Latest news with #BlackSummer
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Major change on Aussie roads to combat ongoing crisis: 'About time'
Across the country's most populous state, koalas are under enormous threat. Classified as endangered, local populations have drastically reduced by up to 60 per cent in the last 25 years. The 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires alone resulted in the death of an estimated 6,382 koalas across NSW. Other factors, such as deforestation and collisions with cars, also continue to impact their numbers. In response, the state government has unveiled a new device designed to help koalas — and hopefully other animals — safely leave dangerous road corridors and return to their natural habitats. In a NSW-first, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has now installed eight Fauna Escape Hatches along sections of the Hume Highway, including at Wilton, Nepean Bridge and Moolgun Creek Bridge. These locations were chosen because they already feature koala exclusion fencing and are supported by timber pole structures. The hatches form part of a broader, layered approach to wildlife protection, which also includes dedicated crossing points and fencing to keep animals off the roads. TfNSW plans to expand the use of these hatches to other high-priority koala habitats, including Deadmans Creek on Heathcote Road and Appin Road in southwest Sydney and eventually, further across the state. Speaking to Yahoo News, a TfNSW spokesperson said it is determining where the devices might be of most benefit. "We are examining how fauna escape hatches can be applied in other areas where there is high koala activity," they said. They will form part of several initiatives, including koala protection fencing, koala poles, three koala underpasses and signs to increase driver awareness." The one-way design includes angled aluminium or stainless-steel prongs that allow koalas to push through from one side but prevent them from re-entering the roadway. This aligns with koalas' instinctive behaviour to push under obstacles rather than climb over them. The hatch works best when installed alongside koala exclusion fencing, where it adds an extra layer of protection and can be retrofitted to existing infrastructure. Its primary aim is to reduce the risk of collisions between vehicles and wildlife, ultimately improving safety for both koalas and motorists. Originally developed by Endeavour Veterinary Ecology, the Fauna Escape Hatch underwent a 12-month field trial beginning in 2023 in Toorbul, Queensland. Incredible change on Aussie property amid critical fight for species Drivers warned over growing problem after grim roadside find Fears koalas on road to extinction as 'devastating' statistic revealed The trial involved tracking 85 wild koalas as part of an existing monitoring program and proved the hatch to be an effective alternative to other roadside escape solutions. The positive results have sparked interest from government agencies and conservation organisations across Australia. Many NSW residents applauded the move online, saying it was "about time" and suggested the state should have "more everywhere". Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
The Age
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This TV star spent so long making a film in a Sydney funeral home that they put him on staff
Years later, he met one of the funeral directors, Michele Salamone, in a cafe and thought he seemed like 'the John Wayne of Leichhardt'. When the cafe owner asked whether business was good, Salamone deadpanned 'yeah, fridge is full'. Byers thought the dignified work of an Italian funeral parlour would make a great documentary and, once filming was under way, he was given an unpaid job. 'I think they realised I may never finish the film and they were like 'we've got to get something out of this',' he said. But doing everything himself – writing, directing, acting, shooting, recording sound, producing and editing – proved challenging. 'It's not a chill thing to make a feature film in a funeral home,' Byers said. 'It's not a chill thing to make a feature film at all, let alone on your own, let alone in a funeral home, let alone for six years, seven years, eight years by the end of it. 'So I just threw everything I had and more at it until it was done. I'm quite glad that I finished it before it finished me.' Like Sparrow, Byers struggled as he shot during the pandemic after the Black Summer bushfires, running out of money, and going through a break-up and some distressing funerals. 'This film, rather than this beautiful centre point of expression and release in my life, just became this ultimate liability,' he said. 