Black Cockatoo newsletter Kambarang 2023

Dear NRPG members and interested,

For your information. Note the award winning Black Cockatoo film showing as well as the End Forest Mining information eve.

Kind regards,
Steve Gates

President, NRPG Bushcarers

Dear Alan, Welcome to the Kambarang newsletter!While we will all be celebrating an end to logging in native forests at the end of the year, the fight to stop clearing for mining continues. The EPA will decide later this year whether or not to assess the mining operations of Alcoa, which pose an unacceptable risk to the Northern Jarrah Forests and Perth’s drinking water supply. We recently flocked together at Dumas House to make a giant black cockatoo, and displayed a banner reading ‘Who’s in charge here?’ as a gentle for reminder for Ministers entering Parliament House.  The fight to save the largest breeding area for Ngolyenoks at Cocanarup is still not over. After the Federal Government invoked the Environmental Protection Act, Bulletin Resources initially withdrew their proposal, only to revive it in a different format. It has since been handballed from the EPA to the Department of Mines for assessment. We have not been able to access this new proposal so we don’t yet know if we can refer it back to the Federal Government. We are also trying our best to save the beautiful banksia woodland in Jandakot, which is threatened by the prosed Perth Surf Park. The decision by the EPA not to assess this proposal was devastating. The Appeals Convenor supported the EPA’s decision not to assess, despite the proposed clearing of federally-protected banksia woodland habitat. The last resort now seems to be an appeal on the clearing permit. The review into the removal of the Gnangara Pines is also about to start in the new year and we have been assured that no more of this vital food source for the Ngolyenoks will be chopped down once the EPA begin their assesment. Scientists say if this pine plantation is cleared it could halve the Perth-Peel population of the endangered Ngolyenoks. Thank you so much, everyone, for your continued efforts to keep the black cockatoos, breeding, feeding, and flying. We wish you all the best for the holiday season and hope to see you at the rally on 9th December. Paddy Cullen and the Save the Black Cockatoos team. Black Cockatoo Crisis wins the Adelaide Film Festival Change Award  Congratulations to the Black Cockatoo Crisis team! Here’s an update from producer/director Jane Hammond about the film’s latest award: ‘It was truly amazing to have Black Cockatoo Crisis screening at the Adelaide Film Festival. And to win the Change Award. And to be part of the buzz. Thank you to all of the film’s supporters, donors and crew. The story of the plight of our black cockatoos is reaching audiences across the nation and the globe. Our government’s cannot say they didn’t know. They can act to reverse the decline of species and save the black cockatoo but it will take political will. Over to you Reece Whitby MLA and Tanya Plibersek. The nation is watching, and the world is watching. ‘The Adelaide Film Festival is acknowledged as a top tier film festival in Australia. It is one of the best and most prestigious, so the win was amazing. I went across to Adelaide to support the film and to speak with audiences. The festival nominated the film to compete for the award in a field of four films. The audiences then voted on the film they thought should get the prize. ‘The Adelaide Film Festival Change Award is made to the filmmaker who best celebrates the desire to make change in the world. It is judged by the audience. ‘Black Cockatoo Crisis was up against three other nominations for the award, all of them international films. Black Cockatoo Crisis was the only environmental film and the only Australian film in the competition. One of the other films had screened at Sundance, another had won a Golden Bear in Berlin. ‘The award carries a $5,000 prize. I am committed to use this to fund an educational resource to get the film into schools nationwide.’ Black Cockatoo Crisis is still screening around Australia. Find updated screening information and get tickets on the website.   End Forest Mining Expansions Bauxite mining is the primary cause of deforestation in the South West forests. This reckless mining is destroying ancient forest habitat, pushing wildlife like Black Cockatoos to extinction and threatening our water supplies. It is time to draw the line and stop mining expansions in this Global Biodiversity Hotspot. Use this simple email template to send a clear message to the Premier, Ministers and your local MPs. Please take action today!  End Forest Mining Info Night When: Thursday, 7 December 5 – 7pm, City West Lotteries House and online. Join End Forest Mining campaigners at this hybrid info night to learn about the campaign, what our goals are and how you can get involved. End Forest Mining is an alliance of many groups, including Save the Black Cockatoos members WA Forest Alliance, The Wilderness Society and the Conservation Council of WA.    