We protect what we love

FRIDAY 23.06.2023.

Good evening friends, and happy winter solstice! ❄️ Apologies for dropping into your inbox a little later than usual today... we hope you are just about to call it a day, step away from the desk and get in the weekend zone!

We hope you are all keeping somewhat warm and motivated amidst the cold snap we have been experiencing! Although the sub-zero mornings make getting out there early a bit of a pain, nothing beats a crisp, clear morning! With the winter solstice behind us, we are looking forward to the days getting longer and the opportunity for adventures increasing! 🌞

This weekend we have not one, but TWO TRACTION events underway! Hilary will be leading the charge in Melbourne/Naarm at Yallambie Park on the Plenty River on Saturday morning, and Will will be tackling the Illawarra Escarpment at Possums, in Balgownie on Sunday.

Last week, half a dozen excellent individuals came together on Darebin Creek to pick up an astounding 37kg of rubbish over 90 minutes! Bags upon bags were filled with empty bottles, plastic bags, household waste and other crap salvaged from the dirt, mud and water. Thank you to everyone that came along, and although we don't love to see it, hopefully, this week is just as productive!

Who said plogging can't be an extreme sport?!

Wherever this weekend takes you, we hope you can partake in a bit of TRACTION (Trail Action) yourself, and #Take3fortheTrail while you're out and about 🙌🏽🏃‍♀️

This week's newsletter

In this week's newsletter FWP Project Manager, Will, provides a summary of the Pilliga Campaign to date, and details that the Gomeroi have lodged an appeal of the December 2022 decision to permit the Santos project to go ahead, with Full Court Hearings scheduled for August this year. We're also linking you to some incredible South-Australian-made sea glass jewellery that seeks to turn washed up trash into treasures.

Have a wonderful weekend folks, and happy trails ✌🏽

🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

PILLIGA CAMPAIGN UPDATE: GAMIL MEANS NO!

An update from Dharawal local, Will.

Pilliga Ultra participants are running to keep the Pilliga wild. This means backing the Gomeroi’s wish to stop the Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project; a development that would see 850 coal seam gas wells built on Gomeroi land.

Well over a decade ago, in December 2011, the Gomeroi People lodged a Native Title claim for an area in north-west NSW. The claim reaches the Queensland border to the north, the Castlereagh River to the West, the Hunter and Goulburn Rivers to the South and the New England Tablelands to the east. It covers 111,317 square kilometres and includes the magnificent Pilliga forest.

The Pilliga is sacred land for the Gomeroi and Wailwan First Nations peoples and yet the Native Title claim is still pending…

Decades before the claim was lodged, mining companies started exploring for coal seam gas (CSG) in the Pilliga. The first well was drilled in 1998 and, over the years, numerous pollution spills and contamination leaks from operations have been documented. These incidents have been heartbreaking for First Nations people.

Santos took over operations in late 2011. They continued gas exploration drilling and retained plans for the Narrabri Gas Project, originally proposed by the former operators, Eastern Star Gas.

Narrabri surrounds. Source: @the_pilliga_project.

Santos applied for four petroleum production leases (PPLs) in 2014 so, given the Native Title claim, formal negotiations with the Gomeroi about CSG operations began. For a project to go ahead, Santos would require an agreement with the Gomeroi. If no agreement could be reached, the matter would proceed to the National Native Title Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’, created under the Native Title Act 1993).

Listed in Santos’ own Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the Narrabri Gas Project are burial sites, stone arrangements and earthen circles, curved trees, rock shelters, rock art, grinding grooves, quarries, mounds, scar trees, hearths and ovens and sites of cultural significance that have been anthropologically verified. It’s clear the Gomeroi have deep ties of both tangible and intangible heritage to the Pilliga.

Given these deep ties (and the inevitable impacts on water and climate that would occur with a large-scale CSG project), the Gomeroi have said no to an industrial gas field on their land.

