The Big Blueberry on the North Coast of NSW

The coastline of Spain is known as the ‘Sea of Plastic’ ("Mar de Plástico”) (film)  It is the world’s largest plastic greenhouse complex with 350 square km of fruit and vegetables grown by immigrant  labour for the horticultural industry.

Will the North Coast of NSW become such an industrial plastic wrapped landscape?

This ‘country’ has had 229 years of extractive industries. The extraction and export of natural resources in colonial times and now leads to conflicts with residential areas.

Small scale rural landholdings populate the coast and the hinterland. The commons protects National Parks and reserves to afford biodiversity a home. The interface of nature reserves, human settlement and industrial production is that of conflict. “Residents and council do not know about a blueberry farm development until they are there”. (source)

The high rainfall area has been also ‘discovered’ by multinational agribusiness. Once, some of the Coffs Harbour area was know as the ‘Big Banana’, it seems now the North Coast is being developed into the BIG BLUEBERRY.

The cash crop is grown for export. After the land is cleared (image) and all Australian flora and fauna have been made homeless, the crops are grown with agri-chemicals (pesticide, fungicide etc). Runoff impacts the surrounding areas. The berries and the incorporated water and soil are sent overseas. The legacy remains.

Increased machine noise and traffic impact on residents and remaining wildlife.

The promise of ‘jobs’ reads more like ’The Grapes of Wrath’. It has been found that backpackers and non-English speaking background workers from o.s. are underpaid and exploited. (here, here, here)

The farm workers go, but residents are stuck in a neighbourhood that is becoming an industrial site. The conflict between locals and large corporate agribusiness interests needs attention by the regulatory bodies.

As coastal urbanisation increases, the space and resources shrink. The horticultural industry expands in Bellingen, Boambee Valley, Coffs Coast, Corindi, Crossmaglen, Woolgoolga, Repton, Valla, Valery and Nambucca. At Bruxner Park the views towards Coffs Harbour and the ocean are starting to look like the above plastic netting landscape, white plastic nets are gobbling up the green coastal landscape.

The 21st century could offer a chance to refrain from treating ‘country’ as a BIG QUARRY. A future beyond extraction and exploitation. Care for the commons, the water bodies, soil and biodiversity.

Authorities can regulate and monitor ‘land use’ and prevent abuse in the interest of all.

 

Quotes:

- A meeting at the CWA on Monday, March 13 at 7pm

“Intensive Horticulture is creeping into the Bellinger Valley by stealth and residents across the Shire will gather to discuss largely unmonitored and unregulated development of intensive horticulture as a new plantation has now become evident to worried neighbours from Valery,” Bellingen Environment Centre spokesperson Caroline Joseph said. (source)

- Valla: “There is no visual flow in Deep Creek and still pumping continues" (source)

- Repton: “A key feature of the village is the natural setting, surrounded by the Bongil Bongil National Park and Pine Creek State Forest. The conversion of land zoned R5 to provide for an agricultural development is wholly at odds with the primary objective of the zone.”

“Thirty-Two separate chemicals are listed in the NSW Department of Primary Industry’s Blueberry Plant protection Guide 2015-2016 for use on blueberries in NSW to control disease and pests...Of the 32 chemicals approved one third of the chemicals are identified as likely to have a long-lasting, negative off-target impact … most disturbing is that pesticides can have both immediate (acute) effects and long term (chronic) effects on the health of people who are exposed to them. ... (The) main concern is spray drift over to nearby houses whose only water is collected in tanks and consequently we will drink.” (source)

- Woolgoolga: “The development of a blueberry farm near his property further west on Newmans Rd resulted in a reduction of kangaroos in that area.” (source)

Links:

Blueberry farm in the Shire reignites the debate, Bellingen Courier, 28.02.2017

Repton resistance  Bellingen Courier, 29.11.2015 

Like living in a war zone, abc 01.03.2017 

Australian agriculture safeguarding against climate change. Structures for larger-scale growers to cover whole paddocks or orchards. abc 04.03.2017

Warning against the deliberate exploitation of young people and visa holders, Bellingen Courier, 06.03.2017

https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/

Wildlife friendly netting

Updates:

 

Blueberry blues: how the cash crop is causing a contamination crisis in Coffs Harbour, 29.09.2022 The Guardian  

 

Calls for royal commission as report details allegations blueberry farmers pay workers $3 an hour 3.12.2020

 Concerned residents want blueberry farms to need a DA 

“We were shocked to learn that there is no monitoring or compliance required at a local (council) level to clear privately owned,forested land or to establish intensive horticulture plantations and that this concern about unregulated development is being shared across the region,” Bellingen Environment Centre’s Caroline Joseph said... Pine Creek is dying ..." Bellingen Courier, 14.03.2017

