RELATIONSHIPS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.

You might recall that we first partnered with the Great Koala National Park back in 2000. To find out more about how this partnership began and to hear from some of the Gumbaynggirr Custodians and Conservation Group members, you can read more HERE. But we need you to know why this relationship is more important now than ever before...

FEB 2022 – KOALAS ARE MARKED AS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES.

It is unthinkable that our adorable iconic koalas will become extinct by 2050, but that’s the devastating truth. This is why it’s critical that together we continue our relationship with GKNP and support them in protecting the koalas’ natural habitat.

But like us, we sure you’re wondering why, is after the NSW government’s own experts made this dire prediction, they continue to allow broadscale destruction of koala habitat?

80% OF AUSTRALIAN KOALA HABITAT HAS BEEN DECIMATED.

Not intending to get political, but the reality is that the government will tell us that it’s all about revenue and jobs, but ironically jobs in the native forest timber sector have plummeted over the decades due to increased mechanization, overlogging and market forces. Not only that, but our public native forests are logged at an annual loss.

YES, THAT RIGHT - LOSS OF UP TO $10M EVERY YEAR.

Worse still, NSW taxpayers subsidise Forest Corp (the NSW government’s corporate body responsible for managing public forests on behalf of the people of NSW) to the tune of around $17m annually. Unbeknownst to us, we are paying Forest Corp to destroy the remaining public native forests and koala habitat across NSW and shockingly this is happening right now within the proposed Great Koala National Park. Not only do we lose critical koala habitat, but all the other important values and services that our native forests provide such as carbon storage and sequestration, clean and abundant water, rainfall, biodiversity, recreational and health promotion opportunities, and important Aboriginal Cultural Heritage.

ENDANGERED.

In February 2022 the koala populations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were declared as Endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) 1999. Koalas have gone from no-listing to vulnerable and now to endangered within a decade. This is an unbelievably fast descent towards extinction.

The Government has failed to halt the decline of our koalas through its failure to take meaningful action to prevent habitat loss. The unprecedented bushfires of 2019/20 have tipped the scales even further and only swift and decisive action will now save our koalas. While planting trees and funding koala hospitals are worthwhile actions, they don’t address the root cause of the problem facing koalas right now, every day – habitat loss.

BUT THERE IS A SOLUTION.

The Great Koala National Park (GKNP) proposal would see a significant proportion of NSW koalas protected in the public native forests where they live. It would provide opportunities for affected timber workers to transition to new jobs in the plantation timber sector or new park system undertaking road and track maintenance, drainage and weed management, tree maintenance and rehabilitation.

There is a win win in this for timber workers and koalas. Koalas get to live and recover their numbers in peace and safety while native forest timber workers who are currently logging themselves out of their own jobs could have the opportunity of working in a truly sustainable sector – National Parks.

The New South Wales Government has a target to double the number of koalas in the state by 2050. This will not be possible without protecting their habitat and the Great Koala National Park will ensure that occurs.

THE HARSH TRUTHS

Here are 6 critical reasons why we need to support the Great Koala National Park…

1. The New South Wales koala is at serious risk of extinction.
2. Since 2001 koala numbers in NSW dropped by up to 62%.
3. 2010 - 2020 saw rapid habitat destruction through logging and land clearing accelerated by the repeal of the native Vegetation Act.
4. The 2019/20 bushfires killed an estimated 5,000 koalas and burned 28% of their habitat in northern New South Wales.
5. Last year a NSW parliamentary inquiry found that without serious intervention, koalas could become extinct in this state by 2050.
6. The NSW Government has a target to double the number of koalas in the state by 2050, but this will only be possible through habitat protection and the GKNP will ensure that occurs.

