Over 75% of the rubbish removed from our beaches is made of plastic. Plastics don’t biodegrade, they breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics.
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size and are the most abundant form of solid-waste pollution. It has been found in all the worlds oceans and even in the deep sea. Microplastics include microbeads, plastic pellets and plastic fibres and form from broken down parts of larger plastics.
Floating plastics absorb toxins dissolved in the water and when ingested these toxins enter the food chain. Over time plastics and toxins accumulate in the foodchain.
Another major issue for marine species is entanglement in fishing line and other marine debris.
I’ve been working on education resources for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre and was excited to be able to contribute to this years Coastcare Week campaign.
Coastcare Week is on between 7 – 13 December and Summer up with Coastcare is the 2020 campaign. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the effects of litter on our waterways, encouraging all Australians to get connected to their local environment with Coastcare, and support groups to continue their invaluable work.
To recognise Coastcare Week find out ways you can help clean up your local marine environment.
At the beach, keep on the walking tracks. This protects the vegetation that provides habitat for local native birds and other animals, and prevents erosion.
Ensure your dogs are kept on a lead in areas where dune vegetation is vulnerable.
Landcare and Coastcare groups work on these sites to enhance the habitat for native animals to protect them.
Avoid and Reduce – by reducing your plastic footprint, you are helping to protect our rivers and waterways that will keep our beaches and oceans clean and protect marine animals from the impact of rubbish including plastics.
Reuse – if you need to use plastic products, make sure you reuse items over and over again before disposing of them thoughtfully at the end of their useful life.
Recycle – if you can’t reuse an item or if it is at the end of it’s useful life, recycle it or compost it.
Make sure you take a bag with you to the beach to collect rubbish on your next walk.
Every piece of plastic removed from the marine environment can save an animal’s life, and reduce the amount of microplastic created.
Plants can’t move around to look for a mate to reproduce. Plants need pollinators to transfer the pollen, the male sex cells to the female reproductive parts of flowers. This process is called pollination, which leads to fertilisation. Good fertilisation helps plants develop seeds and fruit. The seeds and fruits that feed the countless animals in the world, including us.
Carpenter bee flying
Carpenter bee finding pollen
Pollinators drive biodiversity, and over 75% of the world’s flowering plants rely on insect pollinators to reproduce. Most people are aware that bees are important pollinators and other insect pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants. Birds and bats are some of the vertebrate animals that also pollinators. Pollinators provide these important ecosystem services in the natural landscapes as well as within agricultural/horticultural and urban environments.
Australian Pollinator Week acknowledges the important and unique insect pollinators found across Australia. It is a designated week in November during our southern spring when community, business and organisations can come together to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and support their needs. The world is suffering from major pollinator declines, but you can also help make a difference by encouraging theses animals into your backyard and local area.
Use this great resource ‘Pollinator Insects Identification Tips’ by Wild Pollinator Count to help you identify pollinators around your home.
World Numbat Day is on the first Saturday of November. It is a day to appreciate this amazing yet threatened mammal and encourage the action to conserve the species.
The Numbat is Western Australia’s mammal emblem. They are a small endangered native marsupial. They have a long sticky tongue that allows them pick up there favourite food; termites. Scientific name: Myrmecobius fasciatus
Help the Numbat find it’s lunch!
Numbats have a very specialised diet almost exclusively of termites. They are diurnal, which means they feed during the day. During the day the sun heats up the upper layers soil, increases the temperature. The termites move in to a network of shallow tunnels and chambers just below the ground surface, making it easier to get a meal.
Under threat
Numbats are under threat from habitat loss and introduced predators including foxes and feral cats. Their population is estimated at fewer than 1000 individuals and help is needed to protect the future of this unique marsupial.
The theme for National Water Week 2020 is Reimagining our Water Future. How can you reimagine the way you use and reuse water to ensure there’s enough of it in the future? Use these resources from Australian Environmental Education and beyond to rethink your current water practices. Remember what you do as an individual and as a communities can make a difference; every drop counts.
