A great weed book that I can recommend for the central and southern sections of the east coast of Australia is Weeds of the South-east: An Identification Guide for Australia. It is written by F.J.Richardson, R.G. Richardson and R.C.H. Shepherd.
The second and fully updated edition of this book was released recently (2011) and I think it is brilliant. Great photos, easy descriptions (if you want them) and worth its cost if you are regularly needing to identify weeds in your area and not a true and passionate botanist. It is also easily available from online stores.
I live in south-east Queensland and it is certainly relevant for my area. And because of the geographic distribution of the book's subject matter you can also look at or learn about some of the weedy species that occur in the cooler parts of the continent.
Thumbs up for this publication!
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Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture
Nutri-Tech on the Sunshine Coast runs a regular course in organic farming. The next Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture is in March 2012 and is being held at Nutri-Tech's facility at Yandina. A course outline and costs are provided on their website, with a similar course being run in Victoria by the same company.
It looks interesting and comprehensive (four days + field day) and I would be interested in attending if it weren't for a little bit of a financial squeeze likely for the next 12 months in our household. Nevertheless, it might be something you are interesting in attending. Let me know what you think if you do manage to attend.
If you are interested, there are discounts offered on the course costs if you're an eligible primary producer, which can be claimed from the government (FarmReady program). Pin It
It looks interesting and comprehensive (four days + field day) and I would be interested in attending if it weren't for a little bit of a financial squeeze likely for the next 12 months in our household. Nevertheless, it might be something you are interesting in attending. Let me know what you think if you do manage to attend.
If you are interested, there are discounts offered on the course costs if you're an eligible primary producer, which can be claimed from the government (FarmReady program). Pin It
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
What is Palm Oil?
In recent years I have heard bits and pieces about palm oil and how it is used in many, many products that we consume (grocery and cosmetic items) and how it is impacting on precious tropical forests in south-east Asia, particularly orang-utan habitat. Other than these things, I don't know a lot more about palm oil or its issues.
I was reminded of this issue this morning when reading the finished box of soap as I took it from the bathroom and to the recycling bin. I think the brand is "Country Life" and it advertises itself as Australia made and owned and Palm Oil Free. You will also find in smaller print it is made from locally and imported ingredients (as most things do).
Anyway, I thought I should have a look into what "palm oil" is. WWF has an informative webpage that describes palm oil as being derived from the "fruit of the oil palm tree", which comes from two main oil palm trees (African Oil Palm and American Oil Palm). Further information about palm oil and its uses from WWF site include that
The growing of oil palm trees seems to be quite widespread around the tropics, with palm oil plantations in our region being focused in Malayasia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Furthermore, these plantations are apparently often associated with illegal or unsustainable deforestation activities (although I will have to investigate this further).
Once again, the consciousness of the consumer can make a difference to such matters and certainly impact on businesses and activities outside our national boundaries. We can achieve this just by making informed choices about the products we choose to buy.
As the GreenPalm.org website states that if we just stop "our" consumption of palm oil, it is likely that the product will then just be purchased by another "user". But, if appropriate assistance (in the way of education and trade support, for example) can be provided to primary producers in these regions (many countries being third world nations) there is the possibility they will be able to modify their businesses towards sustainable practices. There may also be better planning (through assistance) for new plantations, thereby reducing or preventing deforestation of these important areas.
My understanding is that the GreenPalm group is supporting such actions for this industry through the development of a certificate trading program for palm oil, which includes the labelling of products containing sustainably produced palm oil. WWF and a number of other interested groups also seem to tackling the issues and providing education to consumers and producers, as well as developing standards for responsible palm oil plantations, through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Again, it can come down to being conscious of your choices, choose products that have sustainably produced palm oil or no palm oil (where there is sustainable product alternatives) and try to find out where the "imported ingredients" come from and generally make informed decisions.
If you'd like to know more details of what countries and brands are using palm oil, as well as their commitment to utilise sustainable palm oil sources in the future, the WWF has developed the Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard 2011: Measuring the Progress of Palm Oil Buyers.