HOW YOUR TEE PURCHASE WILL HELP

The Great Koala National Park proposal…

• Would be Australia's first National Park dedicated to an endangered species.
• Would add 175,000 hectares of native state forest to existing protected areas to form a 315,000 hectare network of parks and reserves in the Coffs Coast hinterland between Grafton and Kempsey.
• Does not include any plantation estates or private property.
• Would provide immense opportunity to transfer unsustainable logging practices into a sustainable, biodiversity hub and carbon sink that contributes to the wider community and ensures the survival of the koala and other vulnerable and threatened species into the future.
• Would link fragmented forests with high biodiversity hotspots.
• Would provide flow-on benefits for tourism, local businesses, water security, carbon sequestration and for other conservation dependent species.

LOOK AT WHAT WE’VE ACHIEVED TOGETHER ALREADY.
With your support the donations from the 2020 GKNP charity tee have contributed to:

• Development of a Memorandum of Understanding with Gumbaynggirr Traditional Owners of the land covered by the GKNP proposal.
• Engagement of a part time staff member to progress the campaign in line with their Strategic Plan.
• Lobbying of NSW MPs in lead up to the tabling of the Great Koala Protected Areas Bill.
• GKNP Market Stall set up which has allowed the campaign to reach the public.
• Preliminary planning for a new GKNP promotional video to be used in TV advertising in lead up to 2023 State Government elections.
• CB handheld radios for citizen science activities.

SO, BUY A TEE WHETHER IT’S FOR YOU, YOUR FAMILY, OR FRIENDS, MALE, FEMALE, YOUNG, OR OLD.

Donations from the sale of the tee will fund innovative and highly engaging educational material that will create understanding of the fragility of this pressured environment, urging people to take action that will positively change the course of the koalas’ and our collective future.

FEELING LIKE YOU WANT TO DO EVEN MORE?
Soon the NSW Upper House will debate the Great Koala Protected Areas Bill which aims to see the Great Koala National Park created. The GKNP campaign team are encouraging people to contact Upper House MPs to tell them that they support the GKNP and urge them to support the Bill. Visit koalapark.org.au for information on how you participate in this call to action.

Get Your Koala Tee Here

A note from our founder: Arnhem Bickley:

My heart goes out to everyone who has been affected by the recent devastating floods in our corner of the world. Our team has been so overwhelmed, it is truly heartbreaking.
So many of our close friends have lost everything.
Some barely making it out alive.
Complete and utter devastation.
Seeing the strength of our wonderful community is incredible.
So many people giving time and energy to come together and help those in need.

This is what a community is about, coming together, not living in segregation or isolation, it’s about being there for each other.Community is what keeps our spirits strong. We are so proud to see our community coming together, the support, donations and fundraising efforts are inspiring and make us so proud to be a part of this beautiful Rainbow Region. But the road ahead of us is long and we know that we can always do more!With this in mind, we have decided to dedicate our next of our charity tee to the people of the Northern Rivers, 100% of proceeds of this tee will be donated to Givit, where the money will be filtered out to those in need, and we’re looking to our community to create something beautiful.

Calling all creatives! Submit your art for our Flood Relief Charity Tee 

Do you want the chance to win a $500 Arnhem wardrobe and have your artwork printed on our Northern Rivers Flood Relief Tee?

The theme is "Community is what keeps our spirits strong."

First prize is $500 Arnhem Wardrobe and incredible exposure with your work fully credited featured a stunning Arnhem Tee.

Entries close on Friday 18 March, we will then open up teeshirt sales for pre-order!

Register below or share with a creative friend. We can't wait to create something beautiful and lend additional support to our neighbours in need.

Our precious oceans are in crisis. It is estimated that 8 million tons of plastic enters our oceans annually. Plastic is durable and indestructible, taking hundreds of years to break down. Plastic in our oceans break down into micro plastics that enter the food chain, threatening both marine biodiversity and human health. All too frequently are we witnessing sea birds, turtles, whales and other marine life suffering and dying due to plastic ingestion. And not only this, plastics leach chemicals disrupting delicate ocean ecosystems, giving rise to ocean acidification that's a contributing factor to climate change. 

