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Many BREAZE members and local environmentalists will be familiar with the extensive tree planting and habitat conservation work of Susan Moodie on her family's sheep property, which borders Lake Burrumbeet. Susan is now seeking to protect the wetlands sanctuary at Black Swamp, which her family has nurtured for many years.

Susan is seeking a deposit to help fund a purchase of the farm, while others are seeking investors for the rest. There is a covenant over one-third of the farm, the wetlands. The goal is to unite regenerative farmers, conservationists and indigenous heritage and methods to show all can work harmoniously together on a farm.

Those wishing to support this campaign can donate via Go Fund Me

To better inform the public about  the special  magic and environmental values of Black Swamp we are re-publishing this article by Joel Ellis, with many thanks to the author and publisher, The Learmonth Thunderer for this permission.

The photograph here, taken by Colin Trainor, captures a pair of Brolgas gracefully wading in the fertile shallows of Black Swamp surrounded by native bush. Brolgas are one of Australia’s two crane species, with a conservation status of ‘Endangered’ in Victoria. 

'Flowering eucalypts and indigenous shrubs abuzz with life. Waterbirds, grassland birds, and woodland birds abound. Birdsong emanates from all directions, making it difficult to decide where to focus your attention first. I’ve been surveying this property seasonally (four times a year) since February 2020 for BirdLife Australia’s Birds on Farms research project. Most visits to Black Swamp record over 50 species, and the ever- increasing total sits at 123 species, which does not account for some additional sightings by the owners. This includes rare and threatened species, along with seasonal migrants that fly over 10,000 kms from the northern hemisphere and their breeding grounds to here – and then back again! 

Located 800m southwest of Lake Burrumbeet, Black Swamp is a seasonal freshwater wetland filled with runoff from roughly 4000 ha of surrounding land. In the Shire of Pyrenees on land zoned rural conservation, it is now protected by a Trust for Nature covenant, and its habitat and biodiversity are steadily being restored. Europeans took this land, while the Commonwealth acquired some of it for Soldier Settlers after the World Wars. This block was carved from the Carngham Estate whose owners would have considered this wetland as waste. The Wadawurrung, the traditional owners, would have considered it a bountiful food paradise. We welcome their involvement in this site. 

In 1953, when Vin and Margaret first arrived, roaming about were Eastern Barred Bandicoots (now extinct in the wild on the mainland), and the now-rare Brush-tailed Phascogales. As Margaret’s brother Jeff said, “all manner of hopping things (besides rabbits)” were abundant. Remnant grasses and forbs were prominent, but woody vegetation was virtually absent. Stumps of Silver Banksia and Blackwood reveal a past of timber harvesting, while some Tree Violet survived. The knowledge of ecologists would have been so useful to farm planning. However, the commitment to learning by both Vin and Margaret set the wheel in motion for wetland restoration.

Vin and Margaret Moodie arrived here 71-years-ago with nothing, and like most settlers, battled to make a living. First, thousands of rabbits were shot, fences erected, then land drained and levelled with the plough and old Field Marshall tractor. Next, exotic pasture species were established, cropping, managing small flocks, building infrastructure – and raising a family. Native grasses were considered unproductive, wet places a nuisance, and superphosphate, herbicides, pesticides, and machines – all triumph over back-breaking labour. Women’s work was immense, child- rearing, growing food, managing a household without useful appliances, feeding labourers and helping with farming. Vehicles were constructed with scrap metal and parts from the forge and later the welder. 

It has been a seventy-year journey, inspired by a love of birds that has impassioned the Moodie family to not only recognise the damage done to bird refuges, but to act to restore and protect the critical habitats of the diverse birdlife at Black Swamp on their property... by fencing it in! 

Vin, and son, Paul, fenced off the south of Black Swamp in the mid -1980s. Margaret and Vin fenced the north in the late 1980s. Farm hand, Snow Howlett continued fencing Black Swamp in the 1990s, and Langi Kal Kal inmates intermittently helped fence the 3.6 km perimeter. Susan boosted the indigenous shrub layer around the lake in 2011 with the help of Langi Kal Kal, and much of Black Swamp was re-fenced in 2019-20 with a bigger buffer. A second, nearby wetland was fenced in 2020 and has been burned in two winters to improve native vegetation, and provide potential Brolga nesting site. 

