Where: Level 2, Kindness House. 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Victoria.When: 6PM - 7:30PM Feb 02, 2012
Make your way to Brunswick Street, Fitzroy for our next volunteer night, where you can hear campaign updates, meet like-minded people, and join our special letter-writing workshop - arming you with the skills to get your voice heard in the public media conversation around forests.
Please confirm your attendance. RSVP here.
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Party For A Purpose, Melbourne New Folk and the Wilderness Society present…
The Wild Things Forest Fundraiser (WTFF) - Supporting the Wilderness Society Victoria’s central highlands forests campaign.
When: Friday, 4 November, from 9:30pm
Where: The Royal Melbourne Hotel, 629 Bourke St., Melbourne
Tickets
$25 at the door
$22 online
Book your tickets!
WTFF?
The Wild Things Forest Fundraiser will be a celebration not a protest. A canvas for Melbourne artists and lovers of forests to come together. An opportunity to celebrate all the good work we do as a community for our forests. Hosted in a heritage listed old style jail complete with cells, atrium and a brand new top of the line sound system!
Featuring a host of rocking music acts:
Also for your entertainment
The Wild Things Bazaar: A lounge space with a host of random happenings - body painting, tattoo, tarot, photo booth, hair dressing, face painting and more.
The Restorative Gallery: A massage and healing space inside a gallery of forest inspired art.
Not to mention roving performers, AV and FX lighting, burlesque, magic, interactive spaces, auctions, raffles and campaign info tables.
Theme
Dress up theme - ‘Wild Things’ - Think tails and scales, feathers and wings, hooves and horns, whiskers and ears!
Discounts and volunteering
If you are keen to get involved as a volunteer or you want to donate products and services to the bazaar, gallery and auctions email event organizer Dan, or call him on 0405 393 908.
For more information, visit newfolk.com.au or contact Dan at pfapdan@gmail.com or on 0405 393 908.
100% of all fundraising efforts go to the forests!
25% of box office takings go to the forests!
The rest is used to cover costs of everyone involved!
On Sunday 25th September the Forever Wild Bequest Program will be holding its annual campaign update afternoon tea.
This year the event will be at the fascinating Footscray Community Arts Centre.
Luke Chamberlain, our Victorian Forest Campaigner, will be giving you an update on all things forests, including the Tasmanian process, and where the fight is at to save the forests of Victoria, here in our own backyard. This will include the very exciting prospect that burning native forests for power will be prohibited if the Federal Government's carbon tax legislation successfully passes through Parliament.
Also present on the day will be Victorian Campaigner, Richard Hughes, who will be available to answer your questions on the Royal Commission into the Black Saturday Bush Fires as well has his WildCountry work in Western Victoria.
This free event starts at 2pm and is a great opportunity to meet like minded people and get an exclusive update on all things Wilderness Society. To register your interest, please contact Juanita Frost, National Bequest Manager, on 03 9038 0829/ 0437 963 006 or juanita.frost@wilderness.org.au. RSVP by Wednesday 21st September.
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Visit the majestic Mossman Gorge, walk along the Mossman River and look at rainforest from the ground and from the elevated boardwalk.
We will drive north across the Daintree River and visit the lowland rainforests of the Daintree, where the forest meets the reef. This is the only place in the world where two World Heritage Areas meet side by side; the Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef. Look out for cassowaries, or birds of paradise. We will take a leisurely afternoon stroll through the most primitive forest in the world and identify plants from all stages of plant evolution. We will see tall rainforests, ancient ferns, vines and fresh flowing streams. Cairns Centre Coordinator Jeremy Little will guide and educate you on rainforests and the evolution of Australia’s wildlife.
Date: Sunday 9th October 2011
Itinerary:
7.15am: Meet at The Wilderness Society office 16 Scott St, Cairns
4.15pm: Depart Daintree
6.00pm: Arrive Cairns
Feel free to make your own way there and follow us on our route.
Leave from: The Wilderness Society Cairns Office Lev 1, 125 Abbott St, Cairns 4870 ph 07 4041 6666
Cost: None, Bring a packed lunch and snacks to eat on the go. We may stop to get a drink somewhere so have some cash available.
RSVP: 29th September 2011
Email: sharna.aquilina@wilderness.org.au or call 0450 605 701 or free call number 1800 030 641
Click here if you would like to find out more information on how to leave a gift in your Will
]]>In early 2011 we launched a markets based environmental education campaign to highlight the fact that Australia’s flagship paper brand – Reflex – is made by destroying Victoria’s native forests. This campaign focuses on making change through the supply chain from untouched forests, to Australian Paper’s processing centre, to retail stores like Officeworks, and finally to the paper costumer.