End Forest Mining Rally When: Saturday, 9 December, 5.30pm at Parliament House. Three of the largest bauxite mines on earth are located in one unique forest in Western Australia and now mining operations aim to scale-up drastically. Alcoa alone is planning a massive expansion that would destroy another 13, 500ha of the Northern Jarrah Forests.  The Wilderness Society WA’s Campaign Manager, Tim Clifford, is completing a 55km walk from Jarrahdale to Parliament House. Join us at 5.30pm Saturday 9 December on the steps of Parliament House as we welcome our fierce forest defender after his long trek and show the state government that the community won’t stand for the clearing, mining, and destruction of our native forests.  Bring a personalised placard and your best chants!     The Wilderness Society – Watch on Nature The Wilderness Society is tracking the destruction of the Northern Jarrah Forests in real time with our Watch on Nature program. With the aid of satellite imagery, we can see the enormous impact of bauxite mining, which is ripping apart this biodiversity hotspot.  Watch on Nature is also entirely people-powered, our dedicated team of volunteers flag any deforestation happening in the area. This helps us hold industry and governments to account—so we can protect the forests and the South West black cockatoos which call it home.    To learn more and get involved head to the Wilderness Society website or reach out to Nick Doyle at [email protected] or 0483148521   BirdLife WA – Hollow Surveys for Black Cockatoo conservation Once again BirdLife WA is searching far and wide for breeding sites of Black Cockatoos. This is increasingly important as the black cockatoo’s habitat is under constant threat of development and the associated clearing of native vegetation. Currently we have a large database of hollows across the range of the three species of black cockatoo endemic to Western Australia. We are using this data to run habitat suitability models and find out where other likely breeding sites for black cockatoos occur. This information will assist in protecting habitat that has a high likelihood of being a breeding area or has the potential to develop breeding hollows in the future. To make the outputs of this research more robust we need additional data, however, especially in the Jarrah Forest region and the Greater Southwest. This is why we need your help. If you have come across a hollow that is of appropriate size for a black cockatoo or you know that black cockatoos are using the hollow for breeding, let us know! All you have to do is download an app called Survey 123 from ArcGIS (Google Play or Apple Store). Then you can access our survey through the QR code provided here. The survey will automatically download to your phone through the ArcGIS app. It won’t take up any space on your phone and will allow you to complete a small survey when you come across a hollow. You won’t need internet while you do it, but will need internet to send the hollow information back to us. This will give us additional locations of black cockatoo breeding sites. Sharing locations of potential breeding sites for our beloved Black Cockatoos will aid in protecting their habitat and ultimately the species. If hollows are observed that have corellas breeding in them, this survey can be used as well. We appreciate your help in this! Link for Survey123 (Apple) Link for Survey123 (Google Play) Follow this link for the survey or use the QR code If you would like to participate and would like more information on the hollow survey and how to conduct it, please feel free to get in touch with me: [email protected]  Invasive white corella in a karri hollow, Margaret River. Julimar Forest for National Park! Julimar Forest urgently needs National Park status. This precious forest provides critical habitat for endangered plants and animals including black cockatoos, chuditch and woylies. Act now! Julimar Forest Alliance have created an e-petition asking the Legislative Council to support the reclassification of the Julimar State Forest to give it National Park Status.   Ngolyenok stickers The Ngolyenok sticker designed by Paddy Cullen has become an icon of the campaign to save the black cockatoos. If you’d to purchase one and further support the campaign, head to the WA Forest Alliance online shop:   Stay in touch through social media Keep in touch by following Save the Black Cockatoos on social media:  Facebook, Instagram, You can also visit our website     We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional owners of the South West forests across the Noongar/Bibbulmun nation. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.    We have recently changed our email platform. Our apologies if you have received this email in error! Click here to unsubscribe.