls of over 150mm rain. Storms are predicted for southeast Queensland and the Northern Rivers of NSW, and southeast Queensland continues to mop up and count the cost of flood damage caused by two nights of rain. NSW State Emergency service’s Namoi division controller Kathleen Caine…
Book Launch: ‘Love, Mary’ – A Thinking Person’s Christmas Gift
The official Book Launch of ‘Love, Mary’ will be held in West End, Brisbane at ‘The Avid Reader’ bookshop on the 4th of December. I’ll be introducing the LNP’s David Gibson, MP for Gympie, and Greens MP Ronan Lee as they launch the book. The Mary River now has its own book to share its…
Jerry Coleby-Williams 