Australian Agriculture and Natural Resources Online
www.aanro.net
This a searchable online database of projects and research funded by the Australian Government and State Governments.
Australian Marine Conservation Society
www.amcs.org.au/
Australia’s only national group solely devoted to protecting the marine environment. AMCS campaigns on issues including marine protected areas, fisheries, threatened species and land-based pollution.
BeGreen
www.begreen.com.au/index.html
An environmental site for Australians, includes news, hot topics, calculate your ecological footprint.
Beyond Zero Emissions
www.beyondzeroemissions.org/
Aims to facilitate the implementation of social changes and technologies that will reduce the impacts of climate change.
Birds Australia North Queensland Group
www.birdsaustralianq.org
Birds Australia North Queensland Group (BANQG) is a regional group of the national organisation Birds Australia (www.birdsaustralia.com.au). The BANQG region covers a large area of north Queensland - from Ayr north to the Torres Strait Islands and west to the Northern Territory border. Regional contacts are based in Townsville, Mount Isa, Cairns, Atherton Tablelands, Mossman/Daintree and Cape York.
Catchment Detox Online
www.catchmentdetox.net.au
Features a series of radio segments and an ongoing resource website, and an online game where the player has to sustainably manage a virtual river catchment.
Dung Beetles Australia
http://www.dungbeetle.com.au/
Learn all about dung beetles at this new site
Earth Portal
www.earthportal.org/
A resource for science-based information about the environment.
Encyclopedia of Life
www.eol.org/
An unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth.
Environment Business Australia
www.environmentbusiness.com.au
Environment Business Australia is the peak body representing the environment and sustainability industry in Australia.
It aims to establish national and international networks to link Australian capacity and solutions
with environmental challenges and problems
Farmers Info
http://www.farmersinfo.com.au/newsletter.htm
The Farmers Info service provides provides information on a comprehensive range of issues as well as a one-stop-shop for details on products and services relating to the farming sector.
Farmers Info Drought Update
http://www.farmersinfo.com.au/newsletter.htm
A reminder that Farmers Info will be sending out a Drought Update weekly to provide the latest drought information from a wide variety of sources. If you feel may benefit from this free service and would like to sign up for your own newsletter, go to www.farmersinfo.com.au/newsletter.htm
Firenorth
www.firenorth.org.au
This North Australian Fire Information (NAFI) fire-tracking site has some new features this year. Courtesy of Geoscience Australia, NAFI users can now view a MODIS satellite image (less than a day old) as a background to the other NAFI maps. You can also download fire scar images from the map you are looking at on the NAFI site, rather than having to download a fire scar map for the whole of northern Australia.
Greening Australia
www.greeningaustralia.org.au/
This site is committed to protecting and restoring health, diversity and productivity of our unique landscapes. It includes links, which can provide resources and contacts to help resolve vegetation management challenges. Some of the links provided include a searchable database of natural resource management publications and comprehensive directories of research and resources for vegetation management.
Growcom Land and Water
www.growcom.com.au/land&water/index.html
Growcom Land & Water helps fruit and vegetable growers achieve environmentally sustainable and profitable farm management.
HESROC - Health & Environment Regional Organisation of Councils
http://www.hesroc-nq.org.au/
Facilitates local government areas of Burdekin, Charters Towers, Dalrymple, Hinchinbrook, Thuringowa and Townsville in addressing natural resources management and environmental health issues in North Queensland, includes information on how to access resources and funding.
Indigenous Land & Sea Management website
http://www.caringforcountry.com.au
A website to promote the 2nd National Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference: CARING FOR COUNTRY, our people, our nation, our responsibility, is also hoped to promote the work occurring in Indigenous Land & Sea Management around Australia.
Invasive Animals CRC
www.invasiveanimals.com/
The centre aims to counteract the impact of invasive animals through the development and application of new technologies and by integrating approaches across agencies and jurisdictions. Its website includes a number of fact sheets on feral animals for download.
Landcare
www.landcare.org.au
Landcare was born through an historic agreement between the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Conservation Foundation in 1988. Since that time, more than 300 Landcare Groups have been established in Queensland.
