Capture: Ans Westra - Ngā Tau ki Muri (Our Future)
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
Plastic has it’s place (several of my immediate family are nurses/midwives/doctors, and, quite frankly, medical hygiene has been hugely enhanced by various forms of plastic…
I am sure you are right.
My concern is about waste products and the effect these have on the environment. In a domestic setting I want to see how far I can go to doing away with it. That Midway Island film trailer affected me deeply and I took it very personally (the sight of that toothbrush inside the albatross’s corpse really topped the lot); my whole point of view altered radically as a result.
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I'm with you too Leigh - just shy about making anything but simple, flippant statements about pictures!
In the last six months three large trees have been removed from nearby gardens. My first sadness is for the trees and all the parts of the local environment they are supporting. Then there is the selfish sadness, my lush green view has become open and bare.
Like Chris I feel overwhelmed by the bigger issue, and for me that comes down to the collective forgetting that we rely on the health and well-being of the natural environment for our own health, well-being and survival. It's sad to think that it so often takes disaster for people to make significant changes.
It would all seem completely depressing if all change relied on government etc. Every individual effort shines brightly - and I see hope for change in the younger generation - nieces and nephews still coming through school have been terrified by learning about environmental destruction, pollution and plastic wrap. It doesn't seem to stop them owning plastic cased electronic devices.... but some of them at least are studying environmental topics at uni.
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I was very fortunate to meet Ans at the book launch, and I mentioned to her that her book, and the sentiment in it, reminded me of The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono.
You can listen and watch an animation of it here;
Although I made a flippant comment about planting a tree at the end of my post, this was what I had in my mind at the time.
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
Hi Nora, yes, I get overwhelmed too. It makes me weep with despair. The way I deal with that is to actively grasp everything in my path that can make any difference at all. This is what I write about so much of the time. All of us have got to lift our game. And even if it is Too Late, we have to go down fighting for what we belief in - the right to a wholesome life on a thriving planet. I take comfort in Theodore Roosevelt's instruction to "Do what you can where you are with what you have", which comes from a military handbook. We can't do any more than that. For me fighting means pushing back against the tidal waves of indifference which I see as the greatest danger in the modern world. I took this photo on my walk this morning. How it lifted my spirits!
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
In the last six months three large trees have been removed from nearby gardens. My first sadness is for the trees and all the parts of the local environment they are supporting. Then there is the selfish sadness, my lush green view has become open and bare.
Your sadness , I understand. A while back somewhere in the PASosphere I complained about my selfish next door neighbour announcing one day that the 10m oak was coming down in the morning. Myself and another Street member had put it forward for protection and the council had simply announced they had lost it but miraculously found it that day. Of course my protestations became audible in the St. Next morning ,after calling the Council to advise them a contractor had arrived with chainsaw. I managed to get him over to my ph and he talked with the Council. He and the neighbour (whom I have nicknamed “The Bitch”) agreed to a stay of execution so the St could be heard (as more of the St came on board our side of protection) This tree gave the Street an Avenue like entrance into it off Dominion Rd. Stunning Tree. Off I went for the day most pleased with the experience of having made a difference. Got home at 6. Tree was gone.Have not spoken to her since the tirade then but the local Paper showed up the next day to write of the environmental vandalism that occurred. Somewhere in my archives is the before and after shots. It is too sad to look for.
Did I mention I’m moving up North to the sunshine and trees and beautiful beaches? :)ok Here's the new driveway that nobody can touch .
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
ok Here’s the new driveway that nobody can touch .
Beautiful.
Late yesterday afternoon, with the sky clean enough for natural awesomeness, waiting for the lights to let me pass under the G7 Beijing – Xinjiang Expressway (visible, mostly carries heavy trucks) and the Datong – Qinhuangdao Railway (hidden, kilometres-long trains hauling coal from the mines around Datong down to the port at Qinhuangdao).
An hour earlier in West Five Li Camp - the good news, those mountains are being reforested and just over the other side is a nature reserve set up to protect leopards.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
An hour earlier in West Five Li Camp – the good news, those mountains are being reforested and just over the other side is a nature reserve set up to protect leopards.
Wonderful :)
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Just a couple of pretties….
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
reminded me of The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono.
Jackson, thank you so much for posting this. It is very special - and moved me to tears. Inspirational.
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
Hi Sofie, how shattering about the tree being felled. Tragic.
I do believe that all our conservation efforts, big or small, should be celebrated - efforts made even if they are unsuccessful at the time, as well as our achievements. Encouraging each other is so important. Solidarity with you and High Fives everyone.
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Islander, in reply to
<q>Encouraging each other is so important. Solidarity with you and High Fives everyone.
Kia ora tatou!
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
I do believe that all our conservation efforts, big or small, should be celebrated
I have a friend (dont look so surprised ;) who has taken it upon himself to berid one side of the Orakei Basin on the Ngapipi Rd side of vermon for the past years . He has made huge progress with possum rats and mice. its his pastime hobby :) he started in 2005. The Council is on board too but my friends efforts are admirable. Only a mouse today and he has thrown up this link Kepa Rd Project and has suggested they need volunteers
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More good news.... convoys of wind turbine blades awaiting delivery, Badaling Economic Development Area, last month. They ain't perfect, but they do represent less coal burnt. I was surprised how vast this complex was and just how many turbine blades there were ready to go, and more in various stages of getting ready.
