The NSW blueberry industry

"Almost 80 per cent of Australia's blueberries are grown on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, where the industry has grown rapidly.The NSW Environment Protection Authority polices the rules and since 2020 its inspections in berry-growing areas around Coffs Harbour and Nambucca have increased by 180 per cent, finding "occasional transgressions"."

"A recent meeting of the Nambucca Environment Network at Macksville, locals raised concerns about the berry industry's use of chemicals, water, protective plastic tunnels and bird netting. The... laws haven't kept pace with the industry." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-28/blueberry-boom-regulation-nsw-mid-north-coast/106490330

Let's cover the Mid North Coast of NSW in plastic..>>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115991755455133375
#BerryIndustry #blueberries #pollution #NSW #MidNorthCoast #water #spraydrift #plastic #HorticultureIndustry #DA #FoodSafety #food #pesticides #dimethoate #harm #negativeexternalities

Let's cover the Mid North Coast of NSW in plastic..

Image:
"Surrounding the town of El Ejido, Almeria Province, southern Spain is a sea of greenhouses, stretching for tens of kilometers. Millions of tons of vegetables are exported to other European countries and other parts of the world. The image covers an area of 19 x 30.5 km, was acquired July 20, 2008, and is located at 36.75 degrees north latitude, 2.75 degrees west longitude."
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/almeria-spain/

NSW - Traumatic landscapes of plastic, pollution and exploitation
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115991606657243814
#NSW #industrialisation #SeaOfPlastic #plastic #MidNorthCoast #blueberries #agribusiness #plantations #externalities #EcologicalViolence

Traumatic landscapes of plastic, pollution and exploitation

The coastline of Spain is known as the ‘Sea of Plastic’ ("Mar de Plástico”) It is the world’s largest plastic greenhouse complex with 350 square km of fruit and vegetables grown by immigrant labour for the horticultural industry. >>
https://www.behance.net/gallery/22272681/Mar-del-Plastico#

Could we do the same thing to the coast of NSW?
NSW Greens to move bill to let councils better regulate berry industry as it continues rapid expansion

“People move into these beautiful valleys for the lifestyle and the environment but then wake up one day and within months they are looking at an industrial-scale blueberry farm."

"Faehrmann’s bill will call for mandated buffers between intensive horticulture farms and homes and waterways, as well as strict controls on spraying, runoff and irrigation and greater monitoring of produce for pesticides."

"Blueberry farming is rapidly expanding beyond Coffs Harbour, where it began several decades ago, into the Nambucca Valley and the Kempsey area to the south, and west toward Grafton and Bellingen."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/31/australia-berry-industry-bill-nsw-greens
#rivers #water #extractivism #pesticides #MidNorthCoast #ChinasOrchard #horticulturalIndustry #regulation #runoff #pollution #plastic #PALM #blueberries #SeaOfPlastics #TraumaticLandscapes #NSWCoast #NSW #CoffsHarbour #Nambucca #Kempsey #Grafton #Bellingen #residents #habitability #NSWLogging

The mountain is falling off on Waterfall! Way due to traffic overloading

"The road is a key tourism and agricultural route between north-west NSW and the coast, vital for the transport of livestock, dairy and produce over the Great Dividing Range...We've had 150 tonnes coming down over the initial 50 tonnes of material that fell."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-29/farmers-call-long-term-solution-waterfall-way-landslide/106257220

Landslide susceptibility near highways is increased by 1 order of magnitude in the Andes of southern Ecuador, Loja province
"Mountain roads in developing countries are known to increase landslide occurrence due to often inadequate drainage systems and mechanical destabilization of hillslopes by undercutting and overloading." >>
https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/15/45/2015/nhess-15-45-2015.html

#roads #landslides #slopes #traffic #trucks #waterfalls #mountains #Dorrigo #MidNorthCoast #NSW #tourism #FossilFuels #climate #WaterFallWay

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

Black necked stork
(Jabiru/ Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) sighting in the Bellingen freshwater wetlands.

"In the past the species was found in much of eastern New South Wales, but is now extinct throughout much of this area. The range of the Black-necked Stork has been reduced with the modification of floodplains and tall reed beds for agriculture, mining and human settlement." >>
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/black-necked-stork/

Image: Black necked stork (Jabiru)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_necked_stork_%28Jabiru%29_-_Fogg_Dam_-_Northern_Territory_-_Australia.jpg

#birds #BellingenShire #WaterBirds #MidNorthCoast

In an upside down world

this masked lapwing couple (Vanellus miles)
was chased away by joggers at the beach repeatedly.

Feeding sooty oystercatchers (Haematopus fuliginosus)
had to vacate the coastline to make way for footballs.

No one seemed take notice of the native wildlife or was willing to 'Share the Shore' in this 'more-than-human world.'

#birds #shorebirds #beach #ShareTheShore #SchoolHolidays #wildlife #MidNorthCoast #NSW #biodiversity

Image: The masked lapwing couple fleeing - again