Excuse me Mr Howard, is this still legal?

Boo! Guess Who's back on the Road?

Come on kids, lets follow these animal tracks into the forest...

This entry is a bit of a detour from the sustainable communities trek but I thought I would post these pictures anyway because logging coupes aren't something everyone gets to see. And they're so much FUN! Here are some things I saw over the last two months in East Gippsland and some things that I learned. (That's me below in the the green beanie. )


Logging water catchments reduces water supply by up 50%. Hmm... more water restrictions?

The trees left here are 'habitat trees'

Older trees have darker wood.
Old growth costs much more to pulp and bleach than plantation timber.


At the moment Australia produces enough plantation timber to meet all our timber needs. We log our native forests to export.


Eden chipmill (world's biggest) exports woodchips predominantly to Japan.
This is a pile of chips ready for shipping, the little lump (under the crane) on the pile is a bulldozer.

The people living close to the logging watch loaded trucks pass everyday, they see our remaining old growth forest diminishing.

It becomes impossible to just sit by and watch.

Driving to the good stuff, the submarine goes to the snow!

Goolengook forest.
Under review.

Old growth forest is so lush! It needs these levels of dense moisture to contribute to the water cycle (make rain). It takes an estimated 1000 years to regenerate this volume of wet forest.













But then again...
trees can be scary...
look at this one stalking Jason!

The BEST thing I found out in recent times is that EVERY letter you send to your local member is considered to represent the opinion of 100 people.

The local member who weilds the power to change Vic forest practice is:

Premier Steve Bracks
Office of the Premier
1 Treasury Place
MelbourneAustralia 3000
Not that I'm suggesting anything... hehe

Logging is planned for Melbourne’s water catchments from December 1, just days after the state election. My new philosophy: Don't panic, don't despair, just act.

Be well my gems.. more uplifting posts on the way. LoveMo