Plastic pollution is woven into fast fashion culture. It's estimated that 63% of materials used for clothing are virgin plastic that when washed leech microfibers into our waterways, destined to become microplastics in our oceans. As a sustainable fashion brand this statistic breaks our hearts. We choose to work with sustainable fibres from trees or plants, or to close the loop we use recycled fibres that turn plastic pollution into fabric that we use for our intimates and swim. But even recycled synthetics shed fibres when washed, which is why sell Guppybags that catch microfibres to prevent them from entering our waterways and oceans. 

At Arnhem we want to create a new balance for our industry rooted in true understanding of the ocean, our planet and how we as people relate to it. To celebrate World Oceans Day we have chosen to support Sea Shepherd  and their ongoing campaigns to defend, conserve and protect our oceans.

We see an affinity between our industry and Sea Shepherd's Marine Debris Campaign. The Marine Debris Campaign is driving change through awareness and community engagement. Defending Australian waterways and coastlines. The nationwide campaign began in 2016. Passionate volunteers have removed over 3 million pieces of waste destined for the ocean. This waste has been painstakingly categorised and documented by citizen scientists. This data is used to identify the source allowing Sea Shepherd to work with local councils, businesses and other stakeholders to find solutions to prevent plastic pollution. Sea shepherd hold monthly community clean up events, empowering communities to take direct action and turn the tide on ocean waste.

Below we introduce you to Marina Hansen, National Marine Debris Campaigner for Sea Shepherd Australia. So join us in going a little deeper into the amazing work that's going on to tackle marine debris...

What does a day in the life of a Marine Debris Campaigner look like?

Every day working at Sea Shepherd presents something new – whether that is being out cleaning beaches, writing government submissions advocating for action to address plastic pollution, hosting a school beach clean-up or talk, writing communications on the plastic crisis to our followers, or supporting one of our amazing volunteer Coordinators who host community clean-ups in their area each month.

Tell us about your journey in becoming a Marine Conservationist and working with Sea Shepherd on this campaign.

I started out as a volunteer with Sea Shepherd in 2007 with the Perth Chapter. I absolutely love whales and at the time whaling was happening in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary and I thought to myself I’m going to go and volunteer for Sea Shepherd as they were the only organisation taking direct action in Antarctica to protect the whales.

Fast forward to 2015, fellow Perth volunteers Liza Dicks (who is our Remote Campaign Coordinator, Arnhem Campaign Leader and Cocos Campaign Leader) and her daughter Georgie (veteran Sea Shepherd crew member) and I decided to host a beach clean-up each month for other Sea Shepherd volunteers. It was really only meant to be a new year’s type resolution to do something to help our local environment. After a few months our presence on the beach was attracting lots of interest from the public asking to join in and so mid-year we hosted our first community clean-up.

In February 2016, the Sea Shepherd Australia’s national Marine Debris Campaign was launched – we now have 19 volunteer marine debris teams around Australia and we have also conducted clean-ups in remote areas like in NorthEast Arnhem Land with the Dhimurru Rangers, at the World Heritage Listed Ningaloo, Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), off Brisbane and the Cocos Keeling Islands. The remote clean-ups show hidden places that are impacted by ocean plastics washing ashore.

Sea Shepherd’s Marine Debris Campaign is very grassroots and shows how individual actions can make a big difference.

What is the driving force that inspires your dedication to defend the oceans?

As a young child I remember the pure enjoyment of being at the beach with my family and how amazed I was at seeing whales and dolphins and all the little fish, rays, crabs and sea stars – I want my children and future generations to experience that same joy and to have clean, healthy oceans brimming with marine life.

We can’t stand still and do nothing, that’s not an option. The oceans are the lungs of the planet and are key to our survival so we must all be motivated to protect the planet.

What impact does marine debris and specifically plastic waste have on marine life and ocean ecosystems?