Despite being 21 times smaller than Lake Burrumbeet, Black Swamp is the second-most species-rich bird hotspot in the Pyrenees Shire (behind Lake Goldsmith, 20km further west). Global warming, along with habitat destruction, has seen CSIRO, a national scientific organisation, list Black Swamp as a climate refuge site. 

Quick stats of Black Swamp’s bird life: 

• • 123 bird species recorded here (so far!), 
  • 48 waterbird species, including 13 shorebirds,
  • 17 species of conservation significance, 
  • All 11 of temperate Victoria’s resident duck species, 
  • Abundances of >300 individuals, often for Grey Teal, Black Swan, Eurasian Coot, 
  • 11 birds of prey, 
  • 10 parrots and cockatoos, 
  • 10 honeyeaters.

 
The international migratory shorebirds are increasingly using small wetlands like Black Swamp as non-breeding feeding grounds and a destination on their migration from Siberia and Japan. Sometimes migrants fly all the way in one fell swoop (pun intended), due to loss and fragmentation of refuelling stopover points, throughout the West Pacific Flyway. 

Lake Burrumbeet, by contrast, is artificially raised which floods the shoreline. And together with disturbances by recreation, (e.g. noisy speedboats, jet skis, loud music, dogs, chainsaws and lights), have driven away the very birdlife that many hobbyists wish to experience. These very people, who have created the disturbance, ironically, have wanted to drive into the Moodie property and around the Black Swamp “to see the birds”! 

So, what’s the ultimate dream outcome for Black Swamp? Well, that would be to have it declared a Ramsar Wetland by “The Convention of Wetlands”, an international environmental treaty, signed and ratified by UNESCO. Criteria of Ramsar-listed wetlands that Black Swamp emphatically meets, are as follows: 

• it is a representative, rare or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland 
• it supports vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities 
• it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important to maintaining the ‘biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region’ 
• it supports plants and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles or during adverse conditions. 

The price has been high; 70 years of full rates paid on land that could not support agriculture and that should not have been farmed (one third of the farm), the costs of fencing, maintenance, restoration of indigenous vegetation, and management of weedy species. From my observations, two generations from the initial settlement by Moodies, the price they have paid has been seminal to delivering a flourishing future for many bird species which rely on this remarkable yet humble wetland for their survival. 

Joel Ellis: A self-described ‘bird nerd’, and author of the ‘Bird of the Month’ column for Friends of Canadian Corridor. He has extensive experience at identifying birds in the field (since 2016), in academic, professional and volunteer capacities, Joel works as a qualified ecological consultant (ornithologist) on windfarms, and is an active member of BirdLife Australia (Ballarat branch).

 BREAZE Inc. thanks author, Joel Ellis and The Learmonth Thunderer for permission to re-publish this article which appeared in The Autumn Thunderer, March 2024.

Please note: Those who wish to support the preservation of the Black Swamp Connected Sanctuary can donate via Go Fund Me

This is a call out to all Ballarat's budding environmentalists: BREAZE is again running its Children's Writing Competition in 2024 and we will have prizes ready for our best young writers. By 'best' we mean those with understanding and passion for protecting our natural environment.

The Writing Competition is timed to celebrate World Environment Day, 5 June - the day we hold the competition awards ceremony.

The competition is open to all children in grades 5 & 6 enrolled in a primary school in greater Ballarat. Entries must be submitted via a school teacher by 17 May. All schools have been notified of the competition and we hope they take the opportunity for a classroom discussion about the environment. However, it is always a good idea to ask your teacher if they have heard about it, if you want to enter. Let them know they can get the guidelines for entry from  

We award a prize for the school winner for every school that submits at least 5 entries, as well as for the overall Competition First Prize Winner and special mentions as approved by the judges. The prizes are certificates and book vouchers.

The World Environment Day theme for 2024 is 'Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.'

Learn to grow your own food for free - forever!