North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA)
www.nailsma.org.au/
NAILSMA consists of a partnership between the Kimberley, Northern and Carpentaria Land Councils and the Balkanu Cape York Development Association. Research and natural resource management projects are funded via NAILSMA's core member organisations. These currently include: Dugong and Marine Turtle Management; North Australian Fire Management; Indigenous Knowledge Conservation Strategy; Leadership, Scholarship and Communication; and Tropical Rivers Scoping Project.
North Australian Land Manager
http://www.landmanager.org.au
The site has almost 20,000 items of NRM information grouped into different regions (States, Territories, bioregions), different topics (fire management, weeds monitoring etc.) and different types of information (case study, video, research paper etc.). Initially focused on fire management and biodiversity management, it is intended that the site will grow in response to user feedback to provide practical information for natural resource managers in north Australia.
Peter Andrews Natural Sequence Farming
www.naturalsequencefarming.com/
Peter Andrews has spent the past 25 years researching the way nature does things and has developed a working model on his 3000 acre property, Tarwyn Park, in the upper Hunter River catchment area. The property is a famous thoroughbred horse stud. Peter has been a guest on every major television and radio network including interviews with Australian Story and the 7.30 Report and magazines and newspapers such as The Land constantly run stories on his findings.
Peter’s Natural Sequence Farming provides Australia with a low-cost, widely applicable method of reducing drought severity and boosting productivity on farms and the natural fertility of the landscape. The technique is based on ecological principles, low input requirements and natural cycling of water and nutrients to make the land more resilient. There’s been much community interest in natural sequence farming since Peter’s story was repeated on Australian Story in February 2006.
QRAA financial support to small businesses affected by drought
http://www.qraa.qld.gov.au
Two programs of support are available and details of each can be found in the links below:
Fact Sheet; Small Business Emergency Assistance Guidelines; Small Business Exceptional Circumstance Guidelines; Small Business Application Form
Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF)
www.qff.org.au
Queensland Regional NRM Groups Collective (RGC)
www.rgc.com.au
Queensland Water and Land Careers
http://www.qwalc.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=40
Queensland Water and Land Carers
www.landcareqld.org.au/
QWaLC formed in April 2004 to fill an important need in supporting the valuable work of volunteer community groups in the Natural Resources Management sector in the state.
Reef Check Australia
www.reefcheckaustralia.org/
Reef Check Foundation Lts is a non-profit organisation that works with marine park tourism operators and other businesses, community groups, governments and universities to educate the public about the importance of coral reefs and monitor their health.
Sugar cane harvesters
www.powerhousemuseum.com/australia_innovates/?behaviour=view_article&Section_id=1000&article_id=10097
Toft cane harvesters 1961
In the early 1960s Toft Bros in Bundaberg introduced the first commercially successful mechanical sugarcane harvester. Soon after, Massey Ferguson began to manufacture cane harvesters and within a few years the Australian sugar cane crop was being cut mostly by machine - a goal of numerous farmers and small companies, who had tried but failed to make reliable mechanical harvesters over the years.
Both Toft Bros and Massey Ferguson exported their harvesters to Cuba and other cane growing countries, and established a new Australian industry based in Bundaberg. By 1980 world sugar prices had plummeted, the Massey Ferguson factory had closed and Toft Bros had been bought out by a succession of foreign owners
In 1986 Toft's executives borrowed money to buy back the company and renamed it Austoft. In 1993, the company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and in 1996 it was acquired by Case Corporation Pty Limited. At the end of the century Austoft was continuing to play a major role in the development of technology in the Australian sugar cane industry.
Further Reading
’The canecutters’, G Burrows & C Morton, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1986, pp 175-187.
Links
Australian Sugar Industry
How sugar is made
Sugar Research and Development Corporation
Sugar Research Institute
Sustainable Insight
www.sustainableinsight.com.au
Provides information related to sustainability, including working on a new sustainable house project
Sustained
www.sustained.com.au/
Showcases organisations in Australia that are committed to sustainability and innovation and are adopting an array of smart initiatives that are delivering social, environmental and economic benefits through news, issues, offers and events.
The Oceania Project (Australia)
www.oceania.org.au
The Oceania Project, established in 1988, is a Not-for-profit, Research and Education organisation dedicated to Raising Awareness about Cetacea (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises) and the Ocean Environment.
Volunteering Australia
www.volunteeringaustralia.org
Information about volunteering in Australia: latest developments include the ‘Evaluating Volunteer Training Toolkit’.