I can’t sugar coat this - the ecological consequences of marine plastic pollution are heartbreaking.

Plastic pollution is devastating coral reefs and coastlines globally, it affects the air we breathe and the water we drink. plastic on beaches is even increasing temperatures and there is no doubt plastic pollution it is killing marine life – we’ve sadly seen that first-hand.

Plastic pollution is a threat to all marine life including seabirds, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and seals (the list goes on), causing injury or death through entanglement, drowning or starvation following ingestion.

Life began in the ocean and our future depends on the ocean. It is in all our interests to protect it from increasing threats such as plastic pollution.

What does the future of the oceans look like if there isn't a change in behaviour and reduction in ocean waste?

There are some frightening projections out there such as “By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight)”.

There is a growing body of evidence from researchers studying marine plastic pollution that says our coastlines, the ocean, marine life and even human are being impacted at an alarming rate.

Along with this research, escalating rates of plastic production and the pollution we see on the beaches, acting with urgency to address the plastic crisis in our ocean is critically important.

Can you share some examples of how the marine debris data sheet has been directly applied to industry and councils to reduce ocean waste?

At all our clean-ups we don’t just collect the trash we sort and count it as well – people can see the scale of the problem when it is laid out in front of them. It’s not unusual to record 7,000 items at a single clean-up and at one of our clean-ups at Cottesloe Beach in Perth we sorted and counted just over 26,000 items – which was really shocking.

We’ve used this evidence with councils to address problematic items – from beachside cafes using polystyrene (clamshell) food packaging, to the plastic barriers used to protect plants during coastal dune rehabilitation. As such we’ve seen environmentally friendly alternatives adopted and councils introducing single-use plastic policies, which is a great outcome for the ocean and marine wildlife.

What government legislation and policy can be implemented to ensure industry best practice to help prevent marine debris? What do you think the solution is?

Using our data as evidence Sea Shepherd has advocated hard for mandatory product stewardship with a range of stakeholders to show that Australia’s beaches are being impacted by plastic pollution and we need urgent and consistent legislation. A range of policy actions are slowly being introduced including some States bringing in legislation to address single-use plastics, but there is still so much more that needs to be done. NSW hasn’t even banned single-use plastic bags!

With marine plastic pollution being a global issue, it’s not just domestically where we need the Australian Government to take action. Intergovernmental policy action and agreement is required with urgency to tackle the massive challenges that lie ahead for our environment and our health if we don’t come together.

The narrative that has been drilled into us for decades is that waste and pollution is a consumer driven problem. Sure, we all have a part to play but we really need to stop the plastic at the source. A report in May revealed that just 20 companies produce more than half of the world’s single-use plastic waste – if we could stop plastic at the source and design out pollution this would have a monumental impact.

How can our customers get involved in beach cleans and citizen science to help reduce and document marine debris?

There are many ways you can be part of the movement to protect our oceans. From attending one of our monthly community beach clean-ups, to reducing your plastic footprint by investing in reusables such as stainless steel water bottles, KeepCups, saying no to straws, buying clothing made from sustainable fabrics, remembering to take your shopping bags or being a local eco hero by using your voice to be part of the solution – every action makes a difference.

If you can’t make it to a Sea Shepherd clean-up you can do your own mini beach or street clean-up (just remember to wear gloves and enclosed footwear!) and upload what you find to the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database which is a national marine pollution database accessible via an App.

With 80% of pollution originating from land-based sources, it makes local clean-ups, which remove trash before it enters the environment, vitally important for life in our ocean.

“Unless we stop the degradation of our oceans, marine ecological systems will begin collapsing and when enough of them fail, the oceans will die. And if the oceans die, then civilization collapses and we all die.” – Paul Watson founder of Sea Shepherd

If you want to know more, watch the Sea Shepherd films on our blog here. 

And if you're feeling inspired to take the next step on your zero-waste journey, get ready for Plastic Free July as we've got something exciting coming for you!

