Five Sydney Nannas – Marie, Bron, Cathy, Tracey and Anne, were hosted in Coffs Harbour by Nannas Chris and Susan. Nanna Chris prepared a full and interesting itinerary. Nannas welcomed the opportunity to meet local community members and experience these remarkable forests first hand.
Wednesday
Pine Creek
We joined local activists at Pine Creek Forest vigil (held 7am – 9am every second Wednesday). The vigil is held at a popular roundabout with 15 locals and lots of passion and signs attending. Pine Creek has a well documented Koala population and is due to be logged.
Dee and Angela took us for a forest walk through Compartment 2. We didn’t need to go very far into the forest to see recent koala scratchings on trees. They showed us how they use movement sensitive cameras to prove wildlife are active in an area.
We then headed up the road to talk with activists at the forest camp and to drop in some supplies.
On a drive through this forest we found an old tree stump. (No trees remain this size in the forest.) We decided to hop on and do some chanting.
This forest has been logged in the past and, although there is evidence of koala activity, past logging has degraded the area and there are impenetrable areas of lantana and other weeds. It was disheartening to see how little care the NSW Forestry Commission takes of the forests they manage. Not all koala habitat is pristine.
Swan’s Crossing Picnic area and Sealy lookout
After Pine Creek it was an absolute delight (apart from the vicious lawyer vine) to walk amongst the big trees at Swan’s Crossing Picnic Area. It took Cathy and Anne five and a half of their outstretched arms to encircle this tree (approx. 9m). And there were others nearby. A short drive to the lookout and then home for a well earned rest.
Thursday
Clouds Creek
As Nanna Bron put it “Clouds Creek Blockade was a great example of a well functioning, solid and committed group.” Neighbours for 25 years Rona and Barry, Meredith and Mark warmly welcomed us and were only too happy to share their knowledge and experience.
From January 8, when logging operations were due to commence, they have blockaded the only access road that is wide enough for large forest machinery. For the past 15 weeks they have arrived at 5am every weekday morning and stayed until 10.30 am, preventing any logging from happening. They are optimistic about saving this very important Gondwanan habitat and have made their own declaration of the Clouds Creek Greater Glider Sanctuary. The Nannas were greatly affected by their time at Clouds Creek.
Meredith has lived in the area for 48 years and has been collecting data most of that time. Her quiet, calm way is the perfect balance to Mark’s enthusiasm and energy. Together they make an amazing team and know a tremendous amount about this forest.
Mark has seen and felt first hand the “strong arm” of the Forestry Commission. Video and story here.
Clouds Creek Forest is important habitat – this sign says it all listing the vulnerable and endangered species this forest supports.
Greens upper house MP Sue Higginson attended the blockade. She grew up not far away and told of protesting for forests as a teenager before doing law. She spoke passionately about the need to save these forests and spoke of the NSW Labor government’s plans to monetise these forests through the use of a carbon credit scheme. “The science is in, the economics is done – the only way to stop climate change is to cease using fossil fuels. Carbon offsets will do nothing to reduce climate change or save our wildlife!”.
Forest Drive
A little convoy of Nannas rode the rough forest road in Mark’s truck followed by Sue’s ute. Mark pointed out that Clouds Creek was free of invasive weeds and only one weed is evident – the South America tobacco, which is not a ‘modifier’ weed and is helpful for shading new growth.
We stopped at a creek to view the darting tadpoles of the stuttering frog, a species from Gondwana, 40 million years old. We were told about the Rufous Scrub bird, a resident of these forests, although we didn’t hear one. It is another Gondwanan species, unchanged for 40 million years. Along the way, Mark and Chris identified “den trees” that had suitable hollows for Greater Gliders. Nannas were fortunate to visit a nursery in the forest where native restoration plants are being grown.
After leaving Cloud’s Creek, Nannas enjoyed a walk around the crystal clear waters of the Promised Land. The day’s education finished with a visit to the logging zones of Tuckers Nob. Against a backdrop of tall green forest, we saw the industrial felling machine and the smashed detritus of its work – rejected logs and vegetation shoved down the hill by bulldozers and damaged still standing trees.
Friday
Sydney Nannas joined the Coffs Nannas in their regular Friday rally, outside the Forestry Office.
A beaut hopscotch was chalked on the footpath with squares you don’t want to tread on (eg. koalas and gliders) and squares you might want to stomp on (eg. politicians and bad players in the forestry story). Cars gave friendly toots and waves as they passed. Coffs Nannas reported that they normally get even more support from passers-by when it’s not school holidays.
Nannas networking concluded with coffee at the appropriately named Happy Frog café. Nanna Tracey stayed a bit longer and enjoyed a bush walk in a rainforest near Coffs with Chris, Susan and Dee.
Reflections
On returning home and after reflecting on the experience one Nanna talked of the “feelings of rage and anger that surfaced after being in a battlefield”: that the body given the responsibility of managing and looking after our forests seemed more focused on their destruction. One story she found particularly provocative was of workers seeing a koala in a tree, leaving that tree and one other and then returning the next day after the koala had moved on and cutting those trees down.
We witnessed that areas designated “plantations” by Forestry were often beautiful habitats indistinguishable from areas designated as National Parks. Selectively logged in the past, they provided shelter for many endangered species: the gliders, the barking frog which remains a tadpole for four years, all the endangered animals on the Clouds Creek banner. Here’s a little 3 minute video about the endangered and unique Rufous scrub bird. If this habitat is subjected to the industrial logging currently practiced by Forestry, it will never recover and become a forest again.
We would like to see a just transition for forestry workers and for State Forests to be seen as viable habitats for preservation. There would certainly be work for forestry workers to eradicate weeds and invasive species.
Some key points to stress and keep stressing:
- Both “plantation” forest and “native” forest are HABITAT. Both contain endangered wildlife and need preserving. “Plantation” is a title used by Forestry and the Minns government to greenwash the idea of destroying forest.
- “Industrial logging” is a better description of what is happening in our forests than “clear felling”.
- Preserving habitat and keeping connectivity are both essential.
Warm thanks to Nannas Chris and Susan for welcoming us into their homes. Also to the other Nannas and activists for opening our eyes to the grim realities of native forest logging and what we can all do to stop it.