'This terrible decision that I'd made that was not going to solve itself.' At the premiere, Byers will dispel any funereal vibes by having the film's composer and sound designer, Luke Fuller, bring a boombox to play 'some '80s Italian Bocelli [style music] which I know will please all the Italians in the house'. The festival, which runs from June 4 to 15, opens with Australian director Michael Shanks' horror film Together, which became controversial when an American production company filed a lawsuit claiming it was a 'blatant rip-off' of a 2023 comic romance - an allegation the Together team's agent called 'frivolous and without merit'. Festival director Nashen Moodley described Together as probably the most anticipated Australian film of the year. 'It's so smart, it's so funny,' he said. 'Wickedly funny.' Films from 70 countries will screen in the State Theatre and nine other venues. While stories from exotic locations are always part of the festival's charm, there are Hollywood stars right across the program. Naomi Watts plays a New York novelist with Bill Murray as her mentor in The Friend, Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon are living underground after the apocalypse in The End, Jodie Foster is a psychiatrist turned investigator in Vie Privee, Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones are gamblers drawn to each other in On Swift Horses, Carey Mulligan plays a musician in The Ballad of Wallis Island and Tom Hiddleston is a mysterious businessman in The Life Of Chuck. The Iranian thriller that won at Cannes last weekend, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident, is among 12 films running in the $60,000 competition for 'audacious, courageous and cutting-edge' cinema.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This TV star spent so long making a film in a Sydney funeral home that they put him on staff
Years later, he met one of the funeral directors, Michele Salamone, in a cafe and thought he seemed like 'the John Wayne of Leichhardt'. When the cafe owner asked whether business was good, Salamone deadpanned 'yeah, fridge is full'. Byers thought the dignified work of an Italian funeral parlour would make a great documentary and, once filming was under way, he was given an unpaid job. 'I think they realised I may never finish the film and they were like 'we've got to get something out of this',' he said. But doing everything himself – writing, directing, acting, shooting, recording sound, producing and editing – proved challenging. 'It's not a chill thing to make a feature film in a funeral home,' Byers said. 'It's not a chill thing to make a feature film at all, let alone on your own, let alone in a funeral home, let alone for six years, seven years, eight years by the end of it. 'So I just threw everything I had and more at it until it was done. I'm quite glad that I finished it before it finished me.' Like Sparrow, Byers struggled as he shot during the pandemic after the Black Summer bushfires, running out of money, and going through a break-up and some distressing funerals. 'This film, rather than this beautiful centre point of expression and release in my life, just became this ultimate liability,' he said. 'This terrible decision that I'd made that was not going to solve itself.' At the premiere, Byers will dispel any funereal vibes by having the film's composer and sound designer, Luke Fuller, bring a boombox to play 'some '80s Italian Bocelli [style music] which I know will please all the Italians in the house'. The festival, which runs from June 4 to 15, opens with Australian director Michael Shanks' horror film Together, which became controversial when an American production company filed a lawsuit claiming it was a 'blatant rip-off' of a 2023 comic romance - an allegation the Together team's agent called 'frivolous and without merit'. Festival director Nashen Moodley described Together as probably the most anticipated Australian film of the year. 'It's so smart, it's so funny,' he said. 'Wickedly funny.' Films from 70 countries will screen in the State Theatre and nine other venues. While stories from exotic locations are always part of the festival's charm, there are Hollywood stars right across the program. Naomi Watts plays a New York novelist with Bill Murray as her mentor in The Friend, Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon are living underground after the apocalypse in The End, Jodie Foster is a psychiatrist turned investigator in Vie Privee, Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones are gamblers drawn to each other in On Swift Horses, Carey Mulligan plays a musician in The Ballad of Wallis Island and Tom Hiddleston is a mysterious businessman in The Life Of Chuck. The Iranian thriller that won at Cannes last weekend, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident, is among 12 films running in the $60,000 competition for 'audacious, courageous and cutting-edge' cinema.