*Thanks to Jake Parker for the Sea Shepherd photos. 

Rainforest Rescue’s Land Manager, Justin McMahon, their Nursery Manager, Marine Deliens, and their Ecological Advisor, Allen Sheather, planning where to plant the new tree factory.

One of the goals is to conserve and rehabilitate this World Heritage site to such an extent that the Daintree becomes one of the only rainforests in the world that’s not in decline, but is in fact growing: how do you envision this project will inspire change around the world?

The Daintree has been heralded by some of the most famous ecologists and environmentalists, including David Suzuki and Sir David Attenborough, who see it as a world treasure that should be protected at all costs.
The wild places on the planet are under threat and disappearing. It’s everyone’s responsibility to protect the unprotected when its loss threatens everyone. In the Daintree, the world’s most ancient of rainforests, hundreds of hectares are open for development and thousands of hectares are in need of restoration and rewilding. It’s a great opportunity.
Endangered and endemic species like Bennett’s Tree Kangaroo and the Spotted Tail Quoll, the Idiot Fruit (Idiospermum) and Hope’s Cycad, are found nowhere else in the world. The Daintree is a refugia of life that goes back millions of years – and the Daintree itself has been evolving and thriving for as many as 180 million years!
Our primary concern right now is residential development as commercial opportunities are limited; we are trying to reduce the number of houses built in the Daintree. Though it’s not large scale development as such, house pads, infrastructure, building works, extended roads and increased traffic – all are bad news for the precious Daintree flora and fauna. We actively target and approach landowners whose properties are in high conservation rainforest. We want to protect land that links to the National Park, connecting these important wildlife corridors with our already rescued Rainforest Rescue properties.
At the same time as rescuing more and more properties, we will also be putting more and more trees on the land, replacing and rescuing rare Daintree habitat in a very measurable way.
Strategic partnerships that are united in this project’s success is hugely inspiring. Working side-by-side with the Eastern Yalanji Traditional Owners and their representative corporation, Jabalbina, we’ll run the nursery together. With Queensland Trust for Nature, we’re driving demand for trees for the new large-scale restoration projects that we are designing together. GreenFleet, an ethical carbon project that is itself a not for profit organisation, will help provide some of the funding. Additionally we’ll leverage Natural Capital and Accounting for Nature to help cover costs, and we’ll need the support of others to make this realistic yet ambitious restoration program successful. Partners like Arnhem and donors all over the world will help make the provision of so many needed trees possible.
This New Nursery will launch a level of restoration like never before, with 500+ acres identified and more coming. The devastated Daintree areas, Australia’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest and home to rare and endangered flora and fauna, CAN be repaired.

There is a lot of hope. And when we get this right, it’s a business model that could be replicated around the world.

Forest restoration has been the centre of global discussions about combating climate change, preventing species extinctions and improve farmers’ lives, but this is only effective if forests are maintained for decades: what are you doing differently to maximise the ecological, social and economic benefits in this region?

Well, you don’t need to manage a mature forest – Nature takes over. But initially it’s important to plant right and plant well – and for a couple of years to help the trees grow in the face of unpredictable weather and weeds. The fact that we are working with partners on a business structure that will employ the local community and the Traditional Owners is a major point of difference.
We are creating a large-scale Tree Factory where none exist at this size; to create large scale restoration. This is in a place where this has never been done before.
We are leveraging all different types of economic channels, too, to make this possible including ethical carbon and ermeging co benefits credit programs like the Cassowary Credits from Terrain NRM, amongst many more.
There is a larger benefit of globally driving tourism too – where people will come from all over the world, visit the Daintree, and this New Nursery will be one of first things they see. It’s very exciting to be working with Jabalbina Traditional Owners and QTFN with a presence right at the Gateway to the Daintree.

