Sat, 2010-05-08
The Sydney Morning Herald recently published an article about Wild Mob and founder Graeme Wood. The article highlights Wild Mob’s Brampton Island project, which has camps running from April through November.
To read the full Sydney Morning Herald article, click here.
Wed, 2010-06-23
The Westside News in Brisbane recently featured a brief piece on Wild Mob and founder Graeme Wood within its pages:
Fri, 2010-07-02
This month’s Jetstar Magazine, Jetstar Airline’s in-flight publication, highlights Wild Mob. See the piece below or visit the Jetstar site.
Mon, 2010-07-26
July's issue of UQ News highlights Wild Mob's founder, Graeme Wood, for his contributions to the University of Queensland. He recently donated $15 million toward the university's new Global Change Institute, which is charged with tackling tough world-wide issues like population growth, natural resource constraints and global warming.
Click on the article below to read, or check out the full UQ News issue here.
You can also read Graeme's full bio here.
Sat, 2010-10-16
Members from Wild Mob, Reef Catchments and the local community all lent a hand in protecting Middle Percy Island. Activities included beach cleanup work, removing invasive weeds and transporting supplies to the island, which is located off Central Queensland's coast. Read the full article by downloading the PDF here.
Wed, 2010-11-10
666 ABC Radio Canberra invited Graeme Wood on their Drive program to chat about Wild Mob's projects in Mt Kosciuszko and elsewhere. Have a listen to the interview by clicking here.
Fri, 2010-12-03
Last week marked the completion of Wild Mob’s first project at Kings Run, in northwest Tasmania. The project went well, with a great group of volunteers and a long list of accomplishments, which included the removal of about 1,600 kgs of invasive weeds from the coastal habitat.
The group also spotted numerous bird species, some wombats, wallabies, echidnas and a few tiger snakes. On the first full day of the trip, the group even saw an Australian fur seal, a rare sighting for the area, as the species' numbers had been significantly reduced in the past from hunting. Additionally, later in the week the volunteers got the chance to spend an evening in a specially converted shelter to watch a wild Tasmanian devil feed at a nearby location.
The hard-working group of volunteers rehabilitated significant areas of coastline and lent a big hand to conservation in Tasmania. This work helped protect shorebird nesting sites, orange-bellied parrot feeding grounds and Aboriginal cultural sites, including several middens at the location. Mid-week, the volunteers hiked through an undisturbed area of Tarkine rainforest – dated to 4000-5000 years – and learned about the interconnectedness of the regional ecosystems of northwest Tasmania.
On the last day of the trip, the volunteers visited Cradle Mountain National Park for a quick stop during the drive back to Launceston. Wild Mob is already planning on a return to Kings Run for the summer of 2011-2012.
Wed, 2010-12-15
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) concluded its Conference of the Parties meeting in Cancun, Mexico last week.
Outcomes from the conference were mixed. Many applauded the conference by breaking the stalemate in negotiations from last year’s conference in Copenhagen. This year’s conference created a formal Green Climate Fund, totalling $100 billion annually by 2020, to help protect developing countries from the impacts of climate change and as a tool for sustainable investments.
Critics argue the deal does not reach far enough. Like last year’s conference, delegates did not formalise a plan to limit countries’ emissions allowances after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Many tough political decisions remain for next year’s meeting in South Africa.
Some delegates conceded that, while not perfect, the agreement formed in Cancun will offer a positive building block toward future negotiations.
Many countries and organisations have taken the initiative to start their own programs. In the face of stalled UN negotiations in recent years, Brazil, Australia and others have increased their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Numerous countries and non-governmental organisations took part in the Cancun talks, including the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and 350.org.
To learn more, read stories from the BBC, MSNBC, New Scientist or the ABC.
Wed, 2011-01-19
2011 has been named the International Year of Forests by the United Nations General Assembly. The intention is to raise awareness on the “sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests” across the world.
Numerous events are being co-ordinated globally. A full list of these events, along with general international environmental conferences, are available here. Additionally, the UN has partnered with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival to organise the International Forest Film Festival, with launch screenings commencing on 24 January in New York.
For more information, visit the UN’s official International Year of Forests site.
Thu, 2011-01-20
After a good year in 2010, we’re happy to share some of our volunteers’ achievements. Roughly 120 volunteers took part in 22 different camps throughout the year, creating a positive impact on local biodiversity, spreading environmental awareness and experiencing some of Australia’s most iconic destinations.
With volunteers ranging from school groups to retirees, friends and families, international uni students to local residents and everyone in between, the results have been impressive.
On Brampton Island, along with some neighbouring Whitsunday Islands, our volunteers collected 8800kg of weeds and roughly 1200kg of plastics and rubbish washed ashore on the islands’ beaches. The litter included everything from small bits of plastic to car parts, tyres and chunks of boat hulls. The continued efforts have already allowed significant regrowth of the native plants in the beach scrub habitat and returned beaches to their pristine quality for nesting sea turtles and shorebirds.
Wild Mob’s first trip to Tasmania on the Kings Run project resulted in the removal of 1600kg of invasive weeds and 100kg of rubbish from the area’s coastline.
These efforts will expand, including more of the Tasmanian coast line throughout the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area. With such great results, we’ve already scheduled a return trip from 14 to 19 March 2011.
Earlier in the year, our four weeks of volunteers in Mt Kosciuszko National Park in January and February helped identify hundreds – if not thousands – of invasive orange hawkweed plants in several areas of the park. With the new locations identified, the park has been able to expand its search of the weeds to help contain their spread.
A huge thanks to all of the volunteers to lent a hand in 2010. And we’re looking forward to even more projects, volunteers and accomplishments in 2011!
