As the holiday season rapidly approaches, Mak and I have an exciting announcement for our fans! Introducing our Turkish Mezze Platter

Mezze Platter---------------Medium Platter - $138Large Platter - $168.00 Fruits Platter--------------Medium Platter $55Large Platter $85

#bellingen #dorrigo #vallabech #macksville #midnorthcoastweddings #Mylestom #Christmas #mezze #turkishfoods #newyearsparty #newyears

Selling of noxious weed 'bonkers'

"At least three-quarters of weeds established in Australia have come from escaped garden plants, according to a 2004 report by biosecurity strategist John Virtue....We've got over 30,000 introduced plant species in Australia and unfortunately the vast majority have never been assessed for their weed risk."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-11-05/calls-to-ban-invasive-weed-sales-at-nurseries-in-australia/105956004
#weeds #flora #horticulture #gardens #InvasiveSpecies #Biodiversity #Bellingen #BellingenShire

Image: The Arrowhead vine (Syngonium) is grown from cuttings in shops and is sold by the horticultural industry. The aggressive toxic climber is allowed to overgrow Bellingen's public spaces and gardens.

The only good tree
is a wood chipped tree

#Bellingen, Church St., NSW
#trees #shade #ExtremeHeat #climate #biodiversity #wildlife #UHI

Byron Bay has a 60-day holiday rental cap
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-23/60-day-caps-in-byron-bay-results-uncertain-after-one-year/105799696

Bellingen Shire should have a 60-day holiday rental cap too. Pollution from traffic generated by holiday makers, cleaners, lawn maintenance machinery, tradespeople, deliveries and linen companies could be reduced.
>>
#tourism #BellingenShire #Bellingen #traffic #cars #trucks #pollution #housing #Airbnb #holidaymakers #STR #NSW #STRA #harm #NegativeExternalities #community #GHG #climate #PrematureDeath

Cars wreck lives, roads and the planet

" Motor vehicles are a major cause of air pollution. Air pollution is causally linked to six diseases:

coronary heart disease
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
stroke
type 2 diabetes
lung cancer
lower respiratory infections.

Estimates of the deaths associated with air pollution in Australia range from 3,200 to more than 4,200 a year.

Even the lower end of that range is far more than the roughly 1,200 lives lost in car crashes annually.

University of Melbourne analysis in 2023 landed at an even higher figure. It suggested vehicle emissions alone may be responsible for more than 11,000 premature deaths in adults in Australia a year. "

"Payment (for the constant rebuilding of roads) should be based on a combination of vehicle mass and distance travelled. That’s because damage to roads is overwhelmingly caused by heavy vehicles. "

https://theconversation.com/stop-the-free-ride-all-motorists-should-pay-their-way-whatever-vehicle-they-drive-262950
#cars #pollution #MobilityDesign #roads #killzone #Bellingen #Suvs #trucks #fossilfuel #externalities

Children cut air pollution near their schools – by taking aim at their parents’ idling cars

"Australian drivers leave their cars idling up to 20% of their total travel time, producing as much as 8% of a trip’s emissions."

"Around schools, idling cars create pollution hotspots exposing children to harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter. At the start and end of every school day, many Australian children head to the carpark or street to get picked up. While they’re waiting, they will be breathing in a mix of toxic gases and particle pollution."

"But car idling is one of the easiest behaviours to change. Internationally, anti-idling campaigns have led to improved air quality. In Australia, the problem of idling has largely been overlooked."
>>
https://theconversation.com/these-students-cut-air-pollution-near-their-schools-by-taking-aim-at-their-parents-idling-cars-262435
#FossilFuels #pollution #cars #parenting #idling #children #careless #motorists #Bellingen #GHG #climate

Reclaimining a sense of place
Mobility and the right to stay in a milieu

"Touristification describes a situation where locals fear their home towns and cities are being developed, designed and managed to attract and accommodate tourists. This touristification process benefits commerce and industries that profit from catering to visitors. Everyone else misses out, or is literally pushed out by rising housing costs. Some places are overwhelmed by short-term overtourism...Local housing, for instance, is being sacrificed for holiday rentals, facilitated by agencies such as Airbnb. local communities do not feel heard or empowered by tourism models which are focused on growth."
>>
https://theconversation.com/overtourism-is-reshaping-communities-in-europe-could-australia-be-next-260173
#tourism #overtourism #Touristification #TouristDestinations #TouristTown #coast #noise #pollution #cars #Bellingen #BellingenShire #harm #community #displacement #FastTrackApprovals #airbnb #regulation #MarketForces #housing #commodification #degradation #LeDroitàlaVille #mobility #RightToStay

Paris braces for 50-degree summers with urban cooling plan.

"The city of Paris is preparing for heatwaves with temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the coming years and plans to redesign buildings and public spaces to better protect the population."
>>
https://www.yahoo.com/news/paris-braces-50-degree-summers-165931782.html

Image:
Space-hungry cars in Bellingen yearning for more parking. Before this space became entombed in asphalt it had many mature trees on it.

#Fossilfuels #impacts #ClimateExtremes #ExtremeHeat #heatwaves #climate #ExitFossil #energy #PublicInfrastructure #asphalt #roads #PublicHealth #cars #Bellingen