The Beagle Editor, The Garden Of Eden: In the words of Forest Guardian Margaret Blakers, they took a place so beautiful it was called Eden, and turned it into THIS. Yesterday, Harriett Swift from South East Region Conservation Alliance Inc took Peter Robertson, National Forest Campaigner, the Wilderness Society for a tour of this wasteland. The devastation of the natural garden of Eden, Australian Native Forests, is visible from space.
NSW State Government's Garden of Eden inspection by Peter Robertson, National Forest Campaigner, The Wilderness Society Photo: The Forest Embassy
The chunks of forest are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. And in a week that Andrew Constance MP ignored public concern for SO LONG that people dumped wood chips on his doorstep to take the message home, logging industry supporters claimed it is "sustainable". They claimed the forests grow back. Inspecting bare paddocks of sandy, burnt soils shows nothing growing back but infestations of bracken. Whole paddocks where nothing is left standing but a single, solitary "HABITAT" tree, with not a blade of grass left around it. And the silence would be defeating, but for the sound of the trucks, moaning up and down Edrom Road, towing their loads of native Australian forests to the docks, to climb on board the wood chip mountain - yes it is the size of a mountain - with large logging trucks a mere dot in their wake.
The truck heading back to shore across the bridge has just unloaded cargo of whole trees to be sent to Asia. The mountain of wood chips in the background is NATIVE AUSTRALIAN FORESTS. — in Edrom. Photo: The Forest Embassy
Hillside after hillside, Valley after valley stripped bare. And NOTHING alive, NOTHING growing.
Above: NSW State Government's Garden of Eden "This is East Boyd State Forest. The logging operation was 241 hectares. 95% pulplogs. There were records of Sooty Owl (Heard and observed) Yellow-bellied Glider (Heard), Powerful Owl (Heard & observed), Masked Owl, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Feed Tree), Gangang Cockatoo, Eastern Pygmy-possum Southern Brown Bandicoot Long-nosed Potoroo, V\/hite-footed Dunnart varied Sittella There was even a koala record." - Harriett SwiftSouth East Region Conservation Alliance Inc Photo: The Forest Embassy In an entire day exploring the devastation, the only life visible was a crow and an ant. Until as recently as October this year there were yellow bellied gliders here, there were glossy black cockatoos, there were critically endangered species here. Now, there are the charred remains of extinct life. And we call that "sustainable". The Forest Embassy The Forest Embassy represents all groups wishing to bring an end to Native Forest Logging in Australia.