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I was reminded of this issue this morning when reading the finished box of soap as I took it from the bathroom and to the recycling bin. I think the brand is "Country Life" and it advertises itself as Australia made and owned and Palm Oil Free. You will also find in smaller print it is made from locally and imported ingredients (as most things do).
Anyway, I thought I should have a look into what "palm oil" is. WWF has an informative webpage that describes palm oil as being derived from the "fruit of the oil palm tree", which comes from two main oil palm trees (African Oil Palm and American Oil Palm). Further information about palm oil and its uses from WWF site include that
"the palm fruit yields two distinct oils - palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit, is edible and used in food. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit and is used mainly in the manufacture of cosmetics."
Once again, the consciousness of the consumer can make a difference to such matters and certainly impact on businesses and activities outside our national boundaries. We can achieve this just by making informed choices about the products we choose to buy.
As the GreenPalm.org website states that if we just stop "our" consumption of palm oil, it is likely that the product will then just be purchased by another "user". But, if appropriate assistance (in the way of education and trade support, for example) can be provided to primary producers in these regions (many countries being third world nations) there is the possibility they will be able to modify their businesses towards sustainable practices. There may also be better planning (through assistance) for new plantations, thereby reducing or preventing deforestation of these important areas.
My understanding is that the GreenPalm group is supporting such actions for this industry through the development of a certificate trading program for palm oil, which includes the labelling of products containing sustainably produced palm oil. WWF and a number of other interested groups also seem to tackling the issues and providing education to consumers and producers, as well as developing standards for responsible palm oil plantations, through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Again, it can come down to being conscious of your choices, choose products that have sustainably produced palm oil or no palm oil (where there is sustainable product alternatives) and try to find out where the "imported ingredients" come from and generally make informed decisions.
If you'd like to know more details of what countries and brands are using palm oil, as well as their commitment to utilise sustainable palm oil sources in the future, the WWF has developed the Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard 2011: Measuring the Progress of Palm Oil Buyers.
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Thursday, December 1, 2011
Transition Town documentary - SBS
Friday night (7:30pm) on SBS, "Town with Nicholas Crane" visits Totnes in the United Kingdom. This is a community which has significantly adapted their town to follow "environmentally sustainable" principles that are sometimes grouped under the banner of "Transition Towns".
What is a Transition Town?
Basically, a community group or town determines they will work together to build resilience in their economy and general community in light of the peak oil, climate change, reduced happiness and economic instability.
A lot of it relates to people re-connecting with other members and skills within their community, bringing their economy back to the local or regional scale (by supporting businesses within this geographic area) and attempting to reduce their reliance on oil. Some websites also link this concept in with permaculture.
Anyway, back to the subject of the documentary. Totnes has undertakes numerous activities under the banner of Transition Towns, including co-housing, cycling, eco-construction, gardening, skill shares, seed saving and a solar thermal challenge just to name a few. It also has its own Transition Town website, which can be found at: http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/.
Further information on Transition Towns generally can be found at: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/. This webpage also includes useful resources for people and communities starting out!
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What is a Transition Town?
Basically, a community group or town determines they will work together to build resilience in their economy and general community in light of the peak oil, climate change, reduced happiness and economic instability.
A lot of it relates to people re-connecting with other members and skills within their community, bringing their economy back to the local or regional scale (by supporting businesses within this geographic area) and attempting to reduce their reliance on oil. Some websites also link this concept in with permaculture.
Anyway, back to the subject of the documentary. Totnes has undertakes numerous activities under the banner of Transition Towns, including co-housing, cycling, eco-construction, gardening, skill shares, seed saving and a solar thermal challenge just to name a few. It also has its own Transition Town website, which can be found at: http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/.
Further information on Transition Towns generally can be found at: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/. This webpage also includes useful resources for people and communities starting out!
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
Nature refuges - Queensland, Australia
Here in Queensland a solution to the limited funding available to government for conservation has been the establishment of the nature refuge program. This recognises the important environmental values that private lands hold and reduces the necessity for the State to own and manage these properties.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) is the agency that administers this program and has useful and interesting information about this program available on their website.
