Newsletter July 2006ContentsClick on any of the subject headings to jump to the article, or just scroll down. Sydney Office off to a Flying StartNatascha Arens has joined nghenvironmental as manager of our new Sydney office, based at Pymble. Natascha holds a degree in Conservation Management and Technology, and is currently undertaking her Masters in Environmental and Business Management. She has been working in the environmental field since 1993. Natascha comes to nghenvironmental from the NSW Roads Traffic Authority (RTA), where she was employed as an Environmental Management Systems Officer, and also managed the RTA's Environmental Technology Branch for 12 months. Natascha brings with her substantial expertise in environmental impact assessment associated with major road projects, having worked on large projects such as the Bulahdelah, and Tugun bypass projects. Natascha also has considerable experience in environmental auditing and the development of Environmental Management Systems, and recently completed a gap analysis of the RTA’s corporate EMS. Natascha is currently applying for recognition as a Certified Environmental Practitioner. We are looking forward to working with Natascha, and seeing the development and growth of our Sydney office. Sustainable Energynghenvironmental has been involved in four proposed wind farm developments in New South Wales. These have included proposals at Snowy Plains (near Adaminaby), Conroys Gap (near Yass), and Cullerin and Evandale (both near Goulburn). Each proposal is for the development of up to 15 wind turbines, with a height up to 126 metres at the tip of the blade. These turbines would each have a maximum generation capacity of up to 30 megawatts of electricity. The development cost of these windfarms would be around $200M in total. The proposed Snowy Plains Wind Farm has been approved for development. The remaining windfarms are being assessed as Part 3A (of Environmental Planning and Assessment Act) ‘Major Projects’, requiring the approval of the NSW Minister for Planning. On June 7th the Part 3A Environmental Assessment Report (EA) for the Cullerin Windfarm went on public exhibition as part of the project review. You can view this document at The Conroys Gap EA has been submitted to the NSW Department of Planning for their consideration, review and acceptance, and it is anticipated that it will be placed on public exhibition in the near future. While it is recognised that wind farms do have adverse environmental impacts, ranging from community disruption to potential collisions with bats and birds, appropriate siting of windfarms can reduce the level of these impacts. The benefits from each proposed windfarm would include:
NGHenvironmental Helps Out At "Clean Energy for Eternity' Event in Tathranghenvironmental was recently involved with the campaign led by Tathra-based doctor Matthew Nott to make a global warming statement. Matthew organised over three thousand people to create the sign ‘Clean Energy for Eternity’ on Tathra Beach, as a demonstration of the community's concern. You can read about this at http://abc.net.au/southeastnsw/stories/s1644503.htm. During the rally, nghenvironmental handed out 600 low energy light bulbs supplied by Low Energy Supplies and Services Pty Ltd as part of the NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme. When these replace a standard incandescent light bulb, each bulb can reduce greenhouse emissions by 500kg over its life. So the light bulbs handed out should save around 225,000kg of emissions, and lead to a total savings of more than $20,000 on electricity bills. Green Globe Sustainable Travel and TourismJohn Turville and Carlos Teuffer are both accredited as Green Globe Business Associates. They will be responsible for assisting travel and tourist businesses to benchmark and certify their tourist operations under one of the four Green Globe standards (ie. Company, Community, Design and Construct and the International Ecotourism Standard). Green Globe is the global benchmarking, certification and improvement system for Sustainable Travel and Tourism. It is based on Agenda 21 and the principles of Sustainable Development endorsed at the Rio Earth Summit, 1992 by 108 heads of state or Governments. Green Globe is a systems-based model for managing and improving a tourist operator’s environmental performance. It has been based on the International Environmental Management System (EMS) standard, ISO 14001: 2004. Tourist operators who utilise Green Globe to certify their claims of being a sustainable tourist operator will initially have to develop and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on their particular choice of standard. They will then have to benchmark their operations according to the earthcheckTM system of benchmarking (www.earthcheck.com.au). Green Globe has participants in over 60 countries, with their head office based in Canberra and other offices operating out of China, Japan, New Zealand