Join Smart Living host Ellen Burns and John "Ditchy" Ditchburn at the Sebastopol Library 12:30-1:30pm on Wednesday 27 March, to learn how to grow and save your own seed. 

By saving your own seed, you can enjoy a cycle of abundance where you can grow your favourite plants over and over.
A lot of the plants that are easiest to grow this way (greens, herbs etc) are very expensive to buy and have a very short shelf life.
By growing these plants at home, you can save a heap on your grocery bill and reduce the food waste in your home as well!

 The talk is free but it would be helpful if you are planning on going, if you could sign up via the SLB Facebook Event 

Smart Living Ballarat is a free monthly workshop series, sponsored by the City of Ballarat, presented by BREAZE and hosted by Ellen Burns.

Join us on the 4th Wednesday of every month to learn about a different aspect of smart living that will lower your cost of living and your carbon footprint. 

Not to be missed if you care about trees! Ballarat Green Drinks, March 28, has another terrific local expert, Gib Wettenhall OAM, who will talk about how biorich plantation can enable landowners to build truly resilient landscapes. Gib is Secretary of Ballarat Region Treegrowers (BRT), which manages a 13yo, 15ha demonstration biorich plantation in a mining buffer at Lal Lal, SW Ballarat. The biorich plantation optimises habitat for wildlife while offering resources to landowners for income diversification. Gib is also a journalist, editor and lawyer by training, and an award-winning author of Indigenous community histories and a guidebook for the Goldfields Track. He and his wife Gayl own 35 acres of regrowth native forest on top of the Divide at Mollongghip.

Last year Gib talked about the Aussie Drop Slab Hut project at September Green Drinks. We enjoyed it so much we invited him back to share more of his extensive knowledge of native trees, wildlife habitat and timber.

Free book via Trybooking

Please note March Green Drinks will be on the fourth Thursday of the month, not the usual third Thursday of the month.

Following the success of our "Free Ways to Stay Warm" session, Smart Living Ballarat will be presenting a "Free Ways to Stay Cool" session in February.
Wednesday Feb 28th
12:30-1:30pm
Sebastopol Library Meeting Room

This session will be focused on quick, cheap and often temporary things that you can do to cool down your house this summer, making it suitable for homeowners and renters alike.

Smart Living Ballarat host Ellen Burns has never lived in a house with air-conditioning, making her a perfect speaker for this session with a lifetime of experience in staying cool without AC.

Learn how to use insulation, ventilation, shade and moisture control to lower the temperature of a hot summer day.

Ellen will also be sharing some bonus recipes for meals that don't require cooking, keeping your kitchen and belly cool!

Free session, everyone welcome.

No need to register, just come along and bring a friend!

In late November climate scientists again sounded the alarm as the world briefly smashed through the 2-degree warming limit from pre-industrial levels for the first time (and again the following day for the second time in recorded history).  Although the threshold was crossed just temporarily and does not mean that the world is at a permanent state of warming above 2 degrees, it is a symptom of a planet getting steadily hotter and hotter, and moving towards a longer-term situation where climate crisis impacts will be difficult — in some cases impossible — to reverse.

Meanwhile at COP28 where the nations of the world are supposedly looking at ways in which to maintain a habitable earth and limit global warming to 1.5C, the COP28 President (UAE’s Sultan Al Jaber – who also happens to be chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, Adnoc) claimed that there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5C, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting revealed. The comments were “incredibly concerning” and “verging on climate denial”, scientists said, and they were at odds with the position of the UN secretary general, António Guterres. Guterres told Cop28 delegates: “The science is clear: The 1.5C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce, not abate. Phase out, with a clear timeframe.” 

Not that Sultan Al Jaber isn’t on his own - the number of fossil fuel lobbyists (2,456 representatives) at this year’s U.N. climate summit is nearly four times higher than it’s ever been, revealing an extraordinary amount of influence from the biggest climate polluters on Earth. “The sheer number of fossil fuel lobbyists at climate talks that could determine our future is beyond justification,” said Joseph Sikulu, the Pacific managing director of environmental group 350.org, in a statement. “We come here to fight for our survival, and what chance do we have if our voices are suffocated by the influence of Big Polluters?”

