Past Programs
Conservation - 2005
Mutton Bird Island
17/12/2005
Half way between Sydney and Brisbane sits the city of Coffs Harbour. Home to 60 thousand people and, for 8 months of the year, around 20 thousand Shearwaters.
The birds spend August to April on Mutton Bird Island, a rookery attached to the mainland by a break wall.
The island is a nature reserve, and the birds with their cycles of breeding and migration, are a significant presence for the city, and for the local aboriginal people.
Eden Project
05/11/2005
The Eden project is a very interesting environmental project that has been established in Cornwall in southern England. As its name suggests, it is an attempt to create a world that looks after its residents: feeding them, clothing them and housing them (although the biblical garden wasn't so concerned with clothes and shelter), while at the same time respecting the lives of the other living creatures and plants that make up the garden. The Eden project, which was opened in 2001, is globally recognised as one of the most exciting botanical developments in generations, and the director of the Eden Foundation, Tony Kendall, talks to Alan about the philosophy behind it.
DIY Enviro Retrofit
01/10/2005
It's possible to spend just a small amount (under $50 per project) on little projects, and still make a big difference to your energy use. Many of these projects are simple enough to do yourself. Next week (Oct 8), a special workshop will be held at the Port Phillip EcoCentre in Melbourne to learn how to DIY retrofit your house to save energy and water and use fewer resources.
Ovens River
27/08/2005
The Ovens River in the alpine foothills of Victoria is an idyllic river beloved of trout fishermen...it's also quite a significant player in the bigger picture of water in this country.
The Ovens contributes almost half of the water in the northeast catchment of the Murray Darling basin... meaning that it's responsible for almost a fifth of the water that flows into the Murray.
It may look pristine but much of the country that the Ovens flows through is cleared farmland and cattle and weeds have taken their toll.
Now the Victorian government is piloting a market-based incentive scheme to get farmers along the river to clean things up...and hopefully to have an effect downstream...
Bamboo Loveshack
20/08/2005
Bamboo is a widely used building material in Asian countries like India and China, but it is yet to take off in Australia. It's fast-growing, strong, and displaces more destructive native forest products.
We visit the Loveshack, built by students in sustainable design at the University of NSW, and talk to Mr Bamboo, the first commercial bamboo grower in Australia.
Environment in NT Election
18/06/2005
For the first time ever, the environment has featured in a Northern Territory election, with both major parties preparing environment policies. The key issues of difference are the moritorium on landclearing in the Daly River and the development of the Koongarra Uranium Mine in Kakadu. We speak with Peter Robertson, from the Environment Centre NT, and Stephen Dunham from the CLP (Country Liberal Party).
Australian Identity and the Drought
04/06/2005
Once again the government has provided drought assistance to farmers, this time to the tune of $250 million. With a landscape so prone to droughts, what is the point of continuing to bail out farms in marginal areas?
Or perhaps farming is such a vital part of our cultural identity - like making cheese is to France or growing rice is to Japan - that we should just accept that paying out large amounts of money is necessary to save an unsustainable industry.
20 Years of Environmental Defence
14/05/2005
In 1985 Australia's first public interest environmental law centre started in Sydney with one part time lawyer. Today there are nine Environmental Defenders Offices around the country. Saturday Breakfast looks at how environmental law has evolved and the role the EDO's have to play in protecting the environment.
Al-Azhar Park in Cairo
14/05/2005
Recently (25th March 2005) His Highness the Aga Khan and Her Excellency Madame Suzanne Mubarak opened a new 30 hectare park in the centre of Cairo. Al-Azhar Park is a massive project not only because of its size in a city with one of the lowest ratios of green space to urban population in the world, but also because of the restoration of historical monuments and the rejuvenation of the surrounding neighbourhood that resulted from cleaning up and greening this inner city site.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which focuses on the physical, social, cultural and economic revitalisation of communities in the Muslim world, formed partnerships with international, national and local NGOs and institutions to make this park possible. Alan Saunders talks to Cameron Rashti, who has overall responsibility for the Al-Azhar Park, to find out more about what it looks like and how it has impacted on the residents of Cairo.
Kitengela Glass
26/03/2005
During this Easter a lot of Christians will be enjoying the tranquil beauty of stained glass windows. Alexandra de Blas takes us to the incredible Kitengela glass centre on the outskirts of Nairobi in Africa, where the most exquisite stained glass windows are being made from recycled glass. Kitengela is a creative wonderland where everything is recycled. It's surrounded by a wildlife park where the leopards break in and eat the dogs, and the baboons relax around the pool. We speak with Nani Croze and Anselm Croze.