Gomeroi woman, Dorothy Tighe, told the 2022 Santos Annual General Meeting, "We're here to tell you you're not welcome on Gomeroi and Githabul and Ngarabal country because there's not any proper consent done for our people".

"You never consulted with us as traditional owners, you went straight to tribunal. We don't want you on country. Gamil means no".

Tighe was referring to four 'Future Acts Determination Applications', lodged by Santos with the Tribunal in May 2021. These asked the Tribunal for a determination that the PPLs may be granted without the Gomeroi People’s consent and agreement to the Santos project.

As you approach the gas fields in the Pilliga you can spot the skulls and bones of many animals that were unlucky enough to drink contaminated water in the search for any drinking water since all the river beds dried. Gas extraction dries up underground water sources and contaminates surrounding available water. Killzones leech poisonous salts directly into the forest. Source: @the_pilliga_project.

Then in March 2022, Santos put an offer to the Gomeroi People, which sought their consent to the gas project in exchange for certain benefits. The Gomeroi voted 162-2 to reject the agreement so the matter fell to the Tribunal.

This should have settled the matter. But no.

In December 2022, the Tribunal gave the Project the green light, saying the public benefit of the project outweighs that of the sacred sites and the self-determination of the Gomeroi. This means Australia’s native title laws have approved a project that will do irreversible damage to an essential biodiversity hotspot, vital water sources and Aboriginal cultural heritage, while a native title claim is still pending…

But the campaign continues. The Gomeroi have lodged an appeal of the decision in the Tribunal, with Full Court Hearings scheduled for August this year.

Now’s the time to sign up for the Pilliga Ultra. Experience for yourself the magnificence of the forest, help protect vital water sources and a critical biodiversity hotspot and - importantly - support the Gomeroi in their claim to keep the Pilliga wild!

⛏️ 🌿 ⛏️

SEA GLASS JEWELLERY

Turning trash into treasures

Turning sea glass trash into these sterling silver treasures. Source.

Bumble and Harlow is a South-Australian based one-woman business that is turning trash into jewellery. Polly, founder of Bumble and Harlow and creator of all pieces, is a maker at heart. After traveling around Europe for 2 years, she returned and started making natural lip balms. Soonafter, Polly did her first jewellery making course and, as someone who loves collecting all sorts of nick-nacks from the beach, decided to start making beach-inspired jewellery.

Polly collects most of the sea glass from local South-Australian beaches, as well as from other beaches around Australia and Europe. She spends time picking the perfect pieces that she can turn into treasures.

The beauty of sea glass is that no piece is the same. The glass is unshaped, and kept exactly how the ocean curated it, and all pieces are made from sterling silver.

Left: Polly at work, Right: setting sea glass in their sterling silver moulds. Source.

So, what is sea glass? Well, it’s small fragments of glass that are washed ashore and usually found buried amongst shells and sand. It is glass that begins as bottles that get smashed on land, end up in our drains, travel to our oceans, and are then tumbled in the ocean by waves. This gives them a smooth and often frosted finish.

In addition, Bumble and Harlow have partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects, supporting reforestation campaigns in Nepal, Mozambique, Haiti, Madagascar and Indonesia.

With every purchase you make, 10 trees are planted in these areas that are impacted by deforestation. This not only helps with the rebuilding process of damaged ecosystems, but also provides local communities with employment.

You can check out some incredible products on their Instagram or website.

💍 💍 💍

NEXT WEEK

In next week's newsletter, Will is providing an update on the Illawarra Escarpment. We will also link you to FWP Camp video (I've had a sneak peek and the videography is epic).

And as always, thank you for taking the time for wild places.

Will (he/him), Elanor (she/her) & the For Wild Places team

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UPCOMING EVENTS

24/06 TRACTION: Plenty River | RSVP

25/06 TRACTION: Illawarra Escarpment | RSVP

09/09 Pilliga Ultra | Sign Up

05/11 East Gippsland Ultra | Pre-Register

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 Dharawal and Gadigal lands. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.