THE TWEED Volume 3 #11 Thursday, November 11, 2010 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT OF PERFORMING ARTISTS – SEE PAGE 9
LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Dam threatens mass extinction Luis Feliu
Scores of threatened animal and plant species, some unique to the Tweed caldera, will be doomed to extinction if the controversial Byrrill Creek dam plan goes ahead. Internationally renowned Tweed ecologist Dr Steve Phillips made the dire warning at a public meeting to launch a campaign against the dam at Uki Hall last Saturday. Dr Phillips, of Biolink Ecological Consultants, said the dam proposal would trigger a federal species impact study ‘because of the potential for localised extinction to occur’ due to flooding from the dam. The ecologist told the meeting attended by around 100 people that the Byrrill Creek area contained around 70 potentially endangered plant and animal species which would be threatened by the dam, as many were found, or restricted to, lowland rainforest and alluvial flats in the area which would be inundated.
Occurring nowhere else in the world He said that among these was the tiny and unusual amphibian called the Pouched Frog which ‘occurs nowhere else in the world except here’, and the Albert’s Lyrebird, also unique to the Tweed area. Dr Phillips said Byrrill Creek was the ‘stronghold in the Tweed’ for the threatened Giant Barred Frog, ‘probably one of the largest frogs in Australia’, and a dam would potentially break the link of that frog population’s movement between Mebbin National Park and the Tweed River where they are found.
Others include the Golden Tipped Bat, which only lives around rainforest streams, the Marbled Frogmouth, the Green Tree Frog and the Bush Hen ‘which would lose its habitat – full stop’. ‘There’s so much to be lost; these species are in trouble, like most others on the planet, because of us,’ he said. The eminent scientist who often undertakes environmental impact studies for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, said that when government studies eventually looked at the record of threatened wildlife in the Byrrill Creek area, they would see ‘a large number of them’, many in Mebbin National Park, yet ‘there was still much survey work to be done’. ‘So there’s lots at risk; lots of threatened species, some of which are not found elsewhere in the world, would be potentially lost. ‘There is lots of fauna and flora dependent on lowland for their survival and areas such as Byrrill Creek should be embellished and enlarged, not taken out and flooded. ‘It irks me that when we allow large development to wreak such havoc, we lose the context of what endangered means for a plant or a community of species – endangered means in imminent danger of extinction, and how we contemplate doing this, I do not know’, he said to applause. Dr Phillips said there were still opportunities for common sense to prevail because of the long planning process involved, which could take ‘years and years’. He said dams were ‘obsolete’ and ‘contrary to state government policy’ and that ‘there were so many hurdles to get over, particularly when there
Ukitopia fest celebrates life, art and culture Kate McIntosh
Debby Cook’s passion for art is rivalled only by her love of tea. So, it was only natural the Uki-based artist combine the two. Debby’s sculpture of a giant teapot will be a fixture at next week’s Ukitopia Festival. The three-day event, organised by the Ukitopia Arts Collective, celebrates life, art and culture in the small Tweed village. This year’s line-up includes 50 performers, with a particular focus on local music. Now in its third year, the festival also incorporates art exhibitions, children’s activities, creative workshops, market stalls and performances. The mum-of-three says she began continued on page 2
Debby Cook’s giant teapot installation will be the centrepiece of opening celebrations for next week’s Ukitopia Festival. Photo Jeff ‘Two Bags’ Dawson
developing the concept after being approached by event organisers to create a major art centrepiece. In the lead up to the festival, Debby asked hundreds of community members to write their wish on small pieces of paper, deconstructed from dried tea bags and hung on panels inside the sculpture. Debby, who drinks up to 10 cups of tea a day, has been collecting used teabags for almost seven months and aims to collect up to 1,000 wishes on teabags by the time the festival gets underway next week. A ritualistic tea ceremony is planned as part of the opening ceremony, whereby the wishes of the community will be endorsed. It’s not the first time Debby has used teabags in her artwork. She says improvising with everyday items was born largely out of necessity. ‘Working on small pieces of paper
when you don’t have much money, it seemed a natural thing to do,’ she said. Debby sought solace in art after her marriage breakdown and a devastating custody battle, going on to complete a bachelor of visual arts at Southern Cross University. An active campaigner for parental rights and family court reform, Debby uses art as a way of channelling the grief she feels at losing her children. ‘My family breakdown led me to uni and it ended up becoming my muse,’ she said. ‘When you lose all your sense of belonging and identity, it’s a pretty catastrophic thing to happen, that’s why I go and make crazy big teapots, I guess.’ The Ukitopia Festival runs from next Friday, November 19 through to Sunday, November 22. For full program details visit www.ukitopiaartscollective.com.
ABN 82 087 650 682
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