A win for 4 South West WA forests , biochar is another income for miners, and the Amazon is burning but you need to eat meat

Hi All, 

Time you heard from Merri Bee !  We had a great time at Nannup Flower and Garden Festival, first enjoying Su and David Holmgren's company (and lovin feeding them) for 2 nights, along with 2 wonderful friends from Perth who helped us cope with the many events of the Garden Festival, https://www.facebook.com/NannupFlowerandGardenFestival/photos/pcb.2975658139141859/2975656115808728/?type=3&theater

These included a talk on composting on Thursday, 2 farm tours, and making fresh squeezed lemonade lemon juice at the Celebrity Breakfast with Costa, Milli, Guy Jefferies and may more. 100 people tried our lemonade which included lime Kombucha brewed into bubbles, and many returned for more. Thanks to the citrus abundance this year , we will be carting the citrus press to Margaret River markets next Saturday and to Perth Saturday 7th of September, so please start your day right with some yummy and health giving Fizzy Juice. Discount for those like Costa who always have a keep cup in their dilly bag.  Also in abundance, thanks to compost, are AVOCADOES and GREENS. 

FOREST WIN  

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10162178542780574&set=a.10154420113335574&type=3&theater Shona Anne Hunter wrote  On the 1st of June Lewin defence camp was set up to defend this patch of magnificent karri forest.

We’ve just heard news that this block, plus several others we have been campaigning for are off the imminent logging plans.

This means that Lewin, Channybearup, Barrabup and Nelson are all safe, for now.
🤩

Deep gratitude and a massive shoutout to Dominique who has been living at camp almost non stop, Shonas mum Aileen who has had the very challenging job of organising the camp roster and heading down to camp so often, Mel, Bearheart, Ray, Bee, Frosty and all the rest of the 50 or so dedicated people who went to keep camp.

Thank you to all of you who shared and talked about it. Direct action don’t work without people sharing about it.

Pack up date and partyyyyy is set for the 7th and 8th September.

In my opinion, this campaign has been successful so far, because of direct action, and making a massive noise about it. This took literally hundreds of people, and most people didnt get the chance to go to camp, reiterating that direct action takes a team.
No one acted illegally, no one was arrested.

We sat down and refused to move and a big community talked about it, and as a result we all saved not one but FOUR forests because of it. For now at least.

We will keep campaigning to get the old growth definition fixed, to ensure these four forests and a whole bunch others are permanently protected.

I wholeheartedly believe that this is achievable within a year!

Let’s celebrate and then finish the job! "    Well done Jess, Shona and team 

BIO Char or Forest Death Mining Char? 

 I get a regular farming newsletter from the Warren catchment council in Manjimup .  I've long suspected bio char to be a green washing exercise by miners who are receiving ( cheap as chips) our Jarrah forests as fuel for their silicon and aluminium smelters. YEsterday I became aware of evidence to support my hunch.  But first let me assure you I have tested  bio char, (may I just call it forest ashes?) on my plants, on 3 seperate occasions, and not found any miracle results  at any time, 

 I put my hand up to be involved in a trial of bio char run by Kathy Dawson WCC, and received several bags of char via her ( she did confirm they were originally from the Kemerton smelter) and instructions were to add 5% char to my seedling tray mix and to one row of orchard trees out of 2. There has been no plant response to date ( 2 years now).Kathy did not receive funding to proceed with the trial and  cursed the panel for their short sightedness.  I went ahead and posted my seedling results on face book anyway, and some bio char enthusiasts said I did it wrong. Under their instructions I did the trial again and again, nothing .  Strangely Kathy said she had seen my photos on face book, but made no further comment. Kathy is now making what is in effect a promotional video for the likes of Simcoa, funded by tax payers, and set to mislead vunerable farmers looking desperately for alternatives to chemical fertilizers.No doubt innocently, Kathy  is  putting together a video of biochar use in the south west. This will be a series of short videos of farmers (mostly) using biochar in a range of crops. She  will be knocking on doors of people she knows use bio char but is also aware Simcoa is "making a killing out of increased sales (and increased prices) for their biochar which is being trucked out in large volumes" .So Kathy wonders  who is using it and how.  If you are one of the unknown adopters and would like to have a promo opportunity that will help Kathy in her " mission" as well as promote your business, call her and also make contact with me. The videos will be stitched together by a professional film-maker into a mini-documentary to be screened at the Australia and New Zealand Biochar Conference and Study Tour. 
 I am all for the use of charcoal in animal feed and indeed as a vermifuge in humans but the amount you need for a large farm could come from your kitchen stove. We need not help the likes of Alcoa , Kemerton Japanese owned silicon smelter take away our Jarrah forests as fuel at just $11 a cubic meter and profit from the ashes as well!  This needs a push back.....Im inviting anyone who has run a trial on bio char to share their results with me.  You could also share results here: https://www.facebook.com/merribeenannup/  What we really need is a video following the forest to the smelter to the char to the farm and the results. One name that appears on most articles espousing the so called miracle of bio char is Albert Bates from the U. S.  Wonder if he has interests in mining ? 

Finally the Amazon is burning, and would you believe CNN is making   divisive commentary blaming eating meat for this! Vegans  have jumped on board, but these fires are preparing the way for sugar cane, Acai berry, brazil nuts  and soy too.  Our  real time hero carnivore Shawn Baker so sensibly points out, deforestation for palm oil is more of an issue!  And what about mining? Here is Sensible Shawn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASxY7MEpf2s  What about Almond production in California ? Listen to this man, he's pretty darn smart. 

 You will find a lot of benefits to the planet and your health of  eating a predominantly organic meat diet are highlighted in this talk by Peter Ballersted,  forage agronomist. As he says, Ruminants Rule!  

Thanks all, and enjoy local and organic food till we see you again.