#bellingen — Public Fediverse posts

Waterfall erosion across road disrupts local businesses
https://bellingenshirenews.com.au/2026/05/07/new-waterfall-way-survey-details-economic-disruption/
#erosion #roads #SupplyChain #Dorrigo #Bellingen #Thora

Bellingen!

Helsinki Kruunuvuori Bridge opens to pedestrians and cyclists

"Kruunuvuori bridge an exceptional project by international standards. Bridges of this scale are rarely built exclusively for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists."

"From the outset, the focus was on pedestrian and cyclist safety, a comfortable travel experience, and barrier-free accessibility...Opening the bridge to light traffic marks an important milestone, providing a safe and distinctive route across the surrounding urban landscape." >>

https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2026/helsinki-kruunuvuori-bridge-opens-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists
#bridges #pedestrians #ActiveMobility #PublicTransport #cyclists #CarCentric #Bellingen #LavendersBridge #safety #walking

Image: Young people on Bellingen's Lavenders Bridge. A dangerous space for pedestrians.

Bellingen!

Helsinki Kruunuvuori Bridge opens to pedestrians and cyclists

"Kruunuvuori bridge an exceptional project by international standards. Bridges of this scale are rarely built exclusively for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists."

"From the outset, the focus was on pedestrian and cyclist safety, a comfortable travel experience, and barrier-free accessibility...Opening the bridge to light traffic marks an important milestone, providing a safe and distinctive route across the surrounding urban landscape." >>

https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2026/helsinki-kruunuvuori-bridge-opens-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists
#bridges #pedestrians #ActiveMobility #PublicTransport #cyclists #CarCentric #Bellingen #LavendersBridge #safety #walking

Image: Young people on Bellingen's Lavenders Bridge. A dangerous space for pedestrians.

Bellingen!

Helsinki Kruunuvuori Bridge opens to pedestrians and cyclists

"Kruunuvuori bridge an exceptional project by international standards. Bridges of this scale are rarely built exclusively for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists."

"From the outset, the focus was on pedestrian and cyclist safety, a comfortable travel experience, and barrier-free accessibility...Opening the bridge to light traffic marks an important milestone, providing a safe and distinctive route across the surrounding urban landscape." >>

https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2026/helsinki-kruunuvuori-bridge-opens-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists
#bridges #pedestrians #ActiveMobility #PublicTransport #cyclists #CarCentric #Bellingen #LavendersBridge #safety #walking

Image: Young people on Bellingen's Lavenders Bridge. A dangerous space for pedestrians.

Bellingen!

Helsinki Kruunuvuori Bridge opens to pedestrians and cyclists

"Kruunuvuori bridge an exceptional project by international standards. Bridges of this scale are rarely built exclusively for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists."

"From the outset, the focus was on pedestrian and cyclist safety, a comfortable travel experience, and barrier-free accessibility...Opening the bridge to light traffic marks an important milestone, providing a safe and distinctive route across the surrounding urban landscape." >>

https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2026/helsinki-kruunuvuori-bridge-opens-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists
#bridges #pedestrians #ActiveMobility #PublicTransport #cyclists #CarCentric #Bellingen #LavendersBridge #safety #walking

Image: Young people on Bellingen's Lavenders Bridge. A dangerous space for pedestrians.

Bellingen!

Helsinki Kruunuvuori Bridge opens to pedestrians and cyclists

"Kruunuvuori bridge an exceptional project by international standards. Bridges of this scale are rarely built exclusively for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists."

"From the outset, the focus was on pedestrian and cyclist safety, a comfortable travel experience, and barrier-free accessibility...Opening the bridge to light traffic marks an important milestone, providing a safe and distinctive route across the surrounding urban landscape." >>

https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2026/helsinki-kruunuvuori-bridge-opens-to-pedestrians-and-cyclists
#bridges #pedestrians #ActiveMobility #PublicTransport #cyclists #CarCentric #Bellingen #LavendersBridge #safety #walking

Image: Young people on Bellingen's Lavenders Bridge. A dangerous space for pedestrians.