Here are some more details on the ecological, social and economic beneficiaries:

LOCAL COMMUNITY - the Daintree region is strong on tourism, many locals are engaged in this industry. Providing this new increased capacity nursery alongside a partnership with Jabalbina will help enhance the tourism offerings. Many want to perform meaningful acts as part of their adventures - we often get requests for planting trees. We’re not sure what we’ll do yet – but it will be meaningful.

NATIONAL COMMUNITY- the Daintree is part-protected as a World Heritage Area/National Park. The services that the Daintree provides extend from ecosystem services to habitat for endangered and endemic species on towards supporting tourism that supports Queensland’s, and Australia’s, economy. The Daintree is directly connected to the Great Barrier Reef and the health of the reef depends upon a healthy Daintree Rainforest …and the Daintree needs the rain and the clouds that nurture it, as part of the hydrogen cycle they share.

WORLD- Increasing our ability to plant more rainforest trees will benefit the world by helping to mitigate climate change. Rainforests are complex ecosystems and we believe they capture and sequester carbon at higher rates than the more common forests. We’ll actually be measuring this on our projects – improving the data sets available to science as we draw carbon down from the atmosphere. And rainforests enhance and protect biodiversity, literally holding together the web of life. This is good for everyone.

COUNTLESS PLANTS & ANIMALS- will also be positively impacted by having more of their habitat replanted. The Daintree holds 142 endangered or threatened flora and 44 endangered or threatened faunal species. These include threatened flora like: Endangered Blue Tassel Fern (Huperzia dalhousieana), Rare Russell River Lime (Microcitrus inodora) the Cooper’s Creek Walnut, and endangered animals incl Musky-rat Kangaroo, Spotted-tail Quoll, Bennett's Tree Kangaroo (images in supporting document) and the Southern Cassowary plus many more.

Beyond having an ecological impact this project will provide training and learning opportunities for Indigenous rangers on country, and will open up employment opportunities for first nations people: can you tell us about this?
JABALBINA Aboriginal Corporation - Jabalbina is the registered Cultural Heritage Body for Eastern Kuku Yalanji Bama ensuring the landscape of Kuku Yalanji Bubu (lands) is both environmentally and culturally secure. Not only are they enthusiastic about establishment of this nursery for learning, skill-sharing and economic benefits, they were instrumental in securing the land for the new nursery through lobbying local council in our favour.

Jabalbina is keen to share staffing with non TO staff. We’re keen to create this new team that will see ultimately millions of magnificent Daintree trees propagated and grown.

What are 5 easy steps that anyone can do to help stop deforestation?

Planting trees is arguably one of the most proactive things we can do to mitigate climate change. Scientists, scholars, celebrities, school kids, pets…all agree that planting trees is a good idea.

And get out there! Being connected to Nature it helping us connect to ourselves. Science shows that being in Nature is good for our health – and we reckon it’s good for the soul. So get out there and spend more time in Nature.

More trees reduce atmospheric carbon and add oxygen to the atmosphere. A complex ecosystem like a rainforest does much more than that, providing habitat for the smallest of microbes to the most numerous insects to the rarest of animals…and the birds and the butterflies! The Daintree is amazing. Rainforests are amazing. Helping increase their footprint, adding trees to the borders and encouraging the extension of the rainforest will help protect the core as we continue to face a changing climate.

We think that: #TreesAreTheAnswer

And we reckon that everyone can #PlantTrees and everyone will benefit.

More trees reduce atmospheric carbon and adds oxygen to the atmosphere. A complex ecosystem like a rainforest does much more than that, providing habitat for the smallest of microbes to the most numerous insects to the rarest of animals…and the birds and the butterflies! The Daintree is amazing. Rainforests are amazing.

So 5 steps:
1 – Education, knowledge is power: arm yourself with all the wonderful reasons why planting trees really is a smart idea.
2. Plant a Tree! #TreesAreTheAnswer – in your backyard – with your local community
3. Come to our Tree Planting Day
4. Support organisations such as Rainforest Rescue
5. Buy a Tee!

Photographer: Darren Jew