Australia is blessed with an abundance of wild, natural landscapes.  So where are the books that celebrate them? asks Hannah James in For the love

The call is getting stronger.  The voices are getting more diverse.  The push to bring the bush back into the ‘burbs – into back and

They have a reputation for being spooky.  Being dark in colour and hanging upside down and being nocturnal, all add to the mystery of these

One could be forgiven that we are about to discuss the rather sinister side of life, the shady characters that prefer to go about their

When it comes making the case for a particular way of thinking, there are a number of ways to go about it.  One might be

Protecting nature to protect ourselves.  Sounds obvious, but … On this road trip of life, where do we expect to end up?  If life is

It seems obvious that we are a part of nature, not some separate entity independent of the earth – able to exist isolated from the

Here is a follow-up to our posts referencing Matthew Evans and his book Soil. In the US there’s the Thanksgiving Season.  At this time of

Our second part of the John Green feature: The Anthropocene Reviewed.   Sometimes I like to image benevolent aliens visiting Earth.  In my daydreams, these aliens

Travel writers are always on the lookout for subjects to write about, but very few know that Munibung Hill exists, let alone take the time

Continuing to focus on authors and their books that include ideas worth sharing, here are a bunch of extracts from the latest book by John

…We are all, for a certain while, not soil, and the best research we have on decomposition comes from body farms. The atoms that make

Soil: the incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy,  by Matthew Evans (ABC Books, 2021), is a wonderful book that was hard

For many people animals are part of their business. In these instances animals are viewed as property to be bought and sold in the market

In a society that places so much emphasis on private land ownership, community land can sometimes feel like a diminishing commodity.  As public land in

The Lake Mac Urban Greening Strategy (UGS) is being produced with an aim to increase the amount of tree canopy and improve the local amenity

Producing an ecological health report card, is an important part of understanding how nature is fairing as the human footprint continues to colonise every aspect

He’s the bloke who wrote The Dogs That Made Australia. It contains some ripper yarns by someone who writes in the vernacular of the everyday,

If the earth is the source of our being then it stands to reason that mother nature would know a thing or two about how

COMING AT THE SUBJECT THREE WAYS … To rubbish Munibung Hill is to rubbish our kin The vast majority of people, who are visitors to

When was the last time we saw a cat on a leash or restrained by a harness?  Dogs are not permitted to roam around unsupervised,

When we think of the tide, we think of water lapping on the shore.  We think of the ebb and flow – the going out

MUNIBUNG HILL IS ONE OF LAKE MAC’S MOST SPECTACULAR LOCATIONS THE NEW DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN WILL PROTECT AND ENHANCE THIS AMAZING LANDMARK WITH BETTER ACCESSABILITY

Citizen science The number of native animals killed on Australian roads is rising as the density of cars and trucks rises.  Native animals often browse

If one of the stories we are telling ourselves is that we’re living in a breaking world, where social order, ecological systems and financial stress,

In a media release posted on Lake Mac’s website: Draft plan sets out future for Lake Mac’s best-kept secret (9 November, 2021), Manager Community Assets

It’s easy to get caught up in the immediacy of daily events.  There’s something about taking time out to do a little harking back to

As we experience the ups and downs of life at this time, freedom has become a cherished commodity – if commodity is the right way

On this road trip of life, where do we expect to end up?  If life is as they say, more a journey than a destination,

It’s sad but true, that urban waterways have suffered badly at the hands of developers with the help of modern day engineering and the approval

Clive Blazey is Co-founder of The Diggers Club and has been a constant voice for nature for over 50 years.  This is post taken from

Here’s a provocative statement to launch a blog post:  ‘Lawns are nature purged of sex and death. No wonder Americans like them so much,’ wrote

There is no doubt in our minds that Mother Earth should be given stakeholder status in every aspect of our daily lives, translating to all

Our occasional series of stories where people reflect on their visits to Munibung Hill, includes some history of the Cardiff village as it was in

She’s been a tower of strength stretching back decades.  Now in her 87th year, Jane Goodall is not giving up hope that we can come

Continuing with another post on the plastic crisis. It’s everywhere. Literally and figuratively, it’s everywhere.  We’ve become reliant on plastic in all its forms.  The

Although it is often considered the bane of gardeners, arborists and farmers, the pendulous clumps of mistletoe provide an extremely important resource for all manner

