THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 23 #31 Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 21,000 copies every week
TA K E I T E A S Y
Bruns fest begins with a bang World turtle conference comes to Australia Jann Gilbert
Fireworks light up the night sky above Brunswick Heads. Photo Peter King.
A big crowd turned out last Saturday night to watch the fireworks display at Brunswick Heads to mark the start of the 49th Brunswick Festival of the Fish and Chips. Called so because the festival involves woodchopping and fishing, the Fish and Chips got under way on the Sunday with its fishing competition for junior and senior anglers. The main feature of the festival,
the international Woodchop Carnival, begins this Wednesday in Banner Park. Events include underhand and standing block chopping, sawing and tree. Events are in single and teams format, including relays, plus the popular State of Origin event on Saturday. The Australian and New Zealand women’s teams will compete in a re-
Turtles hold an iconic place in Australian Aboriginal and European culture. Historically, many coastal communities have depended on sea turtles as a source of protein, and they feature in the mythology of many coastal tribes. Marine habitats in Australia are a sea turtle hot zone. Six of the world’s seven species including Flatback, Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Green, and Olive Ridley turtles occur in Australian waters. They occupy near shore habitats as well as open ocean habitats around the continent. All species are threatened – being listed from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘critically endangered’. Marine turtles are actually reptiles that have lived in the ocean for over 100 million years and they have changed little in that time. Once abundant in numbers, by the late 1970s the widespread decline of sea turtle populalay of nine competitors each night on tions began to alarm biologists. In response an international conferWednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9pm. The junior boys will compete in ence was set up in 1980 to promote the a novice event on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Events run throughout each day and culminate on the Saturday 11am to 5.15pm and 7pm to 9pm. Admission to the festival is free. More information can be found at www.bhwoodchop.com.
exchange of information on sea turtle biology and conservation. Now in its 29th year, the symposium has been held annually ever since, and continues to grow in diversity and numbers of delegates attending. This year is the first time the symposium has been held in Australia, and indeed the southern hemisphere, and Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR) turtle specialists are excited at the prospect of showcasing their activities to such a large and significant sea turtle meeting. ‘This is a unique opportunity for us to meet and exchange information with interstate research teams and rehabilitators as well as experts from the international turtle conservation community,’ says ASR North Coast coordinator Rochelle Ferris. ‘ASR is also planning to host a number of delegates to tour the WildlifeLink turtle hospital in Ballina and is looking forward to showing off the Far North Coast during their visit.’ In taking the reins for this year’s event the Australian organising committee handed out hundreds of continued on page 8
Businesses aim to tackle environmental issues A group of regional businesses intends to tackle environmental issues and enjoy cost savings and improved performance at the same time. These businesses have formed a cluster for the Northern Rivers Sustainability Advantage program, a State government initiative which provides support and assistance. Participating businesses include Brookfarm, Byron Bay Cookie Company, Cawarra Cosmetics, Feros Care, Lismore City Council, Lismore Workers Club, Norco, NSW Sugar, Rochdale
Accounting, Southern Cross University, Summerland Credit Union and North Coast Institute of TAFE. Since signing up for the program in June last year, each business has had a ‘management diagnostic’ to assess current environmental performance and opportunities for improvement. North Coast Institute of TAFE has been involved with the program since 2006, and shared some key tips and lessons. Alicia Bales, TAFE’s Sustainability Programs Manager, said, ‘We have included sustainability and the
environment into existing structures as we need the right systems to make on-the-ground progress in a large organisation like TAFE. We now have OH & S & E (occupational health and safety and the environment) committees that are being trained and supported to identify and manage environmental risks and hazards as well as workplace safety.’ Lismore City Council gave the group access to their procurement policy, which includes sustainability
Townsville: Australia. This is a highly migratory koala. So far its route has been from Brisbane (Australia) to Loreto (Mexico) to Los Angeles (USA) and then to Townsville (Australia). Once in Townsville it has gone to work every day helping us better understand flatback biology. Its routes have been by air, sea, and land ... so far. Photo courtesy Jeanette Wyneken (a sea turtle continued on page 2 biologist and expert in turtle anatomy).