Slips, trips and fall risks from ubiquitous dogs

In dog-friendly Australia it seems the non-native canine is the most dominant species. They are allowed to roam the (dog-free) beaches, the national parks and (pet-friendly) workplaces, flats, cafes, restaurants etc. If not straying, then they are on long or flexible, extendable leashes stretching across hallways and footpaths.

This trip-and-fall risk is human-unfriendly. The health, safety, and well-being of the bipedal companions is not considered. Pet dogs pose hygiene issues, potential zoonoses and allergy risks. The mental well-being of bite victims and phobia affected can trigger distress.

Foreman, A.M.; Glenn, M.K.; Meade, B.J.; Wirth, O. Dogs in the Workplace: A Review of the Benefits and Potential Challenges. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050498
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/5/498

Image: Dog-friendly Coffs Central Shopping Centre, trip and fall hazard for customers

#Dogs #hazards #pets #PublicSpaces #Workplaces #falls #Food #zoonoses #hygiene #CoffsHarbour #cafes #Bellingen #PetRelatedInjuries #hospitalisations #DogFriendly

Bellingen shire favours roaming cats over biodiversity
The council is too poor to manage the overpopulation of cats

"Management of wandering cats was in the spotlight at the Bellingen Shire Council’s Ordinary meeting last week. That caution stems from a lack of council resources and the results of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into management of pet cats held last year. "

"While the inquiry found “there is an urgent need to implement cat management strategies in NSW to address the overpopulation of cats, both in urban environments and in the wild”, they also found NSW “may not be ready to adopt mandatory cat containment laws”.

"Cr King said management of wandering cats should be a “top of the list” issue for Council. “It feels like it’s a do nothing, too hard basket response to a really concerning issue we have in our shire,” Cr King said." >>
https://bellingenshirenews.com.au/2026/03/26/council-favors-education-over-cat-curfews-in-bellingen/

"Domestic cats are estimated to kill many of our native animals each year, including an estimated 53 million reptiles, 61 million birds, and 67 million mammals. Keeping cats home and wildlife safe " >>
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/keeping-cats-home-and-wildlife-safe
#cats #CatCurfews #Bellingen #InvasiveSpecies #pets #biodiversity #Wildlife #BellingenShire #NSW

Image: 'Missing cat' roamed too far, Bellingen poster

Americana meets the Aussie bush

Trying to get some bread in a cafe on Bellingen's main drag. Once the obstacle course of the packs of dogs on extendable leads are overcome it is time for waiting in a long queue on a Saturday. Many hipster families are there to have breakfast done for them.

One set was showcasing their three toddlers in a full 'American Western-inspired aesthetic', cowboy hats and boots. Mum had that Instagrammable ‘Mar-a-Lago face’.

Wide-brimmed hats are ideal to protect oneself from Australia's sun, but this was in the comfort zone of a cafe.

The "cowboy core" aesthetic facade harks back to the wide‑open‑spaces where cattle-herders (cowboys, stockmen/ringers) managed grazing livestock, for the pastoral industry, particularly in the Australian outback or American Western frontier.

Already in the 16th century, the Conquistadors and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions to Mexico and Florida.

The Western portrayed the cowboy as an enduring cultural figure representing freedom.

So why are these urban folks from the suburbs running around in 'costumes' looking like pastoralist workers from a mythical past? What 'sense of belonging' do they buy?

Maybe the fashionable habitus points to a vibe shift of the wannabe cowboys expressing preemptive subordination or imperial obsequiousness?

The rise of cowboy core: What's behind it.>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-10/dr-karl-how-things-work-cowboy-core-fashion/106336574

Plastic surgeons wrestle with requests for ‘Mar-a-Lago face’:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/18/mar-a-lago-face-plastic-surgery

Image :
In 1859 European wild rabbits were introduced into Australia so they could be hunted for sport. Now hats are made out of some of the invasive species.
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rabbits-introduced

#cowboys #pastoralism #SettlerSociety #fashion #WesternWear #CattleHerders #belonging #Bellingen #culture #MiddlePowers #subordination #RupturedGlobalOrder #BellingenObservations

In Bellingen all space seems devoted to parking for combustion machines. Every lawn, river banks, footpaths - everywhere space is eaten by cars with an expensive need for petrol from the Middle East. Carparks litter the landscape of the small town that has very few footpaths.

