Have you heard someone described as “a silly old coot”?
The tag might be unfair to any older person, but also unfair to these common water birds, even though their strange feet can make them look ridiculous on land.
Living in Adelaide’s northern suburbs hasn’t stopped St Columba College students Alexa, Emily, and Olivia from speaking up for the Park Lands. Through conversations with fellow students, they collected sixty-eight petition signatures and shared why these spaces matter to their generation.
Sue Wincott shares the delight of spotting her first Australasian Grebe at Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi (Park 16). With adults diving nearby and a tiny youngster on its nest among the reeds, this memorable introduction to the wetland and the birdlife that makes it special.
What will the proposed MotoGP mean for community health? Margaret Brown looks beyond the economic arguments to the potential impacts of increased noise, air pollution, traffic congestion, tree loss and the disruption of green space. She argues that the health costs of bringing more motor racing into the Adelaide Park Lands deserve much greater scrutiny.
Australia loves sport. But should major sporting events come at the expense of our public green spaces? In Brisbane and Adelaide, communities are fighting to protect precious park lands from major developments. Different governments, different projects, but remarkably similar battles.
As the South Australian Government pushes ahead with plans to bring MotoGP to Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi, a leading birdwatcher says the State could be overlooking another growing tourism opportunity, one that depends on protecting our natural environment rather than building racetracks through it.