Even though water is the most common substance found on earth, less than 1% is available as freshwater. We need to conserve and protect freshwater resources, consider your use of Water.
Water is essential for all life and is the most abundant substance on Earth, yet water scarcity is one of the biggest issues facing us today. Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent and has the lowest rainfall and the lowest water runoff. Most water is Australia is used in Agriculture reducing environmental flows.
You can be part of the solution by looking at your water usage and exploring way that you can be more Waterwise.
The natural water cycle has been modified by people to ensure a constant water supply and the safe disposal of wastewater. The Urban Water Cycle incorporates the Water Supply System, Wastewater system and the Stormwater system.
Water is the most common substance found on earth, so why is it important? Water is essential for all forms of life and can dissolve nearly anything. It can exist as a gas (water vapour and steam), a liquid (water) and a solid (ice).
The AWA has extensive list of educational resources that explore all the different aspects of water including the water cycle, the sustainability goals, Indigenous water knowledge, how to save water, caring for our catchments, and general water education.
I finally made it to the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra to see the 360 million year old Devonian Fish fossils. Visiting this site has been on my bucket list for years and I was very excited to explore the museum and visit the fossil site.
Site of the fossil discovery
The story of the discovery of the 360 million year old Canowindra fish fossils has been with me since my first day as an Australian Museum volunteer over 20 years ago. I remember seeing this slab of rock mounted on the wall and being told an amazing story of how it was found. I have been fascinated ever since and used to touch the slab every time I walked pass and tell the story to visitors. 20 years on I still tell the story to students during my fossil programs.
Original 1956 Slab with colour coding indicating the fish species
It all began with the chance discovery in 1955 when a Fred Fewings a bulldozer driver turns over a rock. Fred thought it looked interesting and instead of letting it be ground up into road base, he pushed it to the side of the road. This is lucky for us because local Bill Simpson recognised the slabs significance and informs the Australian Museum.
360 million years ago in the Devonian fish fossil deposit contains thousands of freshwater fish
Step back in time and imagine what it was like 360 million years ago. In the Devonian the inland rivers and lakes of Australia were full of fish, but they were not like fish of today.
The fossils at Canowindra were formed when a pond on the supercontinent of Gondwana dried up and thousands of fish died in a single place. They were covered with silt and buried for millions of years, waiting to be discovered by Fred the bulldozer driver.
In 1993 Dr Alex Ritchie from the Australian Museum organised a rediscovery of this incredible the site and found 4,000 fish specimens across eight fish species.
Watch the video below of Sir David Attenborough’s visit to the Museum.
NSW State fossil
Mandageria fairfaxi was a large, air-breathing lobe-finned fish that grew up to 1.7 metres long. It had powerful jaws lined with many large fangs, making it the top predator among the eight genera of fish known from the Devonian fauna at the Canowindra site. In 2015 Mandageria fairfaxi became the NSW state fossil.
Best laid plans and all that. My sister and I have been planning this dive for weeks at the Haven in the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. The weather leading up to our dive has been stunning; sunny and warm. Unfortunately the predicted rain arrived and it was cold and drizzly. We don’t give up easily and thankfully it was well worth the effort.
My sister Michelle is in the front and I’m in the back.
We started the dive with really poor visibility, I could barely see my sisters blue fins 1 metre in front of me. Luckily visibility improved as we descended beneath the waves. One of the first things we saw were lots of lobster skins, it was a strange sight. I then wondered if they were shed skins of growing lobsters. Have a look at this amazing video of a captive lobster shedding it’s skin (not my video).
Thankfully as we continued the visibility also improved. I found the first of many Port Jackson shark eggs, then realised I was close to an amazingly well camouflaged stonefish. As I was focused on that, I almost missed the Morey Eel hiding in the rocks.
Stonefish copyright @ Andrea IzzottiMorey Eel copyright @ Yeshaya dinerstein
After finding more Port Jackson shark eggs wedged in rock crevices, we saw finally saw our first Port Jackson shark. I hadn’t seen a PJ in ages and it was wonderful to see one again. It was the first of many, we ended up seeing over 10 varying in colours and sizes. This video (not my own) shows Port Jackson sharks in Sydney.