Image: Bellingen, Church street, Public toilet pathway blocked by oil guzzlers
#Bellingen #access #accessibility #AccessibleAmenities #footpaths #cars #SUVs #storage #hazards #MobilityDesign #walking #climate

PFAS contamination sites and dead platypus
Mapping "hazardous concentrations" of PFAS plumes on NSW waterways

A study "found alarmingly high levels of PFOS in the livers of eight dead platypuses, collected from waterways across NSW."

"…Due to the shape of the valley, groundwater from beneath the landfill "ultimately flows towards the Ourimbah Creek catchment”.

"When you look at some of the research that's coming through, clearly it's raw water, our waterways, that we also need to be concerned about because we know PFAS gets into wildlife."

"The research that I've seen, not just in platypus, but in some other species, is really frightening. If that isn't enough to get the government to act on looking at PFAS in waterways, not just drinking water, then I don't know what is."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-07/pfas-contamination-investigation-ourimbah-creek-catchment-nsw/106037472

"Scientists...have discovered PFOS in the livers of eight deceased platypuses collected from numerous eastern NSW rivers, from the north coast in Bellingen to the alps of Jindabyne." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-20/australia-forever-chemicals-pfas-drinking-water-platypus/104244072

#rivers #water #pollution #biodiversity #wildlife #platypus #wetlands #NSW #roads #crashes #spills #landfill #runoff #petrol #PFAS #PFOS #FirefightingFoam #OurimbahCreek #Bellingen #governance

Traumatic landscapes of plastic, pollution and exploitation

The coastline of Spain is known as the ‘Sea of Plastic’ ("Mar de Plástico”) It is the world’s largest plastic greenhouse complex with 350 square km of fruit and vegetables grown by immigrant labour for the horticultural industry. >>
https://www.behance.net/gallery/22272681/Mar-del-Plastico#

Could we do the same thing to the coast of NSW?
NSW Greens to move bill to let councils better regulate berry industry as it continues rapid expansion

“People move into these beautiful valleys for the lifestyle and the environment but then wake up one day and within months they are looking at an industrial-scale blueberry farm."

"Faehrmann’s bill will call for mandated buffers between intensive horticulture farms and homes and waterways, as well as strict controls on spraying, runoff and irrigation and greater monitoring of produce for pesticides."

"Blueberry farming is rapidly expanding beyond Coffs Harbour, where it began several decades ago, into the Nambucca Valley and the Kempsey area to the south, and west toward Grafton and Bellingen."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/31/australia-berry-industry-bill-nsw-greens
#rivers #water #extractivism #pesticides #MidNorthCoast #ChinasOrchard #horticulturalIndustry #regulation #runoff #pollution #plastic #PALM #blueberries #SeaOfPlastics #TraumaticLandscapes #NSWCoast #NSW #CoffsHarbour #Nambucca #Kempsey #Grafton #Bellingen #residents #habitability #NSWLogging

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Bored fossil fuel enthusiasts are burning rubber, microplastics and toxic chemicals on the Mid North Coast.
#Cars #CarMinds #PetroMasculinity #pollution #noise #toxins #stormwater #BellingerRiver #roads #SchoolHolidays #climate #Bellingen #CoffsHarbour #MidNorthCoast #governance #antisocial #UnsafeBehaviour

Imagine a car-free corridor from Bellingen to the Gleniffer Valley rivers

They managed to get a 6km cycling, walking and nature corridor from Sydney Harbour to the Cooks River. "For a 20th the cost of WestConnex you could build 50 greenways throughout Sydney...When we’re building more houses, increasing density … we need these green spaces to soften up our suburbs and connect them not just by black pieces of tar."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/06/lewisham-greenway-cycle-path-sydney-inner-west-bruce-ashley
#Bellingen #Roads #GlenifferRoad #Urunga #NeverNever #CarFreeCorridor #GreenWay #cycling #walking #climate #sprawl #cars #GlenifferValleyReserves #traffic #waste