The overall concept relies on a voluntary agreement between the landholder and the State government that "acknowledges a commitment to manage and preserve land with significant conservation values while allowing compatible and sustainable land uses to continue". This arrangement is recognised on the title of the land and is carried across to new owners if the land changes ownership, thereby protecting the environmental values and management ethos in perpetuity.
According to the DERM website, there is assistance to the landholder for management activities through the NatureAssist program. This program currently attracts some funding through the Blueprint for the Bush Initiative and is given out through "rounds" where property owners have expressed an interest in receiving funding for specified projects. How much money from these program actually travels through to the landholders I am not sure, although some of the projects that have seemingly attracted funding include:
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The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) is the agency that administers this program and has useful and interesting information about this program available on their website.
The overall concept relies on a voluntary agreement between the landholder and the State government that "acknowledges a commitment to manage and preserve land with significant conservation values while allowing compatible and sustainable land uses to continue". This arrangement is recognised on the title of the land and is carried across to new owners if the land changes ownership, thereby protecting the environmental values and management ethos in perpetuity.
According to the DERM website, there is assistance to the landholder for management activities through the NatureAssist program. This program currently attracts some funding through the Blueprint for the Bush Initiative and is given out through "rounds" where property owners have expressed an interest in receiving funding for specified projects. How much money from these program actually travels through to the landholders I am not sure, although some of the projects that have seemingly attracted funding include:
- control of stock;
- establishment of of-stream watering points;
- identification and management of cultural heritage;
- fencing;
- revegetation or regeneration techniques aimed at improving water quality;
- ecological surveys aimed at guiding management requirements;
- weed control;
- development of sustainable management plans; and
- improvements to agricultural practices that will result in the improvement of conservation values on the property.
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
"Happy" World Food Day
The 16th October 2011 is World Food Day (celebrated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). This year's theme being "Food Prices - from crisis to stability". This theme reflects the precarious nature of food availability and how fluctuations in the price can significantly people in third world countries.
The objectives of this day are to:
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The objectives of this day are to:
- encourage attention to agricultural food production and to simulate national, bilateral, multilaterial and non-governmental efforts to this end;
- encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;
- encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
- heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
- promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and
- strength international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Landshare
Have you heard of Landshare? Its basically a dating agency for people wanting to grow their own food but don't have any land and those that have land on which the first group could grow their food. What a fantastic concept! I have seen so many parcels of empty land begging from someone to use it for something other than a never-ending mowing circuit.
Landshare's website allows you to express an interest in either sharing your land or get connected with someone with some spare land. The website includes some useful tools, such as sample legal agreements ensuring the protection of everyone's rights. There are also case studies showing some successes and nothing more useful than planting guides for different regions in Australia and recipes for produce available from your landshare garden.
Currently there are just over 1100 members and growing rapidly. What an effort for something that was only started four months ago. Have a look at their map indicating locations of people wanting land and people offering land and see whether there is someone you can match up with in your area. Pin It
Landshare's website allows you to express an interest in either sharing your land or get connected with someone with some spare land. The website includes some useful tools, such as sample legal agreements ensuring the protection of everyone's rights. There are also case studies showing some successes and nothing more useful than planting guides for different regions in Australia and recipes for produce available from your landshare garden.
Currently there are just over 1100 members and growing rapidly. What an effort for something that was only started four months ago. Have a look at their map indicating locations of people wanting land and people offering land and see whether there is someone you can match up with in your area. Pin It
Monday, June 27, 2011
National Food Plan
The Australian Government is requesting submissions on its National Food Plan. The idea behind this plan is to integrate food policy with the examination of the food supply chain, protection of food security in Australia and develop ways to maximise food production opportunities. The government plans to look into all avenues, from production through to consumption.
Minister Joe Ludwig has released an issues paper to inform citizens about the development of the national food plan. Also as part of the consultation strategy, the government is planning on holding a webcast about the plan, which you can register for now.
Food Connect is supporting this consultation process and encouraging members to participate in the submission process. Food Connect believes that "small, alternative food systems..."should be supported by the government, with the aim of reducing the dominance of the two large supermarket chains. According to Food Connect the government's advisory panel has currently only invited the two dominant supermarket chains and the Grocery Council to participate at present. You would think that the advisory panel would be far more balanced and informed if the government provided a broader representation on the panel with individual representative companies and groups also asked to participate.