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
this link Kepa Rd Project and has suggested they need volunteers
Sofie, what an amazing effort! I've added both those links to the side bar of my At Home Chronicle. Am really pleased to hear of the Conservation Volunteers Trust as I didn't know of them at all.
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
convoys of wind turbine blades awaiting delivery
Applause!!!
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
Cool. I thought it was too.
and well done China! Baby steps are going to get big quickly. Good news everyone!
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Leigh Russell, in reply to
the 10m oak was coming down in the morning. Myself and another Street member had put it forward for protection
Sofie, how did you go about that? And was the tree on public or private land? Although the bylaws are probably different here in Dunedin there are likely to be parallels so I'd be interested to hear what the process was.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
I rang the Council, asked. There is a section easily findable on their site. I wrote a letter with photos and address no. Submitted about 10 trees that day in our Street . Pohutakawas and a gorgeous Erithina Crystagalli ((??) I got the other st lady to put her name beside mine.
All the other trees are still there. Council has changed tho. Not for the better really.
ETA
Some were private others were a primary school. Just because something is native does not mean it is safe. -
Leigh Russell, in reply to
Thanks, and I found the Dunedin equivalent which I've linked to for anyone who is interested.
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Continuing on about the stream bank I adopted in Christchurch, which was owned by the council and nominally under their care: it was in a strange and very awkward spot with difficult access through the back of our place. When I first started doing that clearance I did it without having asked for permission as I was afraid I would be asked not to - or have some other constraints put on what I did, so I simply armed myself with the Council's weed list and got to it.
The trouble was how to get rid of all the weeds and detritus? My landlord had grudgingly agreed to remove what I weeded and trimmed from our own garden which I couldn't compost ("Where does all this stuff come from?") and I knew it would be useless to ask him! So in the end I did contact the Council, found the Right Person who was in charge of that sort of thing, and the thing was done. As long as I was okay in waiting until they were doing other similar work in the area it was fine.
I did a clearance about quarterly and often there was a huge mountain of it. I would carefully pile it separately to stuff from our own garden - a small amount in comparison, and point out that they needn't take that - but they always did: ("Oh that's nothing!") The access was so awkward actually, so I always helped and then thanked them profusely. But I had Done The Work, and the Council man who delegated them to the job very much appreciated it - so we were all pleased with each other.
They were all older men. I commented on that and they laughed and said the younger men couldn't last the distance. I'm not altogether surprised as it was hard work and must have required a certain stoicism.
Gradually I planted seedlings I knew were suitable for the setting - mostly natives. It was a lovely spot. Very restful.
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There were some lovely trees along that stream bank, but not all of them were suitable. I loved the macrocarpa next to the massive gum tree, but it was growing like Topsy and would become more and more unsuitable. I reluctantly asked the Council man if they would consider taking it out, and after months of persistence a team of three arborists was sent around to do the job. I was pleased and anxious all at the same time.
When I greeted them and I said I hoped they would manage to get it down without crushing too much of the surrounding growth. Then I watched their skill and dexterity with awe, torn between baking a tray of fresh biscuits ( I believe strongly in feeding the workers!) and taking photographs. Each bough was brought down along the path whence it was speedily removed, and when they had finished I could hardly see where they had been!
They were so quick too: I had only just time to get those biscuits out of the oven and onto a tray with glasses of juice before they were ready to go, all mulching having been completed and in the back of the truck. Amazing! Ah, mulching and munching: num-num!!!
For me conservation is often about gradually changing direction and moving into healthier ones - in this case promoting the growth of trees that were suitable for that place and removing those that would grow to overpower others.
I have no idea what happened to that place after we left, and would be surprised if the house survived the earthquakes. Bit I did what I could at the time.
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That small and decidedly personal collaboration with the City Council made me much more aware of the role local body councils have in planning, forming and maintaining our parks and reserves. These are such a vital part of the beauty and desirability of any community.
This is Beckenham Park in St Martins, Christchurch. I took this photo in late 2011 along with many others showing Earthquake havoc.
All during that time the parks seemed to be maintained and groomed. In the midst of widespread chaos these were oasis' of order and serenity. How badly these were needed: the rivers and beaches were fouled with raw sewerage, the Port Hills out of bounds due to rockfalls, practically all the city's nightspots, eateries, libraries and cinemas were wrecked or shut down... Take a bow, all you wonderful parks workers!
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This photo is of the same park taken some months later from the other side of the pond . It’s so pretty…
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In this context Gap Fillers, also of Christchurch, have to be mentioned: they are a heartwarming demonstration of the difference that small and highly motivated groups of individuals can make to a community. At a time when empty sections resulting from demolitions were to be found in ever increasing numbers these imaginative people made them into fun features which invite everyone to join in and enjoy them – Hurrah!!! Here is their Butterfly Gap (on Madras Street?). A placard on the fence invites visitors to rest their wings. A closer look revealed a large shrub to be a buddlia, a plant much favoured by butterflies.
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Some people act generously to others simply because that is their way. The large house that stood at this address was demolished due to earthquake damage. The massive old trees remained. My friend who lives next door mowed that frontage as well as his own – and even swept the footpath afterwards - there he is in the distance! No one asked him to do it or paid him – he just did it. Nice one, R.!
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