Image : Where the tar / headland meets the Pacific ocean

Safeguarding Bellingen rivers and coast
https://bellingenshirenews.com.au/2025/12/04/new-plan-to-safeguard-bellingen-rivers/

Explore the responsible visitor tips:
"Watch your pooch when it poops: One 10 cent-sized piece of dog waste contains 23 million faecal coliform bacteria – rain washes it into rivers and harms wildlife. Bag it, bin it, keep our waterways clean."
https://www.visitbellingenshire.com.au/Plan/Tips-on-how-to-explore-with-care

The Gleniffer Valley is a beautiful place, but..
http://www.bellingennow.com/about/index.html
#water #rivers #Bellingen #BellingenShire #BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle #shorebirds #platypus #biodiversity #wildlife #ecosystems #PromisedLands #Gleniffer #dogs #pets #waste

A koala unfriendly infrastructure

"The sixth koala killed between Bonville and Repton."

No virtual fencing, no AI sensors, no speed restrictions
>>
https://coffscoast.newsofthearea.com.au/koala-highway-death-raises-questions-over-wait-for-signage

"Signs are litter on a stick
Signs are white noise motorists ignore
Signs are a cheap option"
>>
Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet with Ben Goldfarb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVkw0fOslck
#koalas #wildlife #Biodiversity #conservation #roads #highways #NegativeExternalities #Infrastructure #cars #vehicles #crashes #ExtinctionCrisis #RoadEcology #RoadKill #signage #fencing #MidNorthCoast #ThegreatkoalaNationalPark #Bellingen #Repton #Bonville #Coffs #WildlifeSafety

Koala signage (litter on a stick) erected and then vandalised by motorists. Bellingen/ Gleniffer

“No other rich countries in the world destroy forests like Australia does." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/19/australia-deforestation-hidden-official-figures-conservationists-report
#deforestation #degradation #biodiversity #NativeForests #glasgow #NSWLogging #Bellingen #Bellingenlogging #harm

Selling of noxious weed 'bonkers'

"At least three-quarters of weeds established in Australia have come from escaped garden plants, according to a 2004 report by biosecurity strategist John Virtue....We've got over 30,000 introduced plant species in Australia and unfortunately the vast majority have never been assessed for their weed risk."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-11-05/calls-to-ban-invasive-weed-sales-at-nurseries-in-australia/105956004
#weeds #flora #horticulture #gardens #InvasiveSpecies #Biodiversity #Bellingen #BellingenShire

Image: The Arrowhead vine (Syngonium) is grown from cuttings in shops and is sold by the horticultural industry. The aggressive toxic climber is allowed to overgrow Bellingen's public spaces and gardens.

Byron Bay has a 60-day holiday rental cap
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-23/60-day-caps-in-byron-bay-results-uncertain-after-one-year/105799696

Bellingen Shire should have a 60-day holiday rental cap too. Pollution from traffic generated by holiday makers, cleaners, lawn maintenance machinery, tradespeople, deliveries and linen companies could be reduced.
>>
#tourism #BellingenShire #Bellingen #traffic #cars #trucks #pollution #housing #Airbnb #holidaymakers #STR #NSW #STRA #harm #NegativeExternalities #community #GHG #climate #PrematureDeath

Cars wreck lives, roads and the planet

" Motor vehicles are a major cause of air pollution. Air pollution is causally linked to six diseases:

coronary heart disease
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
stroke
type 2 diabetes
lung cancer
lower respiratory infections.

Estimates of the deaths associated with air pollution in Australia range from 3,200 to more than 4,200 a year.

Even the lower end of that range is far more than the roughly 1,200 lives lost in car crashes annually.

University of Melbourne analysis in 2023 landed at an even higher figure. It suggested vehicle emissions alone may be responsible for more than 11,000 premature deaths in adults in Australia a year. "

"Payment (for the constant rebuilding of roads) should be based on a combination of vehicle mass and distance travelled. That’s because damage to roads is overwhelmingly caused by heavy vehicles. "

https://theconversation.com/stop-the-free-ride-all-motorists-should-pay-their-way-whatever-vehicle-they-drive-262950
#cars #pollution #MobilityDesign #roads #killzone #Bellingen #Suvs #trucks #fossilfuel #externalities

Children cut air pollution near their schools – by taking aim at their parents’ idling cars

"Australian drivers leave their cars idling up to 20% of their total travel time, producing as much as 8% of a trip’s emissions."