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- General
- The Advertiser
Sikhs are back in town: warming tummies and hearts during flood crisis
They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods. And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away. On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree. They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore. Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans. "On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said. As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening. "They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said. Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities. Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies. Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items. For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life. It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck. "The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring. "It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status. "In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind." They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods. And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away. On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree. They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore. Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans. "On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said. As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening. "They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said. Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities. Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies. Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items. For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life. It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck. "The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring. "It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status. "In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind." They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods. And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away. On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree. They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore. Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans. "On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said. As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening. "They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said. Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities. Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies. Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items. For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life. It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck. "The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring. "It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status. "In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind." They were there for the community during the Black Summer bushfires in 2019 and again in the March 2021 floods. And the Sikhs are back again to help a flood-stricken NSW region recover from the worst flooding disaster in its history - even though they hail from cities far away. On hearing about the flooding crisis in the Manning Valley on the mid-north coast, head of Sikh Volunteers Australia Jaswinder Singh, mobilised a team of volunteers and a fleet of vehicles, including a very big food truck and one small campervan, to drive the nearly 1200 kilometres from Melbourne to Taree. They've been here more than a week already and say they will stay until they aren't needed anymore. Every day, the crew has been providing up to 2000 vegetarian meals a day. Some of those meals they give out at their base at the Bunnings Car Park in Taree. The rest they distribute to outlying flood affected areas: Wingham, Croki, Cundletown, Manning Point, Oxley Island and even Kempsey with two vans. "On our Facebook page every morning at around 7.30am or 8am, we put our schedule of where we will be," Jaswinder said. As if that is enough time spent driving, most of the volunteers are staying in Newcastle with a family that is giving them free accommodation. They drive up every morning, and back every evening. "They are looking after us very well with a very loving and caring attitude and they are a very nice family," Jaswinder said. Sikh Volunteers Australia is not the only Sikh volunteer organisation up here helping our communities. Khalsa Aid Australia has been working with the Taree Lions Club. They have brought multiple trucks up from Sydney with pallets of water, cleaning and sanitation supplies, and essential supplies. Yet another Sikh volunteer organisation, Turbans 4 Australia, is also in the area, helping out with organising pantry items for the Lions Club, pallets of water, fodder supplies for farmers, tools, generators and all manner of items. For Sikhs, giving generously to the community, 'langar' (Punjabi language), is deeply ingrained in their spiritual life. It is probably best explained by the words on the Sikh Volunteers Australia food truck. "The concept of 'langar' was initiated by the first Sikh Guru Sri Guru Nanak Dev Guru Amardass Ji, the third Sikh Guru, institutionalised this concept of sharing and caring. "It is a process where everyone shares their honest earnings to provide food for everyone - it was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed age, gender or social status. "In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tiny item baked by Aussie students brings species back from the brink
Small rock-like biscuits — hundreds of which were moulded and baked by eager students — have helped bring a critically-endangered Aussie species bank from the brink. The 'interesting' idea came about after the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires destroyed known mountain pygmy-possum habitats in the north of NSW's iconic Kosciuszko National Park. The marsupial's main food source, bogong moths, had started to decline prior to the catastrophic event, but the blaze decimated the winged creature's population, leaving the remaining 700 pygmy-possums in a vulnerable position. 'They're omnivores, so they eat insects, seeds and berries, so all of that vegetation was scorched through their habitat,' Dan Nicholls, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Discovery Coordinator, told Yahoo News on Friday. 'But associated with that, of course, is the insect life that's attracted to those plants." Mountain pygmy-possums live deep in rocky boulder fields where there is little vegetation, meaning many were protected from the heat. 'We knew they'd survived at these several sites, but we knew also that there'd be no food for them for a long time," he said. Winter warning to Aussie residents after surprising discovery in fireplace Rare victory in fight to protect iconic and critically endangered Aussie species Hidden camera captures adorable moment with rare marsupial Concerned, experts contacted other wildlife groups for help, specifically Victoria's Healesville Sanctuary, which had created a biscuit recipe to feed its mountain pygmy-possum breeding program. NPWS purchased bags of the prepped mix, which 'arguably is as delicious as eating moths', and placed numerous 30-40g cubed treats in feeders that were lowered into the rocky boulder fields. They were baked by NPWS staff and volunteers, as well as curious students at Berridale, Cooma, Adaminaby and Jindabyne schools in the Snowy Mountains who asked how they could help. The biscuits are made up of macadamia nuts, meal worms and a mix of oils, minerals and nutrients, Nicholls said. The program ran for three years but is not currently underway. 'By then the environment had recovered enough so the animals could look after themselves,' Nicholls told Yahoo. However it seems to have been very successful, with a recent survey revealing a record 107 mountain pygmy-possums at a single site. 'It was a really successful response to this disturbance. Without that action, it's highly likely that those populations would have taken much, much longer to recover. They're small populations at these sites anyway, we're not talking hundreds of animals. We're talking 10s of animals.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