It’s all very well for big business to urge us all to make a bigger effort when it comes to things environmental, but they are

European settlement has not only devastated indigenous peoples culture, it has also devastated many plant and animal species. While European settlement has in one respect

Money seems to dominate so much of our lives.  More than that it seems to dominate much of our thinking.  So often, we frame what

Place making is one of the principles practiced by indigenous peoples and it would seem they are as relevant now as they ever were.   In:

To save one of the rarest butterflies in the world, you first need to save an old bulloak woodland, preserve an unnamed goldilocks-species of ant,

We’ve gotten ourselves into a pickle. Messing up the earth is what happens when we do far too much picking apart and not nearly enough

If like many of us, you are visiting Munibung Hill, Glenrock or another local area of nature during lockdown, you could attest to the face

To acknowledge an accomplishment is a gesture most often reserved for human acts of achievement. That a person deserves to be recognised.  Perhaps, not unlike

In his book Changing Tides: An Ecologist’s Journey to Make Peace with the Anthropocene, Alejandro Frid argues for a change in thinking about environmental management

We have a bias at MHCS.  Art that is inspired by and incorporates aspects of nature gets preference, perhaps as you’d expect. In Quilting gem

Climbing Munibung Hill is nothing like climbing Mt Everest.  Being a hill, not a mountain it doesn’t come with the challenges of hundreds of other

Electronic components await inspection and possible repair at the Stilbruch workshop in Hamburg, Germany. Legislation is pushing back against a waste-based economy by requiring companies

Picture: Connecting remnant bushland with larger areas is critical to the survival of invertebrates, small mammals,  and reptiles that live within these trapped / isolated

Everything is connected. We are part of a whole and what we do in Lake Macquarie, impacts on the lives of shark in waters near

‘Beyond each price tag hides a ripple effect. It expands from soil to waterways, grocery aisles to kitchen plates, factories to fulfilment centres and mail

In his book A Life on Our Planet, David Attenborough writes about what we need to do in order to live within the carrying capacity

Awesome is a word that’s bandied about a lot these days, especially in relation to sport and physical appearance.  We think it devalues the word

Grief and loss can involve more than the human species. In this story Let’s Talk About Reef Grief, Marta Zaraska (Discover Magazine, May 2021) shares her concerns

If there’s anyone qualified to speak about the health condition of the Earth and the health impacts visited on her by the human species, it

Around the World in Eighty Days was a great film that has inspired many offshoots in terms of the eighty days aspect. Jonathan Drori’s take

As planners continue to drive up the density of urban areas, a consequence is the inevitable increase in congested roadways. This in turn leads to

Anytime is a good time to go exploring some place that’s new for us, especially when others have been going to that place and talking

One way to calculate the carrying capacity of an area is to apply the DSE measure – dry sheep equivalent.  It’s a stocking rate term

It’s nothing new to ask for nature to be given a higher priority on the planning agendas of those responsible for balancing the needs of

Three articles about humans and biodiversity. It seems like we have to quantify everything before we can even begin thinking about protecting and conserving it. 

One of the challenges we face today is that of ‘false consensus’.  The way it goes is: “well everyone else is doing it, so I

Sarah Shah, reporting on the work of Martin Wikelski, a biologist at Germany’s University of Konstanz and MD of the Max Planck Institute of Animal

To help understand and appreciate the importance of indigenous story telling we are posting this second collection of extracts selected from: SONGLINES: The Power and

To help better understand and appreciate the importance of indigenous story telling we are posting this collection of extracts selected from: SONGLINES: The Power and Promise,

Contemplating our impacts on and our obligations towards our earthly home – three perspectives From Little Stitch Studio … An.thro.po.cene?  An·thro·po·cene  /ˈanTHrəpəˌsēn/ adjective relating to or denoting

This is an edited version of a segment from Conversations with Richard Fidler, ABC Radio.  The subject of the conversation is: The story of the Bible in

For some people this is a step too far, but research is coming down on the side of an understanding that other than human beings

The word fixed can be used in many contexts.  We rather like the way Florence Williams has taken the word and applied it to our

There is an increasing awareness of the impact of human society on the other than human earth community.  While this is only now getting some

Spiders are everywhere.  So much so, we don’t even know of their existence, so small are so many of them.  Being tiny, being hidden away

We are as the name implies, an organisation committed to protecting that area of Country known as Munibung Hill.  We also understand that Munibung Hill,

The media is a rich source of information when it comes to expanding our minds about things ecological.  The media is the medium.  It’s actually

Being connected in times past would most likely mean being in touch with family and friends, perhaps keeping up appearances at family events and being

We’re all seeking knowledge, even basic stuff like what’s the weather going to be so we can decide what to wear, whether to walk or

Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England, doesn’t muck about when he delivers this BBC Radio 4 lecture at a time when

In this report: A Radical Reset for Conservation in Africa, journalist Rachel Nuwer (Yes, 14 December 2020), suggests that with tourism all but dried up

Once upon a time, in the good old days, it was a given: when something we possessed broke or seemed not to work as it

How could it be any other way?  Is it not an cliché to realise that no man is an island, we are all more than

Jacinta Tobin decided it would be a good idea to learn more about the language her grandparents and great aunts and uncles were forbidden to

We reprint this article in full, as a contribution to discussions about how to better understand the context within which many of us attempt to

There’s something eerie, something of a detached mentality, about the scenarios being painted of what the future might look like 10, 20 or 50 years

Much attention, indeed emphasis is given to conserving the earth’s biodiversity.  Taken for granted or not, without biodiversity it would be a drab and dreary

With the rise of the internet and frequency of the tweet, the place of storytelling has been pushed aside.  Yet the need for storytelling has

How do we best describe nature?  For a start, this depends on our worldview.  Do we see ourselves as a part of, or apart from,

The older we get the wiser, the slower, the weaker, the stronger, the grumpier, the curiouser?  These are loaded questions that can be answered multiple

Munibung Hill has been on the minds of many people over the years, not least of which have been the people who visit on a

There’s an old saying that notes: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.   Easier said than done if we lack the skills and

It’s time to get personal.  In a time when letter writing has become a bit old hat, we thought it was worth posting this letter

When areas have been altered by European ways of land use, that include actions such as timber harvesting, cattle grazing, coal mining, gravel quarrying, fruit

Reading the archives is not everyone’s cup of tea.  Trawling through page after page of type and B&W maps can be tedious. To some extent

For many years scientists, and people in general, have subscribed to the notion that we drill down to the most minute detail to such an

Munibung Hill was not unoccupied or vacant or waste land prior to European settlement in the early 1800s. It might be convenient to persist with

Wisdom comes with age so they say. Sadly the way some older people use social media, especially twitter to spread dodgy information and false news,

Following the dry times of the last few years and the decimation of wildlife during the 2019-20 bushfires much attention has been given to what

It seems like an oxymoron to say that it’s a waste to produce waste.  It was Ray Anderson, Chairman of Interface Inc. who said: “All

It wasn’t so long ago that not only were there free range chickens and free range pigs and free range cattle, there were also free

It can be a vexed question when it comes to discussing, let alone deciding, how to manage invasive species – especially cats – in the

If one of the stories we are telling ourselves is that we’re living in a breaking world, where social order, ecological systems and finances are

Research into the role of fungi in nature and how this organism (often mistaken to be plants, when in fact they are in a kingdom

There’s a story we tell ourselves that says we are robust and once an adult, of independent means and able to get by without the

We humans have a fascination with whales that goes back a long way.  In times past it had a rather dark side with the killing

What are the limits to our human encroachment on the other than human world of which we are a part? That’s a question that has

In this post we hear about how uninformed newcomers can negatively impact a vital water source for local people in: The Sands of Ooldea. It

It was at South Cardiff on a barmy June afternoon and he was scouting around for useful ‘rubbish’ that households had placed on the verge

Of the people, by the people, for the people.  Democracy was at work on 22 June 2020 when Lake Macquarie City Council passed a Motion

Plants are the basis for what we eat, be it a meat / dairy, vegetarian or vegan based diet.  Concentrating so much of our diet

We are constantly being reminded that all things in nature are connected.  This was made patently clear in the ABC tv series: Australia’s Ocean Odyssey:

David Pollock is not an author by profession, he’s a pastoralist. And that’s one of the things that makes this story so compelling.  He is

Salt: Selected stories and essays, is the latest publication by Bruce Pascoe, author of Dark Emu and Young Dark Emu. It’s also been produced in

We’ve been told of late that it’s good for our physical and mental well-being to get outside.  Having got outside many thousands if not millions

‘It’s too costly to repair environmental damage’ we are told time and time again.  In fact the only way to pay for any spending on

Look on the side of a bottle of medication and it will list all the things it’s good for.  All the things it can do

When it comes to isolation and being alone, Jon Muir could be referred as something of an expert.  The current lockdown and the associated limitations

The upside of the downside that is the coronavirus,  is that nature is getting some relief from human actions that have for decades had detrimental

As the discussion about the COVID-19 pandemic profiles the human impact and loss of life, there is another conversation that needs to be had according

Easter has traditionally been a time of reflection, contemplation and celebration.  There has been a shift in focus over the last few decades from one

Essays on the relationship between humans and nature “I have lately been thinking,” says Strachan Donnelly, “about our world and its evolutionary life as one vast,

In March 2020 the Warners Bay Sustainable Neighbourhood Group issued an invitation to see a film about reintroducing children to nature. NaturePlay: Take Childhood Back,

The place you feel most at home isn’t always the place you call home.   It’s an interesting thought.  We talk about our houses as

How to get from here in these troubled times to there where we need to be in ten years if we start now Well-being of

These words sound good: profit from perennial grass, year round protection for native species and robust ecology.  Better, when practised as they are at Wooleen

The false narratives we’ve been told that become embedded as social norms, require determination and resolve to change. The narrative that places indigenous ways of

What better way to mark a leap year – the 29th of February – than with an uplifting good news story to set us up

In a rapidly growing and developing City, Council is required to manage biodiversity loss and ecological decline. This involves balancing environmental and ecological considerations, with

In Reshape the economy to fight climate crisis, Graeme Weardon (The Guardian January 23, 2020) reports on the address given by Prince Charles to delegates

There’s talk about an economic recession and the grim consequences that could come from such a downturn in spending.  It is regrettable that there hasn’t

The conversation about whether or not to speak out about a subject that was first raised 124 years ago, a subject that has engaged some

  It is troubling because it challenges the current paradigm that the economy holds the answers to our individual and collective woes.   It is

‘Australia’s first climate refugees’ is how Nick Ritar described his situation as he prepared to board a navy vessel as part of the evacuation of

Fungi between our toes is not pleasant. Known as athlete’s foot or tinea pedis, you could say, well it’s normal.  That is, the fungus is

Doctoring debates seems to be common practice these days.  Call it fake news.  Call it living in denial.  Whatever name we use to describe this

This end of year time can be tricky.  A time for reflection.  A time for getting together with family and friends.  A time when mixed

Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical constitution of the Earth and its atmosphere.

What brings us to the realisation that nature is the main game?  It can take some time for some people to cotton on to the

Question.  What is a tree worth?  A cluster of trees worth?  A forest of trees worth?  A protected area of trees worth? Some would say,

This week we are again delivered findings from highly qualified scientists reporting on alarming findings from nine hotspots around the world, including Australia. In: Climate tipping

Stories about property and livelihood losses in Australia as a result of the bushfires just seem to keep on coming.  And there’s no shortage of

It must be extremely frustrating for scientists who are witnesses to how human actions are impacting on the earths life support systems, to have their

There is an increasing body of evidence supporting claims that various human conditions, both physical and mental, can be healed by nature.   Before we jump

What are the factors that bring about a change of heart.  For some it’s a singular light bulb moment.  For others it’s a gradual building

Not only bees … insects and why they matter The downside to wishing bugs would bugger off is what happens when they do.  Where do

The magic and majesty of bird whisperer Leila Jeffreys Love and affection between humans is seen as natural and to be expected.  But we can

Image: A renowned artist and Aboriginal Sites Officer with National Parks, Badger Bates has been talking about the health of the Darling River for years

For those who like to read, and for those who like to listen, this post has both.  First, Valuing country: Let me count three ways. by Jane

It was a typical Spring day with warm temperatures and sunny skies. What a way to start the weekend but with a woodlands walk with

The focus of resource management decisions “should be on what is left behind, not what is taken.” Hard as it might be to accept, the

Featured image: Eastern bandicoot, living on Munibung Hill, is a close relative of the Bilby – one of the species on the to-save list. With

Mountain pygmy-possums weigh just 40 grams when they awake from months of hibernation.CREDIT:ZOOS VICTORIA This story is about how everything is interconnected.  How our choices

From a distance a landscape can appear to be simply a shape on the horizon.  All that can be seen is an outline or at

Clare Dubois had one of those aha moments a few years back. It was the motivating factor in what has become a worldwide program to

There’s a call for a change in our mindset about land, in the writing of this timely book.  Author of Who’s Minding the Farm? In

When science and art meet the outcome is yet another example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. Put a bunch

“Back in the day when I was a child, they made learning fun, so you didn’t see it as anything different or new – it

Forest conservation, rainforest protection, World Heritage and national parks are just some of the reaons to reflect on the life and times of Peter Hitchcock,

The publication Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, by science writer James Gleick was written 20 years ago. Oliver Burkeman in: Don’t be on

Good grief, what on earth is going on? Here we are in the 21st century and a large percentage of children haven’t got the foggiest

For those of us who start the day with a walk in the bush, along a lakeside track or within a treescaped street it seems

The impact of population growth on our cities and suburbs increases the demand for housing, jobs and transport systems. Energy consumption increases temperatures if its

In 2020 we get to celebrate the year -1770 – that Captain James Cook claimed possession of the great south land for the British Crown. 

Misinformation once left to be repeated across generations can take some undoing.  This is certainly the case when it comes to the history of Australia

Imagine the alarm bells that would be ringing if this was about job losses, a crash on the stock market, a human health epidemic, the

The importance of nature is well known and yet economists and politicians continue to downplay the pivotal role that nature plays in human health and

It’s not too late to mention that Monday (May 20th) marked World Bee Day. It’s  something of a cliche to say that every day is

There was a time when a love for nature was such a natural thing that we could do it without giving it a second thought.

With such a long heritage trees elicit a plethora of emotions especially for people living in towns and cities.  Shade and shelter for some, falling

She was a tireless advocate for earth rights.  She was a founder of the earth laws alliance and she was an inspiration to many thousands

It all started with the land or maybe with the oceans.  It all started long before our culture came to this place. The mountains were

Nothing must get in the way of economic growth.   To mention an economic squeeze or tightening of the purse strings is beyond the pale, not

A question most of us wouldn’t even begin asking goes something like this: can plants think and talk?  Do they communicate, not so much with

To leave a legacy.                                            

“Going up” said the lift driver, back in the days of the elevator operator. Back in those good ole days you could probably have a

“Most Australians know of and regret the extinction of the thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) in 1936 — but few recognise that this one extinction is symptomatic

Wildlife photographer Doug Gimsey doesn’t beat about the bush when he hears claims of habitat loss in relation to species decline. He calls it out

If you are keen to know what Australia is doing to protect an iconic species of wildlife from dying out, we are not sure who

Let’s just think about it for a moment.  What are the critical factors for our survival after birth? They would have to include: food (including

Over the last 100 years or so we’re shifted – literally – from being a farm based society to a service based society with a

Knowing what we know about how the world works: the Sun supplies every skerrick of energy (be it fossilised or renewable); every drop of water

There is more to trees than trunks, branches and leaves.  Apart from their physical make-up they perform functions that quite frankly we can’t do without. 

As you walk along some of the tracks criss-crossing Munibung Hill you might notice holes in the tracks under your feet. These are most likely caused

This is typically a yarn telling time of year.  There are all manner of memories shared around the dinner table at Christmas time and through

This time of the year provides us with the opportunity to take a break and reflect on what has taken place over the last 12

Turning a blind eye to what is taking place on Munibung Hill is adding up to a legacy of harm that will be increasingly difficult

If you see a tree which has been stripped of its bark, this has most likely been done by ring-tail possums gathering materials to build

With an eye catching display of flowers the Long-flowered Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe vitellina) is in full bloom across Munibung Hill right now. Mistletoe plants are semi-parasitic on

Bandicoot diggings are often seen along the tracks on Munibung Hill. A nocturnal marsupial mammal, the bandicoot is omnivorous, meaning they forage during the night

Eucalypt trees are often referred to as Gum Trees, but a single word is inadequate to describe their diversity. While they may look rather alike

As our population continues to rise on this finite earthly home, the answers to the challenges we face,    will increasing be found not from

This is the kind of story Munibung Hill Conservation Society loves to post.  With words and pictures stay-at-home dad Anthony Wood tells of the day

Most of us when asked, would say that we are law abiding citizens – in the main we live in accordance with the laws of