We believe that together the purchasing power of the informed consumer and the responsible corporation can affect the supply chain bottom up to protect our precious native forests from becoming copy paper.
To give Officeworks the extra motivation it needs to continue its role as a leader in paper retailing, the Wilderness Society, in partnership with environment groups across the country are holding a National Day of Action to name and shame Reflex and Officeworks for their hand in forest destruction in Australia.
On the morning of 13 September stores across the nation will be visited by troops of “janitors” telling Officeworks to clean up its act! Armed with vacuums, dustpans, sponges, and rubber gloves, volunteers will descend on Officeworks scrubbing Reflex from their shelves. On the day, our aim is to show Australian Paper and Officeworks that Australians will not stand for our precious forests being turned into office paper.
Officeworks has already shown us they are willing to take action in this important issue when it comes to paper from overseas. Now is the time for Officeworks to keep this high standard they have set for themselves and suspend the sale of Reflex paper while it is made from the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum Habitat.
If you believe that in this International Year of the Forests that it is simply unacceptable to woodchip and sell our native forests as Reflex paper, please join us for “Officeworks: Clean Up Your Act” National Day of Community Action 10 am Tuesday 13 September, Officeworks Elizabeth Street Store, 107 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne CBD. Please meet at TWS' offices (288 Brunswick St Fitzroy) for a briefing and to get into costume.
To RSVP and for more action details please contact TWS Community Campaigner Triér Murphy on 0433010390 or by email Trier.Murphy@wilderness.org.au
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The logging of Sylvia Creek has sparked fierce opposition from local Toolangi residents,The Wilderness Society and local environment group My Environment. Please come along and lend your support to local residents and friends of the forests to find out what is exactly happening behind the locked gates in Toolangi and hear how you can get involved.
Where: CJ Dennis Memorial Hall, Main Rd, Toolangi
When: Thursday August 11th, 7pm
Bring: Friends and family, warm clothes, good ideas for future forest actions
Proudly supported by The Wilderness Society, My Environment, Friends of Mt St Leonard and Healesville Environment Watch
]]>These forests are under immediate threat of logging by the Baillieu Government and its logging department, VicForests. Community concern in the past has seen the proposed logging of Cement Creek removed from the logging schedule. Against the wishes of the local community, these forests have been put back on the chopping block for logging.
Where: Meet at Cafe Meccanica, Warburton for carpooling to the beautiful Cement Creek
When: Sunday 14th August, 11am
Bring: Boots, a jacket, camera and BBQ lunch
For more information please contact Keith from Warburton Environment.
]]>The two areas of spectacular forest, surrounding Sylvia Creek in the Central Highlands are due to be logged as early as next week.
Victoria’s Central Highlands, an hour north of Melbourne have suffered years of bushfires, destructive salvage logging and reckless logging for woodchips to be made into Reflex paper products.
As a result, creatures such as the Leadbeater’s possum, the Spotted-Tail Quoll, the Sooty Owl, and Baw Baw frog are being pushed to the brink of extinction.
Special Protection Zones are designed to preserve the habitat of these endangered species – but these are sometimes ignored. Last week state logging outfit VicForests announced that it will begin logging areas near Sylvia Creek containing sections of Leadbeater’s possum Special Protection Zones on Monday.
This is an unburned area where surviving native wildlife have a precious refuge. It also contains forest that is of high conservation value.
Please join the Wilderness Society in supporting local community members and MyEnvironment this Sunday 17 July. Come along with us to the Central Highlands, bring your own picnic lunch, listen to talks on the forest and wildlife, and afterwards, walk into the area to experience it firsthand.
When: 12 midday this Sunday
17 July 2011.
Meeting point: Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk
car park, Sylvia Creek Rd. 4km from Toolangi, about one hour’s drive from Melbourne CBD. Find it on Google
maps Sylvia Creek Road, Toolangi.
Call Pia on 0412 739 201 for more details and carpooling options from Melbourne.
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When: Saturday the 14th May - 11.30 am
Where: Royal Park then march to Civic Square
Speakers include: Peter Cundall and Lucy Landon-Lane
Buses from Hobart: $20 - $30 return. To book phone 03 6224 1550
This rally is organised by Tasmanians Against the Pulp Mill.
Note: Wear black
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Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke recently ordered cattle out of Victoria's Alpine National Park by April 8.
Cattle have been grazing in the Park since earlier this year, when the Baillieu Government reintroduced grazing to the area under the guise of researching fire management.
Cattle were banned from the park in 2005, and their reintroduction has been damaging threatened species, trampling wetlands and spreading weeds. National parks are for nature, not cattle.
