National tree day; Mark Diesendorf to speak at BCCAN AGM - 5 Aug 2010
We have Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day; last Sunday was National Tree Day, where we were encouraged to honour the trees in our lives. (It was also Horses' Birthday.) The Boundary Road Landcare group and extra volunteers planted about 200 native trees, and other groups had their own projects. Not everyone loves trees. I remember living in a share house in Chippendale, in Sydney, where the old man up the road decided to poison the street tree outside his house for no other reason than he didn't like the mess caused by dropping leaves. The obsession with public safety has caused some to view trees with suspicion and irritation – some seem to think that life would be simpler without them. But trees are an essential part of our natural and cultural environment. In town, our exotic trees here in Bathurst define the seasons beautifully. The tiny budlets on the end of bare twigs let us know that Spring is just around the corner. Trees can regulate micro-climates, create welcome shade for sheep in paddocks and stop erosion.
So its' good that trees, along with Mothers, Fathers and Horses, get their own special day.
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Bathurst Community Climate Action Network is pleased to announce that the guest speaker for its Annual General Meeting will be Dr Mark Diesendorf. Dr Diesendorf is Deputy Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW. Previously, at various times, he was a principal research scientist in CSIRO, Professor of Environmental Science and Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney, and Director of a private company, Sustainability Centre Pty Ltd. He has also been president of the original Australasian Wind Energy Association and president of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics. His most recent books are Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy and Climate Action: A campaign manual for greenhouse solutions.
In his presentation, he'll talk about a sustainable energy future for Australia, the barriers to the transition and the challenge of overcoming the barriers. This, he says, will require "social change to a sustainable society rather than changing light-bulbs." So put the date in your diary: it will be held in the Bathurst RSL Courtyard Room on Tuesday, September 21, from 5pm to 7pm. All welcome.