Deregulate, deregulate - "Productivity Commission recommends a wide slash of farm red tape, except biosecurity and food safety. It also recommends agricultural land should be used for its highest value, even if that means resource development." abc rural 29.03.2017

"Europe's Dirty Little Secret: Moroccan Slaves and a 'Sea of Plastic' " or landscapes a perennial plastic greenhouses, Ecowatch 2015

 

Marine scientists fingerprint sources of nitrogen on the Coffs coast. Nearly all creeks with agriculture (blueberry, macadamia) and urban land use have (sewage) water quality issues. Bellingen Courier, 16.09.2020

 

Images:

Greenhouses of the Campo de Dalías, Almería Province, Spain , NASA’s Earth Observatory

Organic blueberries

The March of Business, Bellingen graffiti 

 

More images:

Mar del Plastico, Bernhard Lang

Little Terns or Pigs Will Fly and Sawtell Dogs will be on a Leash

Where the coastal town of Sawtell meets the National Park, Little Terns have their breeding grounds. The endangered Little Terns (Sterna albifrons subsp sinensis) have been nesting in this area for a log time. They like to make beaches, sand spits and sand islands near rivers, creeks and coastal lakes and mouths of estuaries their homes. Every spring and summer the migratory seabirds have been raising their families along the Australian coastline.

“Little Tern nests are a simple scrape in the ground, sometimes lined with feathers and eggshells. The highly exposed hatchlings are very susceptible to predators from both introduced and native species, as well as disturbance from human activities.” (source)



"Nesting sites are usually located where humans swim, walk, exercise dogs, picnic and drive off-road vehicles. The mere presence of people on the beach may cause these terns to desert their eggs and eventually leave the colony altogether" (source)

Unchecked coastal urbanisation spreads 'the package' (McMansions, roads, multiple pets and lawns) into all 'scenic' coastal places. The sprawling want-to-be Sydney culture rejects the specificity of the local environment.

Not long ago there were 70 separate breeding colonies in NSW, but today there are only 15 sites left in NSW. (source) Roaming dogs and their lawless pet owners are one of the main threats to the continuing existence of the bird.

"It had also been disappointing to see the number of people taking dogs into the little tern breeding compound on Bongil Spit, south of Sawtell Headland….The locations where the little terns are nesting are clearly signposted and dogs are prohibited from entering national parks at all times due to the threat they pose to native animals...The law allowed for an immediate fine of $1500 and people found with dogs within the national park could expect an on-the-spot fine of $300." (source)

The forest of signs, the absence of enforcement and the paltry fine do not repel the enthusiasts of introduced canines from making the wildlife refuge a dog loo.

Rangers even have to expect aggressive responses from dog-walkers if they point out the law to pet owners. 'Dogs Breakfast' and appeals to the local population are there to 'raise awareness' of residents that have already 'voted with their feet' for pets. For birdwatchers or bushwalkers it seems outright dangerous to approach people that are wilfully breaking the law.

Images:
Sawtell, aerial photo
Little Terns, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Hawksbill turtle, Bonville Headland mural, Sawtell

Update:
A car drove through a seabird community, leaving injured and dead birds lying on the sand.  A "crested terns had to be euthanised by the vet because its wing had been smashed to pieces" Cars on Airforce Beach at Evans Head. 08022017

Hate Crimes Against Wombats

Ten wombats, including four feeding mothers were deliberately run over and killed by a SUV driver at Bendeela camping ground, Kangaroo Valley, abc 20.09.2015


On the Making of Biodiversity Guardians 

Updates:
Footage emerged of a driver appearing to deliberately swerve at a dingo on Fraser Island, World Heritage 02102015

Image:
John Gould, Vombatus ursinus,"Mammals of Australia", Vol. I Plate 55, 1863, via Wikimedia Commons

Dorrigo

The town of Dorrigo is on the the Dorrigo Plateau , the traditional country of the Gumbaynggirr nation. Today endless paddocks and European flora cover the landscape.

Gondwana rainforests in the form of Dorrigo National Park, World Heritage Area still clings to the edge of this plateau. Sub-tropical rainforest and a large array of animals find refuge there.


In town a collection of black trains, some from 1878, stand out. The private Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum seems rarely open to the public.

Mining is on the agenda here. The Pacific Highway needs to be lined with stuff from the mountains. Heavy haulage would shoot down Waterfall Way and increase the traffic burden even more. 


A Chinese company also has several exploration licences for minerals including gold and copper northwest of Dorrigo. The Dorrigo Environment Watch Inc. are residents concerned about their local environment, water quality and the effects of antimony mining.