"Around schools, idling cars create pollution hotspots exposing children to harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter. At the start and end of every school day, many Australian children head to the carpark or street to get picked up. While they’re waiting, they will be breathing in a mix of toxic gases and particle pollution."

"But car idling is one of the easiest behaviours to change. Internationally, anti-idling campaigns have led to improved air quality. In Australia, the problem of idling has largely been overlooked."
>>
https://theconversation.com/these-students-cut-air-pollution-near-their-schools-by-taking-aim-at-their-parents-idling-cars-262435
#FossilFuels #pollution #cars #parenting #idling #children #careless #motorists #Bellingen #GHG #climate

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen

Make Church Street a Clean Air Zone
Low emissions zones are a very quick way to bring down pollution ( NO2 ,PM2.5) and avoid cognitive decline and cancers from combustion traffic.

"Higher emissions from industry and residential combustion, as well as biofuel, coal, and oil and natural gas combustion, were associated with worse language scores."
https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/80/5/glaf060/8082041?login=false

Clean air zones
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-a-clean-air-zone
#FossilFuels #vehicles #combustion #cars #traffic #polllution #contaminants #regulation #LEZ #ULEZ #cognition #cancer #Bellingen #ChurchStreet #cafes #alfreco #eateries #CleanAir #PublicHealth #health #harm

Careless drivers knocking down signage II

Cnr of #RosesRoad, John Locke Pl. Ever since the #GlenifferRoad 'upgrade'. No road is ever wide enough.
#Cars #speeding #roads #motorists #Bellingen #speeding #BellingenShire #inaction #gleniffer #koalas #RecklessDriving

Logging machinery and other combustion machines are driving koalas out of their habitat at Bellingen/ Gleniffer's Tuckers Nob forests.
#biodiversity #dispersal #bellingen #gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #NSWLogging #cars #sprawl #FCNSW #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob

Koala displacement by the government logging industry and local traffic.
#bellingen #gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #NSWLogging #cars #sprawl

Zero road deaths - An unmet target

"Time-series projecting road traffic fatalities in Australia: Insights for targeted safety interventions
Projections for 2030, 2040, and 2050 show Australia won't achieve its zero-fatalities vision."
>>
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020138325000269
#MobilityDesign #roads #cars #speeding #RoadTrafficFatalities #RTFs #ZeroRoadDeaths #failure #holidays #travel #rural #risks #Bellingen #enforcement #ActiveTransport

Documentation of the systematic destruction of Tuckers Nob forests

"Presentation for Friends of Tuckers Nob on the history and significance of Tuckers Nob State Forest and why it must be included in the NSW Government's proposed 'Great' Koala National Park. Based on a recent preliminary report submitted to government, showing the original forest and koala sightings, with a list of moratorium areas (including Tuckers). All the most recent developments, bringing the viewer up to date. This is why we need a #GreaterKoalaPark, with no logging."

The video has a link to the report containing the results (maps) of the investigations by Dr Tim Cadman and local community-based citizen scientists:
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKZvVjG_XvM
#ResourceFrontiers #extractivism #biodiversity #ecocide #koalas #NativeForests #rainforest #BellingenLogging #clearfelling #NSWLogging #Bellingen #community #trauma #harm #moratorium #FCNSW #plantation #conversion #annexation #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob #bushfire #risk

The wide open spaces
of tabula rasa (blank / clean slate)
Connell "Park", Bellingen
Scraping (rasa/ radere) off the bio-diverse 'writing'.