The many Port Jackson sharks, multiple moreys, octopus, little cuttlefish and shrimp were amazing, but the highlight was the Havens huge stingray. The Smooth Stingray Bathytoshia brevicaudatais is the largest stingray in the world. Check out the video below (not my video). This was not my first interaction with the Haven’s resident stingray, but that’s another story!
After a rough start it was a great dive with an incredible diversity of marine life. Hopefully my next dive will a be night dive at Shelley Beach. I’ll keep you posted on my next Journey beneath the Waves.
A lot has changed since I launched Sydney Science Education one year ago. Other than the challenges of bushfires, drought, flood and COVID, there has been a name change to Australian Environmental Education.
There were several factors that led to the name change. Firstly due to the COVID-19 pandemic I had to rapidly change from delivering onsite programs across Sydney to online delivery. Virtual Excursions means that I am able to deliver programs across Australia and even to overseas audiences. My goal of staying local to be more sustainable shifted due to the increased demand of online learning.
Secondly, when I started developing more programs and writing more content for the website it became clear that my passion continues to be environmental education programs. To provide a true representation of what I was creating and delivering I decided to change the name to Australian Environmental Education.
What have I been up to over the last 12 months?
I started focusing on developing water and sustainability resources for the website due to the continued drought and bushfires. I also started writing resources for the Junior Landcare Learning Centre and my first program relates to being waterwise; Every Drop Counts. From there I started My Year of Sustainability focusing on what I could do to make a difference. I developed an incursion program, What’s in my backyard videos and education resources.
Over the last year I have been creating a multitude of education resources to help teachers and students learn more about the natural world. The main topic areas include:
Every year on September 7 we commemorate National Threatened Species Day to raise awareness of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Threatened Species Day acknowledges the death of the last remaining Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. It is a day to reflect on what you can do to make a difference.
Thylacine photographed in cage with chicken by Henry Burrell 1921.
Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant
species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Over the last 200
years, more than 100 animal and plant species have become extinct. In NSW there
are almost 1000 animal and plant species at risk of extinction.
Threatened Species Day is a time to focus on or native
plants, animals, and ecosystems and look at how we can protect them into the future.
Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife
What can you do to help?
Volunteers some of your time to help save Australian Species for the next generation. You can volunteers for National Parks or join a Citizen Science program.
You can create a native haven in your garden that will
encourage wildlife to come and share your backyard.
Attract birds to your garden: use plants that will provide food, shelter and nesting sites. Local flowering plants and fruit trees provide birds with nectar and seeds. Use mulch to encourage worms, insects and grubs to thrive. Plant dense prickly native shrubs create shelter, hang up nesting boxes and install a bird bath.
Encourage frogs to your backyard: create a small shallow pond in an area that is partly shaded. Include thick ground hugging plants around part of the pond to provide areas of warmer and cooler water. Your pond will need some sunlight to encourage algae and other plants that provide food for tadpoles. Make sure the banks slope gently so that the frogs can get out. Add some rocks and logs to provide shelter for adult frogs. Put up some Frog Tubes to provide shelter for tree frogs
Make a home for invertebrates too: remember not are insects are pests. Good insects pollinate plants, break down dead flora and fauna, aerate the soil and are a food source for other wildlife. They can even help keep harmful pests away. Create an inviting environment for insects and spiders by planting plenty of native plants.
Make sure you use chemical-free pest control to maintain your animal friendly backyard.
Magpie chicks are starting to hatch out and 10% percentage of males will swoop people to protect their young. Peak breeding season is August through to November, and therefore Magpie swooping season has begun. Watch the video to find out about why Magpies swoop.
The Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen habitat is closely linked to our recreational spaces. Magpies are found wherever there is a combination of trees and adjacent open areas, including parks and playing fields. They are absent only from the densest forests and arid deserts. This is why Magpie swooping season impacts on these recreational spaces. Find out more about these amazing birds through the Birdlife Australia or Australian Museum websites
Beautiful call of the Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
