We protect what we love

FRIDAY . 24 . 06. 22 .

Good morning and happy Friday!

We've had a pretty epic week at FWP. We're updating our strategy for 2022 and beyond, increasing our membership base and to top off an already great week, we had a mid-week catch-up with Milly Young. Wednesday evenings don't get much better than that!

When not working on FWP stuff, we're outside exploring. Lara and Paige have been busy running the Broken Arrow Sky Race in California, USA. A huge congratulations to both - Lara ran her first ultra and placed 15th (whoa) and Paige, despite moving halfway across the world less than a week ago, ran the 26km race. We're super proud of our wonderful volunteers.

In this week's newsletter, we're linking you to a great Ted Talk on 'How to find joy in climate action'; we summarise our Trail Chat #2 with Milly and link you to the full video; we detail the implications of raising the Warragamba Dam wall (as part of 30/100) and finally; we link you to where you can watch the WSER live (and cheer on our 14 Australian runners - including friend of FWP, Lucy Bartholomew).

Have the best weekend!

☀️ ☀️ ☀️

HOW TO FIND JOY IN CLIMATE ACTION

A Ted Talk by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Have you heard of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson? This woman is such a bright, engaging powerhouse of climate action, that if it's a yes from you, I'm certain it's a 'hell yeah, she's awesome!'. If it's a no, then you are in for a treat.

I first came across Ayana on her incredible podcast 'How to Save a Planet' a few years back. She's since left the podcast (which is still great!), as her profile as a marine biologist, climate spokesperson, and her general excellence in making climate solutions seem accessible and achievable by all has exploded.

She then went on to co-author a book, All We Can Save, an anthology of essays from women at the forefront of addressing the climate crisis. My copy is full of underlines and asterisks and exclamation marks - it's an incredible, hope-filled gift that I highly recommend. This is why I was so excited to see today that Ayana has given a TED Talk about a concept first born on the podcast - the Climate Action Venn Diagram.

We highly recommend watching the 10-minute TED Talk, and then downloading our very own activity sheet here, so you can find ways to combine your skills and passion to help confront the climate crisis.

Watch 'How to find joy in climate action' here, and be sure to tag your #ClimateVenn and @forwildplaces when sharing yours! You can also get some inspiration at the newly created @climatevenn.

Happy watching! Hilary 🙂

📝 💙 👩🏼‍💻

TRAIL CHAT #2: MILLY YOUNG

On the Muddiest Known Time and an epic adventure in Tasmania's Southwest

Milly Young is an ultra runner, climber and all round adventurer. Back in April 2021, she set out to run the renowned Port Davey and South Coast Track; a journey that traverses over 180kms of south-western lutruwita/Tasmanian wilderness! Whilst she holds the Fastest Known Time, her adventure is better known as the 'Muddiest Known Time' - a short film about the journey (available on Adventure +). You can watch the trailer here.

Milly is currently living in Chamonix, France, "enjoying the mountains, doing lots of running and working on a personal project to up-skill in alpine climbing". When not outside adventuring, she works for Energy Lab - a startup NFP that works with Australian-based companies that focus on confronting climate change and promoting clean energy. Within this space, Milly has also started a fellowship to promote energy and climate entrepreneurship amongst women.

We chat to Milly about her MKT adventure in the epic wilderness of southwestern Tasmania including what she'd do differently (hint: it includes fewer gels 😂 - we've all been there) and where the will to keep going comes from despite being in a world of pain. To quote, Milly "felt like a possible broken toe wasn't enough to warrant a rescue, and the reason to push on was wanting to finish. I wasn't ready for it to be over."

Source: The Mercury

Milly also talks about the differences in environmental conservation and trail maintenance between Chamonix and the places she's ventured in Australia, provides some tips for running a first 100-miler, and confirms that rock climbing and running don't mix well (some core strength is transferrable).

You can watch the Trail Chat with Milly here. And why not subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're at it?

🧗‍♀️ 🚣‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️

WILD MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION

Wild Magazine are donating 10% of the subscription amount to For Wild Places

FWP Founding Members would have received their free copy of Wild magazine by now - we hope you enjoyed it! If you did, now's the time to subscribe! Wild Magazine are donating 10% of the subscription amount to FWP to help us do what we do (you also get a free Thermos). Yet another act of awesomeness from the team at Wild!

Use this link to subscribe and encourage your friends to sign up as well - it's open to all FWP friends, supporters and outdoor allies.

📖 📖 📖

Week 6: An early morning cycle to Warragamba Dam, Dharug country.

It was my first time visiting Warragamba dam. During the recent flooding, I heard a bit about ‘raising the wall’ but, other than the obvious increase in wall height, wasn’t sure what this meant for local communities, traditional cultural sites or the environment. Alas, I decided to do some research ...

Why raise the wall?

The government (state of federal) is proposing to raise the height of the dam wall to mitigate flood risk to residents in the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley in the event of extreme rain inundation.

It’s estimated that the dam contributes 70% of flows during flooding events. Raising the wall will benefit the areas (including Wallacia, Penrith, Emu Plains, Richmond, Windsor, South Creek and Eastern Creek) which are prone to flooding; minimise risks to life, livelihoods & damage to property; and, the major disruptions of economic activity from rapid, deep flooding.

Looking 'downstream' and seeking the sunrise.

So why is this proposal so controversial?

Because of the adverse effects upstream it would create.

Raising the wall will cause waters to flow further upstream, increasing inundation as well as the duration of inundation. This inundation will impact the Burragorang Valley, which connects with the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and largely comprises native bushland.

Ecological impacts

Threatened ecological communities will be inundated, which may affect habitat for threatened flora and fauna species. This includes rare biodiversity, such as the Nationally threatened Camden White Gum forest.

Impacts on Aboriginal sites of cultural significance 

174 sites of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage importance fall within the upstream impact area. These sites are of significant archaeological and cultural importance.

Mandatory long-ride coffee stop at the half-way mark.

Construction impacts

Construction is expected to take five years to complete and would require significant alterations around the Warragamba Dam area to allow access for workers and vehicles e.g.  concrete batch plants, materials storage areas, access rods etc.

During peak construction periods the project would require up to 500 workers and generate daily traffic of about 250 light vehicles and 100 heavy vehicles. This will produce extra pollution (including noise pollution), ‘temporary minor dust impacts’ and sedimentation and erosion of local catchment areas which will cause significant disruption to flora, fauna and wider ecosystems.

🚰 🚰 🚰

NEXT WEEK

FWP volunteer, epic trail runner and all round good-human Lara Hamilton will be sharing her experience of the recent Broken Arrow Sky Race. And, we'll hear from Paige Penrose, who will be providing a summary of the very famous Western States Endurance Run (from a spectator point of view). I'm already excited for next week.

WSER is happening this weekend, 25th June. You can watch it live via this link and also register to get notified when the live stream starts. We also want to send all the goodness to friend of FWP Lucy Bartholomew who is racing WSER for the third time. You can listen to Lucy's pre-race interview here (but be sure check out all the other amazing athletes).

🍉 🍉 🍉

Take some time to get outside, find inner peace on the trails and we'll catch you next week.

And, as always, thank you for taking the time to support wild places!

Hilary, Elanor & the For Wild Places team.

CHECK US OUT ON INSTAGRAM

We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging.

This email was written on Dharug country. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.