My Trip to Australia, Part 5: The Great Outdoors

Kristen Aubut

During my stay in Australia, I got to spend a lot of time outdoors exploring my husband’s grandmother’s paddock, the woods behind her house, several national parks, country roads and zoos. During my exploration, I got to see some of Australia's unique plants and animals. From what I observed, protecting the country’s flora and fauna was high on Australia’s list of priorities. Here are some of the interesting things I saw while exploring.

We took a 4-wheel drive caravan through these national parks in New South Wales.




























































































This is a bathroom on the side of the road in one of the national parks. To decrease the disruption of wildlife and plants in the park by the running of sewer lines, this bathroom is built without any. Some of you outdoor explorers know what this means: a long pipe running from the toilet to a hole in the ground filled with bacteria to speed decay. Quite smelly I must say.


















While we walked through one of the national parks, we came upon a tree so large we could stand inside of it.


















When I think of Australia, I think of ghost gums. I love how the tree trunks glow because they are so intensely white. Ghost gums could be spotted all across the countryside.























Despite the many “Koala Crossing” signs on the sides of the roads, we never saw a koala out in the wild. But, we got to see these two cuddled up in the zoo.


















Kookaburras could be heard in the trees all around the house where we were staying. They have the laugh of a monkey, and, when they all get going at the same time, their noise can be deafening. Here is one perched on a log in the zoo.


















One of the animals Australia is known for is the dingo. They look just like a dog you may have as a pet. But, if you see one in the wild, I would not recommend trying to pet it.


















And, of course, Australia is known for kangaroos. We got to pet and feed them at the zoo.























This is just one of the many snakes we came upon during our stay. This one was sunbathing on the sidewalk.



















As we walked along the same sidewalk, we looked up, and going from a light pole to the tree just above our heads was an enormous spider web. There were dozens of huge spiders in it.


















Here is one of the sharks we saw while walking through a tunnel in the Sydney Zoo.

My Trip to Australia, Part 4: Energy Conservation

Kristen Aubut

During our three-week trip to Australia, I observed that energy conservation seemed to be a top priority for most Australians. Clothes lines could be spotted behind almost every house, whether in the country or in the city. During our stay, we hung our laundry on the huge clothes line in the back, as you can see in the pictures below. Air drying prevents fossil fuels from being burned to make electricity, it prevents all that heat from being produced by the clothes dryer, it slows the wear and tear of clothes and it gives you a reason to go outside and enjoy the fresh air!

My husband’s grandmother gets annoyed when the bower birds steal the blue clothes pins right off her line and drop them in the woods behind her house. When she goes out walking, she collects the pins and brings them back to the line. She is not sure why they only go after the blue ones.


























































Every electrical outlet I came across, whether in the old farmhouse, in the new construction home of my husband’s aunt, or the hotel in Sydney, was fashioned with power switches. If the outlet is not being used, you flip the switch to off to save energy.


















With the global population increasing at such a fast rate, we all need to be wiser with our energy consumption. Unplugging appliances that are not in use and using clothes lines more and electric dryers less are good ways to conserve energy.

My Trip to Australia, Part 3: Water Conservation

Kristen Aubut

During my visit to New South Wales, Australia, I saw that water conservation is a top priority for Australians. They are wise to be water conscious because Australia is one of the driest continents in the world. My husband’s cousin, who lives a couple hours outside Sydney, could recall when his area went four months without rain.

My husband’s grandmother’s house where we stayed three weeks is not hooked up to city water. Instead, her water comes straight from the sky. Rain water collects in the three large cisterns right next to her house. You can see the two teal-colored cisterns and the concrete cistern in the pictures below. All of her drinking, cooking, washing and irrigation water comes from these cisterns. The rain water runs through a filter before coming into the house, but still, the water consumed by my husband, son and I was boiled because we are used to treated city water.