The announcement of an El Nino climate pattern a few months ago confirmed this summer will be hotter than the last three, with increased risk of drought and bushfires. More territory has already been burnt in fires now raging in Queensland and NSW, than in the Black Summer fires of 2018/19. And we know the worst is yet to come. Australians, especially regional Australians and our fire-fighters, are going to be tested like never before. 

That’s the sobering reality but given it seems there’s not much we can do about it, many of us just default to business as usual. Don’t. While we can’t stop what’s heading at us this summer, there’s still time to mitigate the frequency and intensity of future extreme weather events – floods and bushfires – if we take action now to reduce emissions to halt runaway climate change.

What’s more such action will also save you money.  [Illustration by ReWiring Australia}

Last year Ballarat Council endorsed a community-wide Ballarat Zero Emissions Plan to help meet the City’s ambitious net zero by 2030 target.  With electricity and gas prices going through the roof, there are considerable cost benefits in going solar and getting off gas. And, as the amount of renewable energy feeding into the National Electricity Grid grows – expected to be 82% by 2030 – just drawing mains power is far better than using gas. 

We’re very ‘gassified,’ in Victoria with 80% of homes connected. But with State government determination to meet our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions target, signalled by the ban on gas connections in new builds in Victoria by 1 January 2024, we do need to begin planning now for this transition. Home electrification can make a significant reduction in national GHG emissions, particularly as we ‘green the grid.’

The ‘electrify everything’ movement, backed by significant government incentives, makes financial sense on a number of fronts. New energy-efficient electric appliances like hot water heat pumps and induction cooktops use considerably less power than old gas hot water systems or cooktops – or even old electric ones.  If you are on solar, setting your heat pump to heat during daylight hours is another easy win. It’s estimated that going all electric can save consumers up to 60% off their power bills. In her recent announcement that the State Electricity Commissions (SEC) will offer a one-stop shop for home electrification, Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan said: “We know that too many people have been put off electrifying their home because of the complexity and the cost.’ The SEC’s mission to ‘streamline’ this process also underlies other Council sponsored electrification programs across the state. 

A movement is underway but we need to accelerate it to make the difference we need. Engineer, Tim Forcey, the brains behind an electrification Facebook site with 106,000 members, wrote recently: “I started My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) to spread the word about how people could save money by heating their homes with reverse cycle airconditioners … Watching what is posted we have evidence now that thousands and thousands of households have made good progress reducing their gas use.”

Even partial electrification, installing one or two reverse-cycle air-conditioning units to reduce your gas space-heating, is better than doing nothing at all and will still save you money, and also help keep your home cooler in summer. 

Change can of course, be challenging. However, home electrification should be seen as an opportunity. Getting off gas is something we must all plan for over the next few years. Pathways will vary according to obstacles encountered and how these are overcome. Fortunately, there is excellent information online for those who look for it – the State agency Sustainability Victoria is one of those worth visiting. 

Some myth-busting is also needed here. Ballarat is not too cold for hot water heat pumps, which are good for temperatures down to -10C. Replacing utilities isn’t cheap, of course, which is why forward planning is everything.  When old gas appliances die it’s important to be ready to electrify. Don’t be persuaded to just replace them with new gas ones. The hard truth is that current government rebates won’t last forever and reluctant adopters will pay a premium if they wait too long to transition. 

New solar system sizes this year are trending above 10KW, as householders go all-electric including transitioning to EVs – a ‘win win’ for the consumer and the environment. In Ballarat our domestic rooftop solar take-up languishes at a lamentable 17.2%, well below the national average of 30%. That seems likely to change as the cost benefits of generating your own electricity increase with retail rate rises.

Heat waves in the Arctic, wild fires across Europe, record Antarctic sea-ice melts, all tell us climate change is here and we need to make changes – for personal comfort and affordability but also for the environment and future generations. We each have a role to play as individual householders in a community, a state and a nation. The faster we collectively make these changes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate anthropogenic climate change, the better chance we have of averting its most catastrophic consequences. In so far as we have a climate action policy, this is it – electrify everything. Let's do it!

An edited version of this article was published on The Courier's opinion page on 8 December 2023