Ta‘Kaiya Blaney - children are our future

Image from http://bcrainforest.com/saying-no-to-oil-sands-mining/

Young Candian, Ta‘Kaiya Blaney is a Sliammon First Nations singer, songwriter and environmental activist. Now about 12, she has campaigned more for environmental protection in a few years than most adults. 

This is an incredible TEDx talk she made at TEN years of age - she lays out the issues with oil and consumerism so beautifully.  At the end of this talk she has a message for children: "You have a gift - a voice - be heard". Wow!




In Ta'Kaiya's words: 
Hi, my name is Ta’Kaiya, I’m from the Sliammon First Nation and I am 12 years old.    I feel that as humans, as participants and beings that walk upon  this earth, it is our responsibility to help the earth. We all need to take steps towards a clean and healthy future regarding animals, humans, plants, and the various ecosystems. Our earth is our home. Over the past four years I’ve been an advocate for providing better qualities of living in Indigenous First Nations territories, and ending the oppression, racism, and corruption we face from our government and within our community. I’ve spoke at UN meeting across the globe, including The TUNZA UN children and youth conference on the environment in Bandung Indonesia, and the Rio+20 UN conference on the environment In Rio de Janiero. I advocate to change not only the human condition, but also in the condition of our planet. In my culture it’s a fact, and an understanding of life, that everything is connected, and we were put on this earth to be stewards and caretakers of the environment. In my culture, it’s a teaching to do more than connect the dots, to see the picture as a whole.  I feel that advocating, and speaking at mere conferences isn’t enough. Actions speak louder than words.

You can also see her original song "Shallow Waters" on You Tube here.

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Hungry? Hitch up with the local food wagon

Image from www.foodconnect.com.au

People are asking questions.  People want to know not only where their food comes from, but who grew their food - not just a name, but details ... What motivates the grower?  How do they look after their soil?  What does the farmer do with their spare time?  Do they have kids?  What's their favourite food? 

There is a groundswell of interest in the producer-consumer connection, and Australian organisation, Food Connect has been tending this relatively fallow soil for many years, confident that the concept will come to fruition - afterall, it may have a crucial role in saving the world from hunger.  Based on the principles of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Food Connect delivers weekly boxes bursting with seasonal produce from local farmers living within a short radius of Food Connect Brisbane and Food Connect Sydney.

Food Connect explains: CSA is an innovation in the growing and distributing of food that aims for farmers and consumers to share the risk involved in food production. CSA seeks to address the environmental and social problems associated with industrial agriculture through a shared commitment to local and regional food systems that provide fair financial returns to small family farms. Consumers are effectively investing in the future security of their food supply.  Food Connect works hard at communicating the story and strengthening the bond between the growers and the consumers.  Each week they update the blog with details of what you can expect in your box, along with links to the stories of the farmers who grew the produce. Incredible detail.

You can read more about Food Connect founder Robert Pekin here on the Locavored blog.

People want to feel a connection.  As Sarah Robins writes in her article I don't buy food from strangers (that's a clever bumper sticker by the way) 35,000 people shop at a Victorian farmers’ market each weekend, lured by provenance, variety, freshness and quality, a minimal carbon footprint and the opportunity to engage directly with growers and support the local economy.

As we were working on this post, ABC's Landline program on Sunday, 1 April, aired a fascinating story on food security, The Hunger Games (watch the video or read the transcript).  In the next 40 years the world has to produce as much food as we have produced in the last 500 years.  Julian Cribb, author of The Coming Famine says: We're running out of water, we're running out of oil, we're running out of agricultural science and technology. We're running out of fish, we're running out of stable climates. So all of those things playing together are creating a greater insecurity in the world's food supply at a time when demand is poised to double.  The story looks at how we can increase agricultural output, as well as how people can grow more food in the cities and how much food we waste in Australia (we throw away about $5 billion worth).

Our loss of "connectivity" with food is part of the problem according to Michael D'Occhio of University of Queensland. In the Landline story, he says: ...we have no respect for food in Australia, we don't appreciate the value of food like our grandparents did after the Second World War... We've lost connectivity with what's required to produce food, what's required to make food available on a consistent basis and indeed the effort that our farmers put into providing us with the quality of food that we produce.

Want to know more about who grew your food? Check out these resources

QLD
Brisbane - Food Connect; Northey Street City Farm.
Organic Brisbane blog
VIC
In Melbourne - CERES Fair Food an inner city farm that hosts farmers’ markets and sells weekly fruit and vegetable boxes to locals.
Purchase this fabulous new book The Field Guide to Victorian Produce, or indulge in the sumptuous articles on the associated blog http://www.locavored.com/
NSW
Sydney - Food Connect
All over
Sustainable Table  - an environmental not-for-profit organisation that uses food as an entrée to explore sustainability issues.  Purchase the book and explore more resources.


Live elsewhere in Australia?  See this page on the Food Connect website with a list of CSAs in other places.

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Legends of conservation that preserved Noosa for us all

Have you ever sat on the beautiful beach at Noosa or walked through the National Park and thought "thank goodness there is no high rise in Noosa"?