Between 40 and 50 years ago when this property was a working farm, the six-person family had only two small cisterns, so water had to be strictly conserved. Once the water in the cisterns was used up, the family had no more water until it rained again. One way the family conserved was by limiting water use at bath time. One bathtub of hot soapy water was filled. The youngest bathed first, then, using the same bath water, the next child bathed. The dirtiest family member, usually the one who had done the dirtiest work on the farm that day, would go last. Only one pitcher of fresh water was added to each subsequent bath. This conservation practice was still being used when my husband visited his family when he was 13-years-old. Conserving water at bath time is very important considering a 15-minute shower at five gallons per minute could easily use up 75 gallons of water.

Once the three larger cisterns were installed, the family could relax their water conservation efforts slightly. During my stay, we still made sure to take short showers and turn off the water while soaping up. One water conservation technique the family still uses is in the area of dishwashing. This form of conservation was difficult for me to get used to. After a meal, one sink of hot soapy water was filled up. All of the dishes from the twelve of us were scrubbed with this water. Then, instead of the dishes being rinsed, the soap was wiped off with a dish towel.

You can see how much of the yard is taken up by these three cisterns.

















































This rain water cistern is in the backyard of my husband’s great aunt whose house is right in the middle of a suburb. Every house I visited had at least a small rain water barrel to water the garden.























Even large chain stores collect and reuse rain water.



















As the global population increases, we need to be wiser with our water usage. Our country could benefit by adopting some of Australia’s water conservation practices. We could start by making rain barrels and cisterns a more common sight in American backyards.

My Trip to Australia, Part 2: Recycling

Kristen Aubut

My husband’s grandmother’s house sits on a country road way out in the middle of nowhere. Still, her house has curbside recycling collection.

Her recycling can is slightly larger than her garbage can. I have always thought that a lot can be determined about a community based on the size of its recycling bin. Stamped on top of the yellow recycling can lid is a list of the recyclables accepted: paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, aerosol cans, juice and milk cartons, and all plastic containers #1-7. Stamped on the red garbage can lid is the statement “No Recyclables.”
Recycling seemed to be very accessible even while out-and-about. I found these neat looking rubbish (garbage) and recycling cans at a mall. From what I saw during my visit, every rubbish can was accompanied by a recycling container. The two went hand-in-hand. And, yes, I was the odd tourist taking pictures of the rubbish containers.

We drove past the Taree Recycling Center. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to tour the inside. This recycling center is where my husband’s aunt’s recyclables are taken for sorting.

This paper recycling container is inside a subway station in Sydney. I like that the containers are clear. Maybe it discourages people from throwing garbage in because others will see it!

Recycling seemed to be a top priority for most Australians, with recycling being accessible whether at home or on-the-go.

My Trip to Australia: Reuse

Kristen Aubut

I recently took a trip down under. My husband, two-year-old son and I stayed for three weeks in New South Wales, Australia. We stayed in my husband’s grandmother’s old farmhouse. Her land is quiet and still now, but it once bustled with activity as a dairy farm.

The primary purpose for traveling to this far away land was to meet my husband’s family for the first time. My unspoken secondary purpose was to keep a lookout for indications of the relationship Australians have with their environment. Is their environmental viewpoint similar to those of Americans? What value do they place on their country’s flora and fauna? To what extent do they protect their natural resources from overuse? From the people I met and the things I saw in Australia, I found that, in general, Australians appreciate and make a strong effort to take care of the unique land they call home.

My husband’s grandmother’s property was bursting at the seams with indications of environmental concern and natural resource conservation. The first indications of wise resource consumption I saw were the numerous examples of reuse hiding around every corner on her farm. When an item could no longer be used for its intended purpose, instead of throwing it in the trash, his grandparents assigned a new purpose to it. Everything had a second life.

Take a look of some of the reuse examples I came across during my visit.

