Carnaby Cockatoos, Leeuwin Caves (is that a camel, Stella?)
Hi Guys
Yeah so not so nice for the Carnaby Cockatoos, due to the deforestation of Century old trees in the wheat belt of WA these wonderful creatures are rapidly loosing a home and food source.
2 of these cockatoos have recently set up a nest at the Edith Cowan Campus in Joondalup, hence the rapid response to WildCampus to host the planting scheme.
It was an exciting time and were surprised to see some one from interstate, I was the only outsider to attend.
Is there anything that the VTIO would like to add or assist with future ventures in this scheme.
The Saturday before I spend 4 hrs driving down the southwest coast in heavy rainy conditions to Leewin Cape where I traveled a tourist sitting of 1hr in The Jewel Caves to ($22.00 and adult) to witness the amazing formations of the stalagmites and stalactites hidden in the caves below.
1000's of fossils have been found there since 1940 including remains of a Tasmanian Tiger fallen in from a hole.
The history of these caves are amazing, most amazing is the story of discovery and how it was able to be discovered. Magnificant 'Karri' tree roots find their way through the gaps of space from the ground surface to the cave falls until the roots can stabilize into the ground again in search of nutrients. Over time the tree may become malnourished and decline, breaking down to micro dust back onto the cave floor. As the decline of the tree roots continues to the upper ground surface. The area surrounding the roots falls less stabilized and will crumble to the cave floor until it has a compound strength to support the present change.
So an explorer happened to venture into this void of once present Karri tree roots to find the amazing attraction that took only 12 months to open in 1959, and have WA wonders unearthed.
The caves are declining, some say it is due to climate change others refer to the human era and the great urbanization inhabiting precious soluble lands that flourish with a wide variety of fertility and life.
So these stalactites (hold tight to the ceiling) that form from the ceiling of the cave starting from a drip of water, as the water evaporates it leaves a calcium deposit thus creating straws. There is a 5m straw 3rd largest in the world at the cave. Once the straw gets blocked calcium deposits then expand seeping from the sides and formation is configure by wind direction through the caves these can form unusual shapes (swirls and circles). The stalagmites (might reach the ceiling are from the water droplets obviously reaching the cave floor, in some circumstances, these will meet and form a colum (organ pipe).
There are 3 or 4 other caves to visit back up the north SW coast of WA worthwhile taking some time to see, to the East is a magnificent drive through the Karri forests.
Hi planting day volunteers
We wanted to say a big thank you for (and your family if they came along) volunteering on Sunday, we couldn't have planted 1200-1300 plants so quickly without your help. We really appreciate your support in the group's endeavors and we hope there will be many more events to come.
I'd like to say a special thanks to the very committed post-grads Melissa Karlinski, Casper Avenant and Steven Spragg for assisting with the coordination and setup of the event. Thank you kindly to sessional staff Grant Buller, post-grads Chanelle Webster and Michelle Craig, and under-graduates Jack Guthrie, Jonas Polifka, Patrick Williams, PJ Oliveri, Geoffrey Schoonacker and Mildred Espiritu for helping us out with set-up in the morning of the planting day.
As you know, the planting day went really well on Sunday and we had a great turnout considering it was our first big event under the student driven group named WildCampus. We had 40 enthusiastic volunteers helping out with the planting. The volunteers included ECU staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students, BirdLife supporters, and it was great to see that some of the volunteers brought their kids along to join in on the fun. We were able to tell everyone about the group, about the generous funding from School of Science, and about the donation of Banksia seedlings from BirdLife (as part of a crowd funded initiative). We can now walk or drive past the native seedlings that we have planted on campus and feel proud as we watch them slowly grow. I've attached a whole lot of photos from the day.
Regards
Candice
Tim Michau
TAG CONSULTING ARBOR
VTIO (Victorian Tree Industry Organisation):
Committee Member:
Victorian Tree Industry Organisation: For those in Australia
Swift Parrot Response Video Tasmania 07.10.16 https://vimeo.com/treewizard/swiftparrot
Hello,
I just signed the petition, “Premier: Stop logging critical habitat on Crown Land.” I think this is important. Will you sign it too?
Here’s the link:
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<script src="https://static.change.org/product/embeds/v1/change-embeds.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
Link to petition Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/premier-stop-logging-critical-habitat-on-crown-land?recruiter=742807219&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition