The Vision

This Five-fold Vision sets out a plan for Munibung Hill to be reinstated as a culturally significant site and for the reintroduction of some plant and animal species that were present pre-European settlement.

The Five aspects acknowledge the diverse interests within the community that the Munibung Hill Conservation Society (MHCS) embraces.  This extensive ongoing consultation process has demonstrated that Munibung Hill warrants a much greater level of care than she is currently receiving.  As a provider of core human needs on a pro-bono basis, Munibung Hill has given much – materially and ecologically.

It is now time to give back.  She is entitled to have us substantiate the sentiments stated in the acknowledgement to country that is spoken so freely at all public events.

For the purpose of establishing the standing of Munibung Hill as an enduring geological landscape, MHCS believes that a collaborative and integrated approach in the framing of a holistic plan is a necessary first step. The community of interest that values beyond measure the intrinsic qualities of Munibung Hill is our raison d’etre.

For more information, download the Five-Fold Vision PDF. Fivefold Vision for Munibung Hill

From the vantage point on the crest of Munibung Hill, we take in a more expansive vision …

Conservation comes in many forms and needs to be inclusive of a range of issues if it is going to be effective.  Taking a whole-of-hill approach is consistent with how nested communities function. To maximise the resilience of the whole, within which each component part is then able to survive and thrive, is extremely important for the Society. Protection and connection are integral to this overall conservation goal.  
Protection includes:
1. protection of the Munibung Hill precinct from more suburban development, known as developer creep,
2. protection from invasive plant and animal species, in particular feral predators including the roaming domestic cat,
3. protection of waterways and catchments for the benefit of invertebrate species, local water birds and other wildlife that inhabit these often neglected ecological zones, and local residents who live within these catchments, that connect Munibung Hill with Lake Macquarie.
Connection includes:
1. connection to other ecological communities within Munibung Hill as well as those on the fringe such as a private conservation area to the east, and further afield since wildlife occupy Munibung Hill as various stages as part of migratory journeys.
2. connection with neighbouring wildlife habitat areas by way of Wildlife Overpass crossings,
3. connection with the community of interest who are willing to ensure that Munibung Hill remains an open green space – a green lung, a sanctuary for the soul – within which children can learn to love mother earth.

Protection in isolation is not enough. It is more important than ever that we understand the significance of connection, as illustrated by the graphic (see right) and emerging circular economy principles. Nothing exists alone nor for itself. By extension this connectedness expands to include the earth as a whole – Gaia – as conceived in the 1970s by chemist James Lovelock. 
With every breath we take, every move we make, she is watching us.
Little wonder she is reacting to our treatment of her, as she is.

Additional background can be found in these papers:  
Supplementary papers – Attachments, References, Notes and Illustrations   
Fivefold Vision, Recommendations  
The Story of Nesting 
Beyond this wild law for example, propels us into understanding that the separations we have constructed in recent times, are inconsistent with earth law* principles, as practiced by our Indigenous cousins across millennia. To be consistent, to be true to our word (when we say we pay respect to Elders past and present), would be to, as a natural flow on, pay respect to earth law, as they had done.  A compilation of material in support of these themes, follows:
Earth Story with Q&A prompts 
Circular Economy Story, 10 things
10 ways to live as if we intended to stay 
* also expressed within circular economy, permaculture and holistic decision-making frameworks.
Beyond this, the cosmos according to Indigenous understanding: 
Astrophysicist visits the Hunter to speak about Indigenous Astronomy  
The Great Celestial Emu is my favourite Aboriginal constellation says Kirsten Banks