Here are a bathroom sink and fence post that have been bolted together to become a planter in the garden.Can you tell what this gate used to be? Old metal bed frames have multiple purposes.These old tires have been cut in half to make planters next to the garage.My husband’s grandfather was once quite the dancer. This is one of his old dancing shoes. There are two examples of reuse going on here. Years ago, when the black shoe strings snapped from constant tying and untying, he replaced the broken shoe string with a green ribbon and got back on the dance floor. Then, when his dancing days were through, a brick was shoved inside the shoe and placed in the laundry room as a door stop.
The birds of Australia are very impressive with their colors and unique voices. Many Australians keep native birds as pets. This is an old bird cage whose inhabitant has long passed. Look at what was used as the bird’s water container. A coffee mug.In their younger days, my husband’s grandparents maintained an enormous vegetable garden. To build the perimeter of the garden, wood planks and piping were extracted from old projects to serve as a new fence. Look closely and you will see that, instead of being held together by nails, wire was threaded through a hole and wound together to keep the posts in place. All of these fence materials were salvaged from around the farm. They were rarely bought new.The same is true for this shed. Look at the metal sheeting peeling off the base of the wall. Building materials were used over and over again.
Notice how this door lock was fashioned out of scraps from around the farm.
At one time, dozens of chucks (baby chickens) scurried around the yard. One of the chuck houses was made from a cistern turned over on its side. This cistern had probably become too rusty to continue storing the family’s drinking water.For many places around the world, reuse is not a concept that environmental groups have to encourage citizens to adopt. Reuse is a necessity for life. The idea that a product should be used for its intended purpose then thrown into a landfill is an idea that many in this world cannot afford.

RE3.org Commercials

"It's just one little can. One little can can't change the world." Ever heard that? Makes you shake your head at the ignorance, doesn't it? That one little can is energy, water, pollution savings, jobs and more money for your home town to spruce up, perk up and stand up. It's not what it can't do, but what it can do... FOR YOU!

Enjoy counting beans? All over North Carolina, people just like you are employed, pay taxes, spend money and invest in their communities thanks to recycling. The stuff you recycle means that 14,000 North Carolinians have a job and that means money for the economy.

Still not convinced? How's this? Recycling reduces air pollution. Reduced air pollution means slowed climate change, fewer cases of asthma and fewer red level alert days.

RE3.org has great commercials to encourage you to do just that. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Check them out on YouTube!

· Epiphany- http://youtu.be/0mMOAfcWkX8

· Find a Bin- http://youtu.be/cThO5JoOFjo

· Jerry and Amanda- http://youtu.be/QTqX4mJKTwc

· Longing Can- http://youtu.be/F8r6zHibZz4

Source: RE3.org
http://www.re3.org/truth.htm
and
http://www.re3.org/flicks.htm

Reasons to Recycle

Do you have a friend, family member, coworker or neighbor that just doesn’t get it? He or she just doesn’t get the importance of recycling. For instance:

• At your friend’s parties, he never puts out a recycling bin for party guests to toss their empty cans and bottles.
• At family gatherings, that family member always starts up a conversation about how recycling is not worth her time and effort.
• At work, that coworker always tosses her plastic bottle in the trashcan, giving you no choice but to fish it out once she has left the break room.
• That neighbor’s trashcan is overflowing with cardboard and aluminum cans every week, and his recycling bin is shoved up under his back deck.
  

Maybe people like this just need the facts given to them plain and simple. Jot down this list of reasons to recycle so you’ll be ready the next time you have the opportunity to shine the recycling light on those around you who just don’t get it.

• Recycling helps prevent the need for more landfills.
• Recycling also reduces problems associated with trash and litter.
• Recycling helps to conserve natural resources.
• Recycling also saves energy and reduces pollution.
• Recycling has created more than 14,000 jobs in North Carolina

Want a more detailed explanation of why recycling is important? Try this link: http://www.re3.org/facts.htm

Source: RE3.org

http://www.re3.org/whyrecycle.html

RE3.org Posters

RE3.org has lots of posters for you to download, print and put up around your work, campus, restaurant… Wherever you want to encourage people to recycle. Find the downloadable posters at http://www.re3.org/artwork.html.

Here are some examples.

This one is great for a bar or restaurant.

How about putting this one above the trashcans at a sports arena?

How about the break room at your work?

How about in the campus cafeteria?