Loving your lawn may be bad for your health
By Kirsten Coates Lately I have been obsessed with lawns, and I don’t mean in a good way. Having recently learned that the average petrol lawn mower produces more carbon emissions hour by hour than a car made me dig a little deeper into the facts. Ride on petrol mowers can produce up to 11 …
Australian Reed-Warbler
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Australian Reed-Warbler is more often heard than seen, but can be observed at times climbing amongst reeds and other water vegetation or making short low flights across water. They were originally named the Clamorous Reed-warbler after its similarities with bird species from the …
Feeding native wildlife
By Alan Hewett We have all seen the delight of children feeding bread to ducks! How many of us have thrown chips to seagulls at the beach and watched the feeding frenzy that follows? What about the bird feeders in our gardens, when the birds become trusting enough to be able to hand feed? All …
The Mysterious Koel
By Jonathon Howard It’s normal for folks living along the coast of NSW to hear the sound of the Koels in Spring when they arrive from their wintering grounds further north. These birds let the locals know they have arrived with a loud repeated ‘coo-weee’ call. However, Koels have also become common visitors to Albury/Wodonga …
Common Bronzewing
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Common Bronzewing is a shy native pigeon that rarely allows the observer a close approach. If startled, they fly away with a clatter, keeping low to the ground while moving in a steady, direct manner. Their common call is a deep “oom”, repeated …
Protesting to save the planet
By Alan Hewett Sixty-five million years ago an asteroid struck the earth causing such wide-spread destruction that the dinosaurs became extinct. What would happen if a similar sized asteroid was hurtling towards us and would hit in a month’s time? Would we blithely accept the situation, go about our day-to-day business and say it is …
At one with nature?
By Alan Hewett Living with nature can be both a pleasure and a challenge. At the moment in the very early hours we are waking up to the loud, repetitive and mournful cries of an Eastern Koel. This bird is a cuckoo from S.E. Asia that visits our shores to breed and deposit an egg …
Yellow-tufted honeyeater
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Yellow-tufted Honeyeater is a visually striking bird. It has an olive-yellow head and broad black mask that extends from the base of its bill, over its eye to the sides of its neck. It looks more striking due to the elongated yellow feathers …
Where will our food come from?
By Charles Robinson As I write, most of the major northern hemisphere rivers are running dry. From the Yangtze to the Thames; from the Mekong to the Po. The only people celebrating these events are archaeologists as the lowering river levels uncover forgotten ancient artefacts or even sunken warships. But even archaeologists have to eat. …
The night before Christmas
By Lauriston Muirhead ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land Wind turbines were turning supplying demand. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care; The chimney long rested to clean up the air. The moon on the gum leaves and new-fallen dew Gave the lustre of mid-day to the aspects in …
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About Living Lightly …
Living Lightly is a column in the Border Mail newspaper on Wednesdays featuring local stories about sustainable living.
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