#Bellingen #ConnellPark #herbicides #FossilFuel #machinery #emission #climate #GHG #turfgrass #NitrousOxide #TabulaRasa #biodiversity

The Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk

Intensifying the throughput rate with a series of soaring walkways through the Gondwana Rainforest

The $56.4 million investment in Dorrigo National Park will create “accessible, engaging and immersive experiences for visitors. The 4-day walking track will “connect people with nature... The new 46-km multi-day walk along the rugged escarpment within Dorrigo and Bindarri national parks, includes hiker camps, pedestrian bridges and lookouts.”

The review of environmental factors for the Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk is available for public comment
>> until 24 February 2025. >>
https://www2.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/community-engagement/walking-tracks-and-trails-in-national-parks/dorrigo-great-walk
https://www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say/dorrigo-escarpment-great-walk

The Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk project has the potential to put though an extra 200,000 visitors ...>
https://bellingenshirenews.com/2023/11/22/new-opportunities-flagged-for-shire/

There is an information session at the

Gleniffer Hall at 10am on Tuesday 11 February

at which staff from National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will outline the draft review of environmental factors (REF) for the Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk.

#biodiversity #rainforest #Gondwana #MidNorthCoast #NationalParks #NSW #BindarriNP #Dorrigo #AdventurePark #infrastructure #lookouts #views #cars #Climate #tourism #traffic #TheDrive #Bellingen #experience #stuff #walkways #ecology #MoreThanHuman #impacts

Koala hotspot 'discovered'

Thermal drones found one of the state's highest density koala populations.
"If each landowner does one small project … all of these projects add up into something really worthwhile."

Koalas face extinction in New South Wales within the next 25 years.

Bellingen accelerates the demise of the species by
Logging and clear felling the marsupials' habitat.
Encouraging speeding combustion engines by increasing and widening roads.
Road and pet density set up koalas for injuries and death.
Many cattle properties avoid trees to make "the land yield results".
The five acre hobby kingdoms are mostly manicure lawns and exotic flora and fauna.
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-12/koala-hotspot-discovered-near-taree-nsw/104716726

Road and dog density contribute to the extinction of koalas >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/113780120808451330
#koalas #cattle #Taree #NSW #MidNorthCoast #LandOwners #Bellingen #NSWLogging #FCNSW #extinction #dogs #MobilityDesign #roads #GlenifferRoad

The roaming cats of Bellingen are one of the biggest threats to wildlife

"The average pet cat kills 110 native animals each year, roughly 320 million across Australia, and that doesn’t even include frogs or insects. The species is directly responsible for the third highest number of extinctions in Australia, after humans and chytrid fungus."

Victoria has " effective legislation that’s empowering local government to take action on the issue of roaming pet cats."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-for-major-rule-change-as-big-threat-roams-free-in-aussie-state-054425641.html

Local councils are tightening cat ownership laws to help protect wildlife and keep your pet safe
https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/cat-ownership-laws-ABC-Radio-Interview

#cats #pets #ownership #NuisanceCats #containment #IntroducedSpecies #sprawl #disease #wildlife #birds #Bellingen #Gleniffer #council #regulation #NSW #CompanionAnimalsAct #ExtinctionCrisis #council #BellingenShire

Drone locates 20 koalas in forest due to be logged next year

"A thermal drone imaging survey has been conducted over a plantation within the Great Koala National Park footprint. 20 koalas were detected over two nights at Tuckers Nob State Forest, which is due to be logged in the New Year."

The so called 'plantations' are more like native forests. Tuckers Nob forest must be included in the great koala national park. Video>>
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2024/12/18/drone-locates-20-koalas-in-forest-due-to-be-logged-next-year/
#LoggingImpacts #NSWLogging #BellingenLogging #koalas #SaveTuckersNob #Bellingen #Gleniffer #plantations #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #wildlife #conservation #drones #RadioTelemetry #FCNSW #destruction

Dog shit etiquette

"I’ve seen full bags tied to low-hanging branches and kids’ play equipment."

"The person who ties the bag on to a low-hanging branch of a street tree (disturbingly common) or leaves it on a car bonnet or on top of – or in – letterboxes. I’ve also seen full bags of dog poo tied to kids’ play equipment in the park and to fence palings. I’ve occasionally seen them left on the sea wall of the small, off-leash beach near me – right next to the bin."