I will keep my eye on this in the future, but feel free to take action yourself. Pin It
Minister Joe Ludwig has released an issues paper to inform citizens about the development of the national food plan. Also as part of the consultation strategy, the government is planning on holding a webcast about the plan, which you can register for now.
Food Connect is supporting this consultation process and encouraging members to participate in the submission process. Food Connect believes that "small, alternative food systems..."should be supported by the government, with the aim of reducing the dominance of the two large supermarket chains. According to Food Connect the government's advisory panel has currently only invited the two dominant supermarket chains and the Grocery Council to participate at present. You would think that the advisory panel would be far more balanced and informed if the government provided a broader representation on the panel with individual representative companies and groups also asked to participate.
I will keep my eye on this in the future, but feel free to take action yourself. Pin It
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Fairtrade Fortnight 2011
Currently we are in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight (7-22 May 2011) aimed at bringing awareness about fair trade products and the associated ethics and benefits. This week also recognises the effort and rewards that result out of people in developed countries buying fairtrade products.
You might ask what are fairtrade products?
These are products that assist in providing appropriate work and trade conditions, including fair prices, to producers and associated businesses and families in developing countries.
What type of fairtrade products are available in Australia?
- coffee
- chocolate
- clothing
- fabrics
- rice
- grains
- tea
- sugar
- oil
- jams & spreads
- herbs & spices
Another useful tip is where to find these products here in Australia. The Fairly Local website has a list of sellers that stock fair-trade products. This is not an exhaustive list, as I have even noted some fair-trade products in the big supermarket chains. So keep your eye out for them.
There is also additional information available at the Fair Trade Organisation of Australia and New Zealand's website.
It is important to remember that a little action either during your grocery shopping or becoming aware of the conditions in which your food and clothing are made can result in not only better outcomes and products for you but also great change for people on the other side of the world.
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Monday, April 25, 2011
Permaculture
Recently I attended something along the lines of a gardening club meeting for permaculture enthusiasts or so I expected. Since I didn't even really have a concept of what the underlying principles of permaculture are I thought this could at least be a place where I could meet like-minded people in my new neighbourhood.
In my previous review of permaculture principles (just reading a basic library book many years ago) I really did think permaculture was some food-oriented gardening practice and at the time wasn't suited to me. However, just attending this meeting and then being linked with some useful websites I believe that I may have a greater understanding and appreciation for the principles of permaculture and certainly how it applies to your garden but further how many of the principles can be applied throughout your life if you're looking to create a lighter footprint.
Given this, I am going to review some more information to gain a better grasp of the concepts and determine its applicability to me and my life (and the garden which I am looking to create). Definitely looking forward to the journey! Nevertheless, I do believe, as with most things I look into, I will take and apply it to my life the way I see fit and not to the letter of some document or person's perspective and given this, anything that I post on this blog will be tainted with this view. Pin It
In my previous review of permaculture principles (just reading a basic library book many years ago) I really did think permaculture was some food-oriented gardening practice and at the time wasn't suited to me. However, just attending this meeting and then being linked with some useful websites I believe that I may have a greater understanding and appreciation for the principles of permaculture and certainly how it applies to your garden but further how many of the principles can be applied throughout your life if you're looking to create a lighter footprint.
Given this, I am going to review some more information to gain a better grasp of the concepts and determine its applicability to me and my life (and the garden which I am looking to create). Definitely looking forward to the journey! Nevertheless, I do believe, as with most things I look into, I will take and apply it to my life the way I see fit and not to the letter of some document or person's perspective and given this, anything that I post on this blog will be tainted with this view. Pin It
Friday, July 23, 2010
Desertification
What is desertification? I have heard the term but really don't know what it means. From my reading it is where dryland used for agriculture and other purposes loses its economic and biological productivity and usually results from climatic variability (change) or unsustainable human practices.