and South America (Chile). Green Globe have recently redefined their image and have invested considerably in the marketing of their product. They have also revitalised their website – visit www.greenglobe.org for further information on Green Globe and their products. These changes are set to make Green Globe a recognised leader in international ecotourism certification. Both John and Carlos are currently working with a number of tourist operators (resorts, hotels and accommodation establishments) to review their environmental and social performance, and to assist them in the development and implementation of Green Globe for their operations. In addition to the environmental gains made following certification, these businesses are set to reap the benefits from a marketing perspective by their association with this internationally recognised body. Kosciuszko Alpine Resort goes Green Globe Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd have recently engaged nghenvironmental to develop and implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the Green Globe Company Standard. This project will involve the development of an EMS for all areas of operation and the benchmarking of Kosciuszko Thredbo's (KT's) environmental performance for a number of specific operations. An EMS is part of an organisation’s management system that is used to develop and implement its Environmental Policy, and to manage its environmental aspects and impacts. The Green Globe standards have been developed and based on the International EMS standard (AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2004 Environmental Management Systems – Requirements for Guidance for Use). Carlos Spreads the Word on Sustainable TourismLate last year Carlos presented papers at two ecotourism conferences:-
Going Battynghenvironmental staff are frequent attendees at the Forests NSW wildlife schools – we love them! Kate attended the amphibian, bat and reptile school in Dorrigo (September 2005) and Brooke caught the later school in Kiola (March 2006). These schools are a fantastic opportunity to meet up with other consultants, students and Forests NSW staff who are all working in the area. We are lucky enough to have the leaders in the field explaining the ecology of their favourite species. It is a chance to discuss research directions, management problems but most importantly, get out there and catch some critters. Forests NSW also run schools on mammals; stay tuned! Kate: “At Dorrigo, a number of fauna experts gave their guidance on identification challenges, survey and capture techniques and how to take correct field notes. They dealt with licensing and ethics issues and a few interesting debates on general wildlife management issues took place. Frog expert, Frank Lemckert, made sure that everyone got their feet wet searching for the elusive and threatened Giant Barred Frog, while Brad Law (bat expert) got everyone setting up harp traps, mist nests and trip lines. Mark Fitzgerald (reptile expert) got us rolling rocks and logs along a rocky creek bed and escarpment looking for snakes, frogs, skinks and other slithery reptiles.”
Brooke: “At Kioloa, the school was run at the ANU field research station. It's a mix of forest and agricultural land with plenty of dams, rocks and forest gullies to harbour frogs, bats and reptiles (and right on the beach!). Some well timed wet weather made for good frogging. Also, a particularly successful bat trip line set up over a dam to catch bats taking their first drink of the evening caught several species. Guest speakers included Trent Penman ("Surveying for Giant Burrowing Frogs"), Michelle Stockwell ("Disease and the Decline of the Green and Golden Bellfrog") and Kelly Rowely ("A Day in the Life of a Forests NSW Ecologist").” Christmas in July?If you have just received a Christmas card, you might be wondering if we really are going a little batty here at ngh. Well, it was actually the eccentricities of our mail server that are to blame for this somewhat out of season festivity. Our sincere apologies for the additional email, but why not make the most of it and brighten up the depths of winter with a little celebration? Rehabilitation Guidelines for the Kosciuszko Resort AreaThe Guidelines detail the process for undertaking best practice rehabilitation, and aim to make this level of practice consistent on all lands located within Kosciuszko National Park. The process of developing the Guidelines has involved close co-operation with the Kosciuszko ski resorts and other important stakeholders, through the formation of a steering committee. The draft guidelines are now under review by the steering committee. It is hoped that they will be finalised during the coming months, so that implementation can begin after the current ski season. 4wd TrainingAll nghenvironmental field staff have now completed (and passed!) a 4wd training course run at Murrumbateman, north of Canberra, through 4WD Training Services Pty Ltd.