One woman "was bagging the poo her dog had just laid on the nature strip in a blue plastic bag. Because her back was to me she had not seen me when she tied the bag up and promptly tossed it over the low front fence on to the middle of the front lawn of the house she’d halted in front of. "

Dog owners in Bellingen just let their canines off leash to dump their faeces on other people's gardens or wildlife habitat.
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/15/poodunnit-dear-fellow-dog-owners-why-do-so-many-of-you-bother-to-bag-pet-mess-then-not-bin-it
#dogs #DogShit #DogOwners #AntiSocialBehaviour #pets #waste #TidyTown #Bellingen #pathogens #wildlife

Koala deaths though road and highway crashes

“There were five koala deaths on this section of the Bruxner Highway in August alone and any protection measure we can take to reduce that toll is worth taking. A section of the highway between Lismore and Casino will have the speed reduced from 100km to 80km in a bid to reduce koala deaths...Members of the public regularly call us about koalas in roadside trees, which causes sleepless nights wondering if they will be the next ones hit that we have to pick up.”

There seems to be a lack of impact data on the 'dispersed' koalas of the 'upgraded' Gleniffer 'Highway' through the industrially logged forests of Bellingen/Gleniffer. The 50s mobility design has achieved its goal, more traffic is speeding now. Meanwhile, photos proliferate of 'koalas in roadside trees'.
>>
https://indynr.com/speed-zone-change-on-bruxner-highway-will-reduce-koala-deaths/
#koalas #wildlife #MobilityDesign #roads #cars #roadkill #DeathHotspots #speed #GlenifferRoad #speeding #BellingenLogging #Bellingen #Gleniffer #conservation #MembersOfThePublic

Thieves stole equipment from the Gleniffer Bushfire Brigade

"Sometime in the last 24hours (probably last night) Gleniffer Rural Fire Brigade Station was broken into.
A steel panel next to the door was forced and the door opened from the inside. A considerable amount of valuable brigade equipment has been stolen including chainsaws and pumps."

"This theft of equipment has seriously impacted the brigade's ability to respond to any fires, we are currently "offline"/unable to respond and will remain so for some time, any fire calls will need to be responded to by other brigades increasing the time taken to attend."

One wonders about the various fire permits in the Gleniffer area that have been issued with RFSNSW in heatwave conditions...Will the (local) Fire Control Centre be able to withdraw them on time?
>>
#Bellingen #Gleniffer #bushfires #fires #thieves #RFSNSW #heatwave

Fom Queensland to NSW, the same story:

“Koala habitats have got smaller and smaller over the years, and the roads through them have got busier...The animals that draw visitors to the Queensland capital are being run down at an alarming rate. Just three days apart in November, separate pairs of mother and joey koalas were hit by vehicles and left to suffer on the side of the road. They were just hit and left. People don’t stop..This year we've hit over 100 within a 6km radius."

vehicle strikes crashes
https://au.news.yahoo.com/road-sign-exposes-dark-truth-about-popular-tourist-attraction-030508724.html
#koalas #wildlife #sprawl #roads #cars #motorists #roadkill #TheDrive #Brisbane #Bellingen #GlenifferRoad #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SacrificeZone #ecocide #Biodiversity #extinction makers

The tyranny of automobility and sprawl

While the Bellingen /Gleniffer area is transitioning from an ‘idyllic tourist town’ into a ‘normal Aussie suburb’ (of Coffs Harbour), road congestion gets everyone stuck in traffic.

Car dependent motorists in their SUVs and bloated oversized trucks demand more and wider roads, larger car parking and a right to pothole-free roads for their 'sports utility vehicles’.

Extreme commuting for the necessaries of life are conducted in big private vehicles powered by fossil fuel. An aggregate of ugly big-box stores (large format retail, Coffs) with hostile giant car parks deliver what consumers desire. These consumption hubs are mostly inaccessible to pedestrians and can be dangerous ‘non-places’ (Marc Augé).

The mobility design of old school traffic engineers responds to the sprawling expansion with more of the same: more roads, wider roads and bypassing the last bypass. They call it ‘upgrades’.

