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CELEBRATING BIODIVERSITY
all year not just in September (Page 2)

These are some of the pictures we had, in larger format, on display.


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Flower pictures property of the Mandurah Wildflower Group Inc. Spider, Fungus and Stick Insect photographed by Annette Clarkson. Dolphin supplied by Mandurah Dolphins and Sue Grayling of PPG photographed the Templetonia and the Dragonfly
Eucalypt
Eucalyptus erythrocorys
-Illyarrie
Banksia menziesi
Banksia menziesii
Firewood Banksia
Xmas Tree
Western Australian Xmas Tree
Boronia
Boronia
Kangaroo Paws
Kangaroo Paws
Serpentine River
Donkey Orchid
Donkey Orchid
Spider
Spider
Fungus
Fungus
Stick
Stick Insect
Templetonia
Red Templetonia - Mandurah's flower emblem
Insect
Dragonfly
dolphin
Mandurah Dolphin

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This segment courtesy of the EARTH ALIVE page of the BIONET web site.
Bionet Logo Click here to go to Bionet- Biodiversity Network with links to many other sites.

20 Simple Actions to conserve Australia's diversity of life in your Backyard and Beyond

 

In Your House and Garden

  • Make your garden or property wildlife friendly by leaving logs and rocks and planting local native plants to provide food or shelter to birds, frogs, reptiles and other animals. Find out how to get local native plants by contacting your local council or branch of the Society for Growing Australian Plants.
  • Reduce the impact of your cat or dog on native wildlife. Keep them enclosed at sun up, sun down and at night when native animals do most of their feeding.
  • Consider alternatives to chemical pest control in your garden or use it sparingly. Birds, frogs and reptiles can become sick or die if they feed on insects sprayed with pesticides. Useful insects, like ladybirds and praying mantis, help control pests and are killed by pesticides.
  • Dispose of chemicals, paints, oils, detergents and plastics through your special local council services, not through the stormwater or sewage system which will pollute your waterways.

In Your Neighbourhood

  • Join or start a 'friends of' group to help landholders and councils in their efforts to bring back the native grasses and woodlands to their properties, revegetate river frontages, roadsides, beachfronts and public areas. Call Landcare Ph: (02) 9414 8888, Bushcare Ph: (02) 6274 1111 or Coastcare for your local contacts.
  • When shopping, choose the more environmentally friendly products and avoid excessive packaging. Wherever possible 'reduce, re-use, recycle.'
  • Try to buy organic produce. It's better for you and better for the environment because it does not use chemical pesticides.
  • Don't dump weeds, prunings or grass clippings in the bush or local parks as they introduce new weeds and spread others.
  • Know your fish. That orange roughy you're eating could well be seventy years old. Find out where your fish are caught and if the methods used are ecologically sustainable. If your fish vendor doesn't know ask them to find out. Ph: (03) 9650 8296 for a Victorian National Parks Association guide to buying fish.
  • Report any new waste discharge to the sea or river. It may be an accidental spillage or a new discharge point that is not yet regulated. Councils and your EPA need to know what's going on and will appreciate your eyes and ears.

In Your Region

  • Be conservative when you go fishing. Only take what you can eat yourself and don't keep undersized fish. Some fish stocks are under greater threat from recreational fishers than from commercial fishing.
  • Switch to slow combustion or natural gas heaters. Firewood collection alters or removes the habitat of mammals and birds, such as honey eaters, and is partly causing their decline or disappearance. After woodchipping, firewood harvesting, at 6.1 million tonnes per year, is Australia's second largest timber industry.
  • Keep the contents of your boat, car, bag in your boat, car, bag ... Don't throw rubbish, waste, oil or chemicals into the sea or into urban creeks or rivers - even if you believe them to be biodegradable. Australia's marine and riverine ecosystems are nutrient-poor and can't easily absorb human waste or rubbish.
  • Use plantation timber, not native forest and woodland timber, in home building, fencing, firewood. Demand for plantation timber by consumers will put effective pressure on the suppliers.

At the Coast and in the Sea

  • Support conservation of coastal and wetland habitats. Mangrove and coastal swamp systems provide breeding habitats for many fish, crabs and prawns and help maintain clean waterways.
  • Speak out about new dykes, weirs, or sea walls. Most of Australia's coastline relies on a natural flow of water up and down our sandy beaches. Any break in this flow means that the local ecosystem dies.
  • Avoid walking on reefs. Many species are very delicate and will die when crushed under human weight. Pop on a 'mask and snorkel' and swim around instead.
  • Find out what happens to your city's effluent. Each year 10,000 tonnes of phosphorous and 100,000 tonnes of nitrogen are discharged into our seas from sewerage systems. This kills many marine ecosystems, reducing the ability of the oceans to sustain life. Domestic waste is the main culprit, so suggest to your state government representative that it be recycled back on land.
  • Contact your local elected representatives (MP or Councillor) to get more areas protected for nature conservation. Ask them to address the bigger picture issues beyond your scope, such as broadscale clearing and destruction of native plants and animals, expansion of our national reserve system, and ensuring that flows on our regulated rivers allow for environmental needs.
  • Don't leave your environmental 'conscience' at home when you go on holidays.

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(This page updated OCTOBER 2002)