Newcastle-Born Greater Bank Marks 75th Anniversary, Planting 75 Thousand Trees Across Hunter and State

BY ISABEL EVERETT

Newcastle-born, Greater Bank is marking its 75-year anniversary by planting 75,000 trees across regional NSW over the next 12 months.

Greater Bank CEO, Scott Morgan, says  45,000 trees and plants will be planted at key locations around Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, the Hunter and Port Stephens.

These include; 

·         Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary

·         Wallsend Wetlands

·         Cockle Creek, Lake Macquarie

·         King Edward Park, Newcastle

·         Bull and Tourle Street Reserve, Mayfield West

·         Heaton Park and Maclure Reserve, Jesmond

·         Wallsend Park and Ironbark Creek, Wallsend

·         North Creek, Warners Bay

·         Williams Valley, Dungog

·         Luskintyre

The remaining will be planted across other regions within Greater Bank’s area of operation, including Central Coast, Illawarra, Dubbo, Tamworth and Tweed Heads.

“This project has been many months in the making, which has included working closely with local councils and other environmental groups to select the most appropriate sites for the planting. These groups have also provided valuable direction as to the types and species of plants to ensure they complement and support the local habitats,” Mr Morgan said.

“Once completed the project will have a significant impact on the local environments. Beyond the flora regeneration of the respective sites, collectively, the 75,000 trees will have the capacity to absorb 1,650,000kgs of carbon dioxide each year. That offsets 97 people per year and emissions from 600 cars.

Joining the launch is 13-year-old, Gigi Hubber, who features in Greater Bank’s recently launched 75th anniversary campaign. The Charlestown-based high school student is extremely passionate about the environment, and reinforced why projects like this are so important, particularly to our younger generations.

“From a young age my parents showed me documentaries and books about the environment and as I’ve got older, I’ve realised that we need to do more to protect it,” Gigi said.

“We need to inform people, older and younger generations, about the impacts we are having every day and how we need to change our ways before it’s too late.

“It makes me feel really happy seeing companies not just focusing on money, but actually giving back to the community and focusing on making the world a better place.”

Image Credit: Mashable

Hunter Residents Koalified to Report Wildlife Sightings

BY LILLY HAINES

NSW communities are being asked to share where they have seen wildlife in their local area as a new online Community Wildlife Survey launched yesterday.

The survey, conducted by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), asks local people to record sightings of ten key animals wherever they have been sighted across NSW in the last two years.

The survey is being funded as a part of the $44.7 million NSW Koala Strategy which is helping to secure the future of koalas in the wild.

Koala populations around the Hunter have been in decline over recent years in some areas and the NSW Koala Strategy also provides funding to set aside more than 20 000 hectares of state forest in NSW regions including the Hunter.

Port Stephens is the home to the largest population in the Hunter and even their numbers are decreasing dramatically with reports forecasting the extinction of the NSW koala population by 2050 without intervention. 

Science Director of the OEH, Dr. Tom Celebrezze, said the survey is collecting data on the populations of brushtail possums, foxes, platypus, wombats, koalas, spotted-tailed quolls, kangaroos, deer, and dingos.

"One great thing about using citizen scientists and local volunteers is that they're everywhere so this approach using people's eye witness accounts means we have millions of eyes looking for ten different common animals and that gives us some baseline information about where those animals are being seen," Mr Celebrezze said.

"This means that we then get data about these species that informs a whole range of programs and research, knowing where koalas are being seen so we know where the populations are located means that we can add that [information] to the many different programs we are doing looking at koalas," said Mr Celebrezze.

The OEH says community wildlife sightings are hugely valuable to researchers with the data from the survey helping to gain a better understanding of where wildlife is as well as information on their health and any threats to the animals.

The last survey was conducted by the OEH in 2006 when more than 16 000 people shared their wildlife sightings which helped shape research and conservation priorities for NSW, and this new survey hopes gather data showing how populations have changed in over ten years.

"We just really encourage everyone to get involved, maybe you have been on a family trip and your kids have seen an animal and maybe it's a good opportunity for them to learn more about science and how they can get involved in conservation," Mr Celebrezze said.

The Community Wildlife Survey can be accessed here.

Image: John Spencer/OEH

Bushfire Assistance for Cessnock and Shoalhaven

BY LAURA D'AMICO

Disaster assistance is being provided for Cessnock and Port Stephens communities affected by the mid-August bushfires.

The fires, fuelled by strong seasonal winds, scorched through over 2000 hectares, with significant operations required from first responders from the RFS and Fire & Rescue NSW.

Assistance is being jointly provided by Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) in response to the bushfires, with assistance measures available for local Councils' clean up and restoration costs, as well as for eligible people whose homes and belongings were damaged.

The NDRRA will also be providing freight subsidies for primary producers and grants for eligible non-profit organisations.

To apply for assistance you can contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority.

Further information on disaster assistance and emergency information can be found at disasterassist.gov.au and emergency.nsw.gov.au.