As the latest $2.2 billion highway or forest road ‘upgrade/s’ are blasting their way through the landscape, they are silent about the ‘public bads’: the destroyed biodiversity habitat, the downgraded neighbourhoods, the violence and the polluted biosphere.

The ‘normality’ of automobility, or the 'car in the head' in petromodernity together with regulatory inertia make a transition to alternative land uses, energy systems, mobilities and ways of being a challenge.

#sprawl #suburbia #mobility #cars #roads #JevonsParadox #externalities #automobility #pollution #biodiversity #ClimateExtremes #FossilFuels #Petromodernity #GlenifferRoad #CoffsHarbour #Bellingen #SettlerSociety #liveability

"Indigenous people here speak of the lack of memorials on this land.
But every bordered property is a site for dark tourism in Australia.
Dark tourism is the effort to seek out destinations of violence and devastation, but it is not hard to see genocide from our front door in this country...Tim Rowse has called the “ongoing colonial encounter sometimes called ‘Australia’”
>>
https://theconversation.com/dark-tourism-is-attracting-visitors-to-war-zones-and-sites-of-atrocities-in-israel-and-ukraine-why-240119

Gumbaynggirr Country is located on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. It is also known as the Bellingen/ Gleniffer Valley and has curated three reserves in the 21st century with memorials which are all named after white settlers:

The Arthur Keough Reserve (Never Never River) is named after the first settler pioneer families to arrive in the Gleniffer Valley.
http://www.bellingennow.com/about/index.html

Angel Gabriel Capararo 'modernised' the Promised land.
http://www.bellingennow.com/Angel_Gabriel_Capararo/index.html

Earl Preston reserve was named after a settler who arrived in 1929
http://www.bellingennow.com/Earl_Preston/index.html

Nothing about the massacres and the poisoning to death of local Aboriginal people.

Colonial Frontier Massacres, Australia, 1788 to 1930
https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/map.php
https://howlinginfinite.com/2021/03/22/dark-deeds-in-
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189773560
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_poisonings_of_Aboriginal_Australians
#GumbaynggirrCountry #Bellingen #Fernmount #Gleniffer #TheDrive #MidNorthCoast #IndigenousPeoples #massacres #memorials #tourism #DarkTourism #violence #TuthTelling #denial #SettlerSociety #colonialism

Noise camera trial to be launched on roads as part of a multi-agency effort with the EPA, Transport for NSW and NSW Police
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-30/noise-camera-pilot-law-enforcement-police-nsw/104401024
#noise #pollution #Bellingen #Gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenShire #roads #impacts #noise #motorcycles #HooningMotorists #FossilFuel #AntiSocialBehaviour #NoisyVehicles #NSW #enforcement #climate

NSW platypuses are accumulating the “forever chemical” perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in very high concentrations.

"The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic monotreme that occupies a high trophic position in the freshwater ecosystems of eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. Platypuses are continuously exposed to anthropogenic contaminants including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). This study examined PFOS concentrations in the livers of deceased platypuses (eight wild; one captive) that were opportunistically collected across NSW over a two- and a half-year period. There was a large variation in PFOS concentrations, ranging from < 1 µg/kg to 1200 µg/kg. This study presents the first report of PFOS contamination in platypuses, revealing their PFOS levels are broadly similar to those found in river otters (Lutra canadensis) and lower than those in American mink (Mustela vison), both which occupy similar ecological niches in freshwater systems. This study raises concerns about the impact of PFOS on platypus health."

"Platypuses are vulnerable to many impacts associated with human activity including hydrological changes, decline in water quality, increase in litter and discarded fishing line, illegal opera house nets (yabby traps) and water contamination...There are no guidelines on what constitutes safe concentrations of PFOS in wildlife."

>>
Warwick, K.G., Wright, I.A., Whinfield, J. et al. First report of accumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in New South Wales, Australia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 51037–51042 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34704-w
#pollution #water #rivers #contamination #NSW #Wildlife #platypus #platypuses #penguins #PFOS #PFAS #ForeverChemicals #Gleniffer #bellingen #NeverNever #bellinger #catchment #AquaticInvertebrates #DrinkingWater #FoodChain #SyntheticChemicals