Some of you might now be wondering...'what are drylands'? Well, these are lands that can be productive with limited input from irrigation or natural precipitation. This does not however mean that they are resilient and can remain productive with no or limited rain, it means that they are adapted to a particular level of natural precipitation or human intervention and when this changes they are no longer productive.
I have heard this term mostly associated with Africa and I would like to learn more about the causes of this situation both in Africa and in other locations. Pin It
Some of you might now be wondering...'what are drylands'? Well, these are lands that can be productive with limited input from irrigation or natural precipitation. This does not however mean that they are resilient and can remain productive with no or limited rain, it means that they are adapted to a particular level of natural precipitation or human intervention and when this changes they are no longer productive.
I have heard this term mostly associated with Africa and I would like to learn more about the causes of this situation both in Africa and in other locations. Pin It
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Farm Day
Watching the telly tonight, Getaway was on. They had a piece on "FarmDay". This is apparently where city families (which we are) travel to farm to visit farms and country families. The idea is for city families to learn about farms and farming activities. Whilst the country family in the Getaway piece said that they get to see their lives through the eyes of people fresh to such experiences and remember the reasons why they are on the land.
The Farm day website (www.farmday.com.au) allows you to register your interest for the next farm day weekend (29 & 30 May 2010). The organisers of this service then coordinate the farmers and city families based on interests and children's age groups.
Let's see if we are successful in getting a farm. Keep you posted. Pin It
The Farm day website (www.farmday.com.au) allows you to register your interest for the next farm day weekend (29 & 30 May 2010). The organisers of this service then coordinate the farmers and city families based on interests and children's age groups.
Let's see if we are successful in getting a farm. Keep you posted. Pin It
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Climate Change Refugees - Tuvalu
Well in the face of climate change there have been a number of news pieces on climate change refugees. This social injustice intrigued me and I wanted to see whether there was anything I could do as an individual to assist such people. After a little research and reading a book on Tuvalu, which is said to be one of the first island nations to be impacted upon as a result of sea level rise and associated climate change events here are some of my thoughts.
I don't think I am any wiser, but perhaps just a little more educated on my ignorance. From reading the book on Tuvalu it seems that this island isn't actually going to become uninhabitable as a result of sea level rise in the first instance, but rather the inundation of their groundwater by sea water and thus their land becoming inappropriate for the agricultural purposes. Storm events with associated large storm surges are also likely to impact on the margins of the island. All leading to the population of this nation needing to move to other locations.
In the face of this certainty, some Tuvaluans are looking to opportunities outside their nation now rather than waiting for significant events to force their departure from their nation. Many are currently looking to New Zealand for employment opportunities, but those that are unskilled or want to remain in their homes, it is likely that forced migration may be the only option.
Other things that I have learnt from my research and may discuss at a later date on this blog, include:
I don't think I am any wiser, but perhaps just a little more educated on my ignorance. From reading the book on Tuvalu it seems that this island isn't actually going to become uninhabitable as a result of sea level rise in the first instance, but rather the inundation of their groundwater by sea water and thus their land becoming inappropriate for the agricultural purposes. Storm events with associated large storm surges are also likely to impact on the margins of the island. All leading to the population of this nation needing to move to other locations.
In the face of this certainty, some Tuvaluans are looking to opportunities outside their nation now rather than waiting for significant events to force their departure from their nation. Many are currently looking to New Zealand for employment opportunities, but those that are unskilled or want to remain in their homes, it is likely that forced migration may be the only option.
Other things that I have learnt from my research and may discuss at a later date on this blog, include:
- some refugee activists, researchers and government bodies do not like the term 'climate change refugee'. Reasons range from the fact that refugee organisations and funding bodies can't cope with the types of refugees that they currently have to deal with without adding more people to this stretched system;
- forced migration rather than climate change refugees is another term which has been used and perhaps is more appropriate without unduly burdening existing systems;
- there are a multitude of attitudes from the people that occupy climate change stricken countries to leaving their nations;
- climate change in regards to sea level rise and associated impacts is likely to affect a significant portion of the world's population, but in majority of cases people that will be impacted upon will be citizens of the third world;
- contributors to climate change impacts are in most cases from first world countries.
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