UBC News and Updates – June 2025

Dear NRPG members and interested,

Another excellent newsletter and very worthwhile events from UBC

Kind regards,
Steve Gates

Secretary, NRPG Bushcarers

View this email in your browser    To all our members and supporters.  I hope that you will be able to come along to our next event or contribute to upcoming activities outlined below.  The Facts about Prescribed Burning (26 June)Have you say on Alcoa’s mine expansion plansPlan for the local government elections this OctoberBiodiversity – in parallel with climate? This email has a unique web address; use the icon below to post it to your Facebook page. Christine Richardson   Share   UBC TALK: THE FACTS ABOUT PRESCRIBED BURNING Thursday 26 June from 6:00 pm for 6:30 start  The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions currently spends more that 50 million dollars per year to undertake extensive, industrial-scale prescribed burning in the South-West Forest Region. Geophysicist Peta Kelsey describes DBCA’s current prescribed burning program and discusses its effectiveness in preventing subsequent wildfire and protecting people and infrastructure, as well as its impact on biodiversity, forest flammability, human health and greenhouse gas emissions. Her talk references the Prescribed Burning Fact Sheets published on the South-West Forests Defence Foundation website.  Join us on Thursday 26nd June at City West Lotteries House at 2 Delhi Street, West Perth. We will open the doors to the Conference Room at 6:00 pm and serve light refreshments.Register here.  If you can’t make it to West Perth, you can join us online via Zoom. Please email [email protected] to request the Zoom link.   HAVE YOUR SAY ON ALCOA’S MINING PLANS  Submissions due by 21 August 2025.The EPA has now published the environmental review documents relating to two Alcoa assessments they are currently undertaking.  This is a 12-week public consultation on both the Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Revised Proposal and Alcoa’s bauxite mining operations in the Darling Ranges for the years 2023-2027, and will close on 21 August 2025. The Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Revised Proposal is a significant amendment to the existing Pinjarra Alumina Refinery proposal which was approved in 2004 and is already being implemented under Ministerial Statement 646. It is separate to the assessment of Alcoa’s current and proposed mining operations on the Darling Range. These Mining and Management Programs (MMPs) are also being assessed at the level of Public Environmental Review. This is our chance to voice our concerns about Alcoa’s plan to clear Jarrah forests and put Perth’s drinking water at risk for their profits. You can keep up to date at the End Forest Mining website or via their socials.   WA Forest Alliance (WAFA) are preparing a detailed response to Alcoa’s destructive plans that will address our concerns about: the expansion plan to clear over 7,500ha of Northern Jarrah Forest to mine bauxite the threat to Perth’s drinking water posed by strip mining activity within Reservoir Protection Zones and broader water catchment areas the failed rehabilitation program run by Alcoa and the inability to successfully regrow Jarrah forests.  There are several submission options available via the End Forest Mining consortium.  You can sign on immediately and your name will be added to WAFA’s submission when it is completed.  Or, you can also sign up here to be sent a copy as soon as it is ready and then add your name.  Or, you can write your own submission.  A guide by WA Forest Alliance will be available soon to help you interpret the lengthy documents provided by Alcoa. Email [email protected] to find out more.  In July UBC will be attending one of the briefing sessions being offered by the EPA, and we will pass on the information we receive in a future email.   Photo: Voice for Nature Facebook page from Big Jarrah Rally on 2 June   PLAN FOR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS THIS OCTOBER Nominations close 4 September We encourage you to plan for the LGA elections this October. We can either work with the system or joust with it. Both can be hard work. However, this October we have an opportunity to vote at local government elections held across the state. UBC has over 90 member groups, in different local government areas. Imagine if we collectively were able to elect over 90 champions of conservation activities.  It is a big ask to request of anyone in terms of time and attention to all matters local, not just your or their favorite ones. It does require patience with decision-making processes. However, the rewards felt by being able to speak for the environment and to contribute to improved outcomes are satisfying. Perhaps you know someone who could be interested. Or perhaps you can start up a selection committee. Those of you with a political frame of thinking might remember Cathy McGowan from Indi (Vic) and the approach shown by the Community Independents Project. Perhaps the first step is to discuss this at your next meeting.  Photo from UBC’s Advocacy Skills workshop 2024  BIODIVERSITY- IN PARALLEL WITH CLIMATE? Did you notice the milestone reached at this year’s Federal election? The under 45 voters were greater in number than the older cohort. How does the age breakdown in your group look? All the things we say about ‘getting’ volunteers, hours spent pulling weeds, working on both hot and cold days, are true but often we are not attracting new members.  Some young people talk of gaining experiences in preference to products. It sounds as though we should be able to build on this. Perhaps promote meeting people in your community, feeling connected, learn about species in your backyard, or even making stockpot soup. Increasingly, First Nations peoples are involved in natural resource management / ecosystem restoration projects. Interest and involvement is growing. More and more people are engaging in revegetation planting.  However, we are losing biodiversity, faster than our current strategies can cope with. We need new people, new ideas, new political pressure.   Judy Fisher of IPBES spoke at a meeting of Friends of Bold Park on 12 June about this very matter. She spoke with passion and the conviction that comes with being a member of this international panel for five years. IPBES has been working in parallel with the IPCC. One section was a group discussion component. No clearing, increased urban density, promoting making do with less, working with your local government and other strategies were noted. In combination they are not sufficient to meet the challenge of biodiversity retention. Of course, the conversation turned to making an economic argument.  We welcome new ideas and sharing them and making them happen.  Photo: Dale Tilbrook hosting bushfood tasting at Trigg Bushland  THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORTYour support makes a big difference to our advocacy. Given that UBC is wholly volunteer led, we rely on membership fees, donations, grants, and countless volunteer hours to deliver on our advocacy and care roles of being a public voice for the bush. Truly independent and so very committed to the cause!  Many of you will remember that UBC formed in 1993 to advocate for the protection of urban bushland as the city of Perth expanded across our biodiversity hotspot. Those challenges remain today as our newsletter shows. Please consider a donation to UBC (via the button below) or join us as a volunteer.  MAKE A DONATION   Facebook Website   Copyright © 2025 Urban Bushland Council WA Inc., All rights reserved. Urban Bushland Council WA Inc. Our mailing address is:Urban Bushland Council WA Inc.PO Box 326West Perth, Western Australia 6872 Australia Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.