To reflect community support for Minister Burke's positive action, Victorian National Parks Association, The Wilderness Society and other environment groups are hosting a public meeting in Box Hill on Wednesday 6th April. A large turnout will send a strong message to Minister Burke that the public widely supports his announcement, and will encourage him to take further decisive and positive action for our environment.
Guest speakers at the meeting will present on the scientific, cultural and political issues surrounding cattle grazing in the park, and will include:
- Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke
- Victorian National Parks Association's Phil Ingamels
- University of Melbourne's Dr Greg Moore and Dr Libby Rumpff
- The Wilderness Society's National Campaigns Director Lyndon Schneiders
- Traditional owners and the Victorian State government have been invited
What: Public Meeting - Cattle Out of the High Country
When: Wednesday 6th April, arriving 6:30pm for a 7pm start
Where: Box Hill Town Hall, 1022 Whitehorse Rd (Melway Ref: Map 47, E9). The town hall is a six minute walk from Box Hill Station (Lilydale and Belgrave lines), or a three minute walk from the last tram stop on Route 109.
Bring: Feel free to bring your waterproof jacket and bushwalking gear to show your support for national parks.
Cost: Free. Donations welcome.
Click here to download a copy of the invite flyer (700KB) >>
We look forward to seeing you there!
Flyrebird, the “spiritual spokesbird” of the forest, is helping the Wilderness Society raise awareness of the Ethical Paper campaign. Sign the pledge today at www.ethicalpaper.com and get Australian Paper, makers of Reflex office papers, to stop sourcing its woodpulp from our native forests.
Inspired by the Australian icon, the lyrebird, the Flyrebird will flap his feathers and launch himself into Melbourne’s Yarra River along with 19 other contestants. The iconic event, which is part of the Moomba Festival, showcases weird and wacky costumes and crafts, from the bizarre to the outright brilliant.
If you’re in Melbourne on Sunday March 13th, join the legions of spectators on the banks of the Yarra to watch Flyrebird take flight at Birrarung Marr from 11:00am.
Watch the trailer for 'The Message of the Lyrebird' and visit Balangara’s online community at www.balangarafilms.com
Created by St Kilda artisans; Visual Artist: Victor Holder Rodriguez, Costume Designer and Maker: Elly Elsass, Costume Designer and Screen Print Designer: Katy Robinson
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The WildEndurance 100km team challenge is on
again 30th April - 1st May in the stunning Blue Mountains of NSW.
Visit the WildEndurance website for information about the event and how to get involved >>
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If any of the following makes your ears perk and your green thumbs light up, then consider a weekend away on the Ecology Camp this Easter... Camp by the Brodribb River with like-minded people at night and be guided by expert biologists during the day. Be awed by 600 year old forests and the diversity of a pristine rainforest. Discover how forests are vital for climate calming, and spotlight for nocturnal wildlife. Learn wildlife survey techniques or take an organic farm tour. Visit Brown Mountain’s old-growth forests which were successfully protected with a Supreme Court case last year... and be inspired to help save our forests.
What: Forests Forever Easter Ecology Camp
When: 22nd – 25th April 2011
Where: Brodribb River, East Gippsland
Cost: Full weekend - $60 adults/$35 conc; Per day - $20/$15.
Please book early as numbers are limited. All proceeds go towards helping to protect these forests.
For more information visit www.eastgippsland.net.au
or contact Carmen at carmen@eastgippsland.net.au or on (03) 5154 0145.
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Where: Styx Valley When: Saturday 12th February
In addition to providing us with clean air and clean water, our forests also play an important role in managing the Earth's climate, by regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Every day Tasmania's forests breathe in carbon dioxide, store it as carbon in their trunks, branches, woody debris and soil and breathe out oxygen. This process, called photosynthesis, means that forests all over the world, including Tasmania, have played a crucial role in providing this planet with a safe climate. Unfortunately, forests all over the world are being logged and cleared, releasing stored carbon as greenhouse pollution and contributing to the climate change problem.
Forestry Tasmania has publicly refused to measure the carbon lost through logging and under current Government policies, the full emissions from logging and landclearing are not being measured as part of Tasmania's overall greenhouse gas emissions. This approach is akin to Tasmania burying its head in the sand and is unacceptable - so we have decided to do something about it.
With the help of a team of volunteers, we have been measuring the amount of carbon stored in forests around Tasmania which are scheduled for logging. Measurements have taken place in the Upper Florentine, the Styx Valley, the Blue Tier and the Tarkine.
You can join us, and find out how much we have to lose if these special places are destroyed by logging for woodchips. This is your opportunity to discover (or rediscover) Tasmania's beautiful forests, and contribute to the climate change solution at the same time.
The next Community Carbon Accounting Days will be in the Styx Valley on Saturday 12th February.To find out more or to register, use the contact information below.