The take away message was traction traction, traction! Pick a path that minimises the chance that your tires will lose contact with the ground, and the vehicle won't bottom out. Deflate your tires when necessary; this will give you more surface area in contact with the ground and therefore traction and more traction! And importantly, know your vehicle. Just because it is marketed as a four wheel drive, doesn't mean it has the capability to go anywhere. nghenvironmental staff often find themselves in difficult terrain and unpredictable weather when carrying out site assessments. Thanks to Peter, we will be tackling these challenges more confidently in the future. Sea Change?nghenvironmental's expertise in coastal environments is continuing to grow with coastal assessment and planning work for a number of developments in the coastal zone. The focus on coastal projects is increasing due to ongoing development pressures, with many visitors thinking "Why only holiday when I can live here?!" With a swell in coastal populations over recent years, coastal development continues to increase. This of course creates a greater complexity of planning issues and management practices to achieve acceptable environmental outcomes. Increasing demand for coastal resources needs to be managed so that environmental values are maintained and improved. Shane has carried out a variety of coastal work over the past 8 months, such as the preparation of Environmental Impact Statements for proposed roadworks through SEPP 14 Coastal Wetlands within the Eurobodalla Local Government Area; an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a development through the Batemans Bay Marine Park, and numerous other EIAs and environmental management documents for proposed coastal developments. Shane has also recently attended a workshop on the Coastal Lakes Assessment and Management (CLAM) management tool for modelling the condition of local coastal lakes subject to different environmental scenarios. nghenvironmental are also pleased to have Nicholas Yee recently join our team. Nicholas holds a PhD in Marine Botany with a strong scientific background, and has consulted to the Department of Fisheries and the Australian Museum. Nicholas specialises in both aquatic and marine micro and macro algae, and his involvement with nghenvironmental will certainly enhance our specialist coastal capabilities. Biodiversity and Bodalla State Forest Dam ProposalThe Eurobodalla Shire Council is in the process of developing an Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy (IWCMS) to plan for population growth and to ensure the security of water supply for the Shire. One of the regional water supply improvement strategies identified by the IWCMS involves the construction of an off-stream storage for the southern part of the ESC water supply system. nghenvironmental’s biodiversity team have been heavily involved with conducting comprehensive flora and fauna surveys of the forested site where the dam is proposed to ascertain what species are present, and potential impacts associated with the construction of the dam. Survey work has involved a diverse team of botanists (Jackie Miles and Paul McPherson), zoologists (Kate Gillespie, Brooke Marshall and Jim Reside), aquatic ecologists (The Ecology Lab) and field assistants (Tom Rothsey and Shane Priddle), who have scaled the site looking for flora and fauna species and potential habitat, particularly for threatened species. Survey work has included: habitat assessment (on-site and within the locality), harp trapping and anabat surveying for microbats, Elliot and cage trap surveying (bandicoot, possum and quoll traps) for small to medium terrestrial mammals, diurnal herpetofauna surveying for frogs and reptiles, diurnal bird surveying, nocturnal playback and spotlighting for gliders, arboreal mammals and forest owls, scat and animal sign searches, pitfall traps and hair tube traps for small to medium mammals. Organic Soil ManagementJohn Turville has succesfully completed an Organic Soil Management course conducted by the East Gippsland Organic Agriculture Association (EGOAA) at Manna Park, Merimbula. The course focused on the Albrecht system of soil analysis and the interaction between soil particles and their related ions (cations and anions). Methods to improve the fertility of the soil were discussed based on the abundance or depletion of particular nutrients within a soil. Once nutrients are restored to what William Albrecht referred to as the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC = the soil’s ability to hold onto positively charged ions, cations), nutrient levels need to be maintained in equilibrium. Management techniques to achieve this balance were highlighted and discussed. The five main cations located in the soil are Calcium (Ca++), Magnesium (Mg++), Potassium (K+), Sodium (Na+) and Aluminium (Al+). Cations are held by negatively charged particles of clay and humus known as colloids. These five cations are often shown in soil analysis results as a % of CEC – with desirable ranges for each of these cations being: Calcium 68%, Magensium 12%, Potassium 2%, Sodium 0.5% and Aluminium 0.2%. The use of green manures, rotational cropping, composts, fertilisers and manures were discussed and assessed as viable alternatives to ensure that nutrients are restored within the soil, and that soil structure is maintained. John is continuing his interest and passion in the field of organic farming and gardening, and is planning to undertake the next instalment offered by EGOAA – Whole Farm Planning with an emphasis on organic and sustainable farming – as part of a Diploma of Agriculture (Organic Farming) coordinated by North Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT). This course is expected to run in July, 2006 at the Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education, Bega. Professional Development of Our Staff
nghenvironmental is continuing its committment to the professional development of its staff, with the following courses being completed during the last nine months. September 2005 Kate attended the Forests NSW Frog, Bat and Reptile School in Dorrigo (see article above). October 2005 John completed training with the Department of Primary Industry in Bega on vehicle hygiene and weeds. November 2005 Carlos completed the Green Globe Certificate of Proficiency (Company Standard) in Canberra 21 -23 November. Carlos already has experience in ecotourism acreditation, but his completion of this course further enhances nghenvironmental's capabilities as business associates and distibutors of the Green Globe program and brand. January 2006 February 2006 John attended a seminar hosted by ANU and the Australian Green Development Forum on eco-villages and sustainable design at Kioloa. March 2006 Shane participated in the Coastal Lakes Sustainability Assessment Training Workshop, which detailed managing coastal lake resources using the CLAM (Coastal Lakes Assessment and Management) model (see article above). Brooke attended the Amphibian, Reptile and Bat School held by Forests NSW, at Kioloa NSW (see article above). All field staff have also completed a 4wd course (see article above). |
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