Environmental Action and Activism - a simple perspective

Goanna (no, he isn't threatened, but his habitat is changing rapidly) Mt Warning Caldera Region, Australia
Australian Government listings for THREATENED FAUNA Species
&
Environmental Advocacy blogs - the Art of Public Engagement (with links to Melissa Merry's "“Blogging and Environmental Advocacy: A New Way to Engage the Public?”)

In the scheme of things, action (Environmental Action and Activism) to change the world can come in three forms:-

* Identifying the critical issue, passively supporting change for the better in your heart, but recognising that beyond that, you can do little else, except heal your own inbalances and heart.

* Identifying the critical issues, actively supporting the change for the better and recognising that balance, focus and the "heart" and "energy" behind those actions are to be considered as foundations to those actions.

* Identifying the critical issue, understanding the passive and the active response, then going beyond. Going to and working with, the underlying issue that has caused the initial problem is in this category. Going to the spirit of things, addressing them in a way that can help cause a massive shift in mass consciousness awareneness, thus facilitating change without really becoming involved in the individual issue.

Native Black Bee, Australia

Tolerance, love, forgiveness, redemption and compassion are powerful tools when dealing with poor land management, inappropriate land custodianship and ignorant land stewardship. These things can open up doors that anger, misdirected ego and intolerance have previously held shut.

and now a poem......

Phantom Koala and the Goanna

"Dearest PK" asked Goanna wise
"why don't the Trees now reach to the Skies-
why is the Rain so late to fall?
I know many things but with these, I stall."

PK slowly shifted to see
who questioned him so from beneath his tree
"Why Goanna, you smarty, didn't you know
The government let them clear the trees, so....
The rain doesn't come, the wind blows hard
and everyone's mowing down their back yard
They've channelled the water away from the streams
and ruined the chance of our childrens' dreams."

This disturbed the Goanna who said, "But PK, surely not everyone acts in this way?"
Well, PK just laughed and pulled at some leaves
"It's what's in ones heart - that's what to believe
Does it make sense to kill? does it make sense to steal?
Does it make sense to eat much much more than your meal?"
"Well, that is what they do - the clearers of land, they kill all the trees and they make out they're grand. Then they take all the water and pump it away
and they tell us that industries show us the way.
They hop on their jet stream and swan round the world
praising themselves with their grand flags unfurled
saying 'We have the answer - we are the best'
(though to you and me both - we know they're the pest)."
Goanna thought deeply on PK's last words and dreamily saw that it was quite absurd
"So why do they panic and call each day drought, why do the leaders still hold so much clout?"
"Oh Goanna! Dear friend, you wise brave old soul
because they can't see from their justified hole. They've dug down so deeply, their egos as spades - that the only thing left between them and the hades-

is redemption and love. We must give them a hand, to clamber back up and to save our sweet land"

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The above article is taken from a lengthier one that I have written on the bluecray.org website. For more about the plight of Australian Koalas in this region, you can try bluecray's environmental search engine .

Koala Populations and their Habitats are falling sharply along the central east coast of Australia, where Urbanisation and unsustainable development practices have been the norm for many decades. Habitat clearing is one of the biggest threats currently facing Koalas. Despite the dedicated work by Koala carers and Koala advocates, the Koala is not listed as a threatened species by the Australian Government for this Region, although the NSW & QLD Governments have the Koala listed as a threatened species in these bioregions.

PK and Litoria look for Rufous Bettong, and on the way, meet up with Goanna

Phantom Koala, Chin Ting and Litoria talk with the Goanna about Rufous Bettong's disappearance and big boots

PK (Phantom Koala), Litoria (the Frog) and Chin Ting (the Dragonfly) have been having adventures together. They came back from their holiday at Egg Rock (across the NSW / QLD border), and decided to visit Rufous Bettong, in the Burringbar Ranges, south east of Mt Warning.

When they got to Rufous Bettongs Burringbar home, they found him GONE!!

Where had he gone? Why did he leave? Where WAS HE???

They arrived at the gully nesting spot, where they usually found him, this time of year, and to their suprise, the gully had changed!!  It was all bare, the grass had died, and fallen over, and the many of the smaller marsupials that lived there had gone.

As they bravely moved out from the forest shade, and into the sunlight of the bare gully, they met Goanna, who showed them a big boot, lying in the gully.

"There's your culprit!" said Goanna.   "That's why Rufous Bettong is no longer living here.  It was the bigboots! The ones that wear those BOOTS!"

Phantom Koala was not suprised. He had seen the big boots everywhere, in their excavators, trucks, cars, on their mowers, in their nests, in their gardens. He had even run hard from one trying to catch him while he was visiting the Tweed Coast.

"So what happened then?" Litoria asked.  "What has happened to Rufous Bettong?"

"Why",  huffed the Goanna who was lazily sunning himself next to the big old boot "why, Rufous was just napping here, on day, minding his own business, when the whole place began to smell of death. He heard the big boots coming close, and he sneaked out of the gully, and hid near that log there, till night time, then he moved up further into the hills. Oh, one more thing..... Rufous didn't leave that day, he stayed here for a few weeks longer, and finally the poison smell went away, and he stayed back in the gully, under the dead grass, in his old nest. That is, until a bigboots came along and stood on his tail - after that he packed up and left- he says he is not coming back here for a while, because it is too smelly, full of death and he is scared of big boots."

"What about the grass? What happened to the grass?" asked Litoria, still very puzzled.

Goanna looked at Litoria, sized her up as a meal, then decided she was too small, not worth it. "Well, Litoria dear, the grass is dead from the big boots and their poisons. - you are lucky you weren't here when it happened, 'cos we all know how you little Frogs feel about poisons!"

PK and Litoria were sad about Rufous Bettong moving, and after talking with Goanna for a bit, they decided to follow Rufous Bettong's tracks into the higher ranges.  It was going to be another  long journey.

 Luckily Chin Ting had flown up high, and spotted Rufous Bettong far up in the Forest. Chin Ting could show them the way!!