In 1969, Noosa Council had approved a high rise development on the beach side of Hastings Street and in the late 70's was proposing a 12 storey limit on the other side of Hastings Street.  Today, there is a humble three storey limit.  How this happened is the story of two legendary couples, Arthur and Marjorie Harrold and Bill and Mavis Huxley, and the volunteer organisation they founded, Noosa Parks Association (NPA).

Queensland's Noosa and Cooloola National Park region works its magic on all who are fortunate to visit, just as we were at Easter.  Noosa is one of our most valuable tourism destinations in economic terms, but only because concrete development has harmonised with the natural beauty of rainforest scrambling down coastal headland to pristine beaches.

I was awe-inspired to learn that we also have these people to thank for there being no coastal road around Noosa Heads and the existence of Cooloola National Park stretching from Noosa River to Double Island point.  In the 60s and 70s, this area was destined to be ripped apart for sand mining and when the miners moved on, suburban development would have moved in.

The NPA and the people that have volunteered their time and hearts since 1962 are true legends of conservation.  Today, the NPA is regarded around the world as a shining light for successful community environmental organisation.  Unlike well known single issue battles such as the Franklin and Gordon River, the NPA has relentlessly fought and won successive battles over 40 years.

In addition to lobbying, the organisation has a vibrant program of activities including bush walking, bird watching, Greening Noosa and weekly talks at their Environment Centre in Wallace Drive, Noosaville. 

Thousands of visitors to the Noosa National Park (from where you walk around to Alexandria Bay) will also benefit from the recently opened NPA Info Hut and guided walks each Wednesday morning.  Bookings 07 54473522

Dr Michael Gloster, who was President of the NPA for many years, has written a fascinating 10 part series about the NPA and the battles.  These are incredible stories that will enrich your experience of Noosa and remind us all that individuals do have the power to change the world!

More reading:
Timeline of the Noosa District  For history buffs, a thoroughly enjoyable chronology from the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants to modern times. Sunshine Coast Library online resources.

Dr Arthur Harrold was named a Legend of Conservation by the Queensland Conservation Council in 2009.  Sunshine Coast Daily article.

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Parking Day at Paddington Green Precinct

What a great sight this morning as people chatted over coffee, reclaiming some road space for people.

Bliss Ecowear and Sol Breads organic cafe set up parks opposite each other on Latrobe Terrace, the epicentre of the Paddington Green Precinct! We were just two of hundreds of parks taking place across Brisbane and the world as part of the movement that began in 2005 in San Francisco.  Sol Breads and the street were buzzing with people drawn to the community created by the parks.

Brisbane PARK(ing) Day is all about –

1. Calling attention to the importance for urban public spaces
2. Rethinking the way we use our streets
3. Creating diverse conversations about how we can make sustainable cities

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The Burning Season - please support this incredible Australian-made movie about saving Orangutans

Help us spread to word so everyone goes to see this movie!
The Burning Season, which premiered in Brisbane last night, is the story of a remarkable achievement by one young man not afraid to single-handedly confront the biggest challenge of our time. Dorjee Sun believes there's money to be made from protecting rainforests in Indonesia, saving the orangutan from extinction and making a real impact on climate change. Armed with a laptop and a backpack, he sets out across the globe to find investors in his carbon trading scheme. It is a battle against time, but Dorjee's determination to succeed and his award-winning achievement will uplift and entertain audiences and inspire hope in our future.

One of Biome's team members, Lauren, is a good friend of the Associate Producer from local Brisbane film production company, Freshwater Pictures. She has seen this movie go from idea to reality, and how the production team have all been passionate, ecologically minded professionals, absolutely intent on supporting Dorjee Sun in his quest to protect the Indonesian rainforests, away from just the business side of making the film.

It showcases the ideology that we can all make small, everyday, ecologically friendly changes to how we live our lives and that one person can make all the difference.

The Burning Season website has lots of info about the issues and what you can do. Check when its screening near you and follow them on Twitter.

David & Margaret from At The Movies on ABC TV loved it too, awarding it 4 stars each! Read their review.

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Lighthouses - shining the way

Our participation at Greenfest in Brisbane inspired us to start a new feature called “Lighthouses”. A lighthouse shines a light for travellers, shows the way and protects from harm...and so it is with people who illuminate our path.
The light eminating from Greenfest was positively blinding. The grand lighthouse of them all was Greenfest founder, Colman Ridge. Graham Readfearn of The Courier-Mail has written more about Colman's story

How exciting though to find a group of young people devoting their time to a sustainable future. As part their community education outreach, the Queensland Youth Environment Council were running seedling workshops. One of the QYEC team visited our stall to show us the paper pot maker they were using to make little seedling pots from recycled newspaper. We were thrilled to see the useful life this little Biome product was having. The story, however, is about the young leaders who are members of the QYEC and their work for our planet's future. Read more on the QYEC website.

Biome team sets up our green theme display.
Do you have a story from Greenfest or can you tell us about someone who is a Lighthouse?

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