incineration arts complex

TODAY we visited an exhibition of recycled materials at the Incineration Arts Complex in Holmes Rd, Moonee Ponds.

The Urban Fox: UK June 2010

It was a warm Saturday evening and Nick and Pauline Koupparis left a door to their three-storey house open as they watched Britain's Got Talent on television. Shortly before 10pm, a curious fox padded into their home in Victoria Park, east London, and made its way upstairs, where their nine-month-old twins Lola and Isabella were asleep. The fox attacked the girls on their arms and faces. When Pauline heard the crying, she rushed upstairs. "I went into the room and I saw some blood on Isabella's cot," she said yesterday. "I thought she'd had a nosebleed. I put on the light and I saw a fox and it wasn't even scared of me, it just looked me straight in the eye."

As the children were treated in hospital, where they were in a serious but stable condition, the shocking story spread around the globe, triggering a new panic about urban foxes. Police told local residents they should keep their doors closed in hot weather for their own safety. Neighbours spoke of how foxes creep not merely into their gardens but into their kitchens and living rooms. A fox trap was set; one fox has already been killed.



"Something should be done about them. I would love to get them out of here. They're really a nuisance and a danger," said one neighbour, Michael Parra. "I think the foxes are getting bolder. They almost go up to you. I've got fearful myself. They've gone towards my dog too."



Everyone who lives in a major city seems to agree they see more foxes than ever and these creatures are becoming bolder. Are we overrun with a new breed of fearless urban fox? Are these scruffy-looking, bin-raiding, lawn-wrecking monsters developing different patterns of behaviour to their fluffier, warier country cousins? Are they becoming more aggressive? And if so, what should be done?



A native mammal with little to fear from anything much except man, Vulpes vulpes has long fascinated and repelled us, attracting all kinds of fairytales and anthropomorphisms, from Reynard the fox in the Canterbury Tales to Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox. Hunting foxes with horses and hounds was outlawed in England and Wales in 2005 and the only piece of animal welfare legislation mooted by the Conservatives is a bill to bring it back. It is well known that David Cameron has enjoyed days out with the hunt. It is less understood that hunters imported thousands of foxes from Europe to lowland areas in the 18th century to improve their sport.



Foxes moved into cities in the 1930s and for four decades, until the 1980s, local authorities shot and trapped foxes in London in an attempt to exterminate them. This failed. By the 1980s there were an estimated 33,000 adult foxes in urban areas. Scientists believe populations have not risen significantly since. The highest densities of foxes are now found in cities but the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management believes urban foxes still account for only 14% of the total population.



Blood-curdling screams

Our perception that we are surrounded by more of them than ever is probably mistaken. Foxes, we believe, are cunning and fearless; they hunt in wolf-like packs, kill for fun and are the size of a burly dog. We have created a stereotype of the urban fox: while rural foxes are bushy-tailed red beauties, the city dweller is a mangy, malnourished beast that emits blood-curdling screams all night.



All these views are wrong, according to Bristol University's Mammal Research Unit, led by Professor Stephen Harris, the pioneer of urban fox studies. Foxes are not big: the average weight of the largest vixens is 5.7kg (13lb), a little heavier than the average cat and less than half the weight of a skinny whippet. Foxes do not hunt in packs, nor do they kill for pleasure. If let loose in a hen coop they will kill everything in sight but their intention is to bury their prey for leaner times. And urban foxes are no more or less healthy than rural foxes. In fact, they are often the same animals. Researchers found fox cubs born in the middle of Bristol ended up living in rural bliss on the top of the Mendip Hills, almost 20 miles away.



While the idea that country foxes live long and in comfort is another myth, life in town is certainly nasty, brutish and short. A fox in captivity can live for 14 years; in cities, few make it to their second birthday. The vast majority die on roads. The only difference between rural and urban foxes, says John Bryant, an expert in their humane deterrence, is that an urban fox is accustomed to people. "Thousands of people feed them, encourage them into their gardens and those that are not fed always find food on the streets," he says.



A typical urban fox has a territory stretching across 80 city gardens. Devouring everything from berries and (usefully) rats to discarded KFC, vixens will have four or five cubs in the spring. We believe we are seeing more urban foxes than ever because, at this time of year, we probably are: in June, the cubs are now teenagers, exploring their local area and boldly going where their wiser parents dare not. By autumn, they move off in search of new territory, which is when they perish on the roads.



Few report attacks because they fear they won't be believed

There are few records of foxes attacking humans. In 2002, Sue Eastwood said her 14-week-old boy, Louis, was injured after a fox slunk into her sitting room in Dartford, south-east London. Hackney council claims it has never received a reported incident. But a number of the London borough's residents have been attacked by foxes, including three people in the same block of flats. Many people don't report fox attacks because they don't think they will be believed.



Claire Blakeway was attacked by a fox at her home in Stoke Newington, north London, in July 2003. She was sleeping in her bedroom when she awoke and screamed with pain. "It was like someone dropped a brick on my foot," she says. Blood was streaming from her foot. She had left the door to the fire escape open and, at dawn, a fox had padded into her room, three floors up. "It must've come into the bedroom, seen my foot and had a gnaw on it," she says. "It sunk its incisors into either side of my foot." Her screams scared it off before she could see it but it left distinctive paw prints – not the prints of a cat – running across her cream carpet and on to her sheets. Blakeway got antibiotics for the bite but never formally reported it to anyone, although she heard from the flat warden that two other residents had also reported foxes attacking them.



Experts, however, are baffled by the baby attack. "This is completely outside my experience of fox behaviour," says Bryant. "I think it is a young fox cub. They are all teenagers, they don't know anything, they have no fear. They wander into houses, steal cat food and will even sleep on the sofa." Urban foxes are particularly fond of schools: there are portable classrooms to nest underneath, open bins overflowing with half-eaten packed lunches and, crucially, no dogs. "Foxes are fascinated by children," says Bryant. "When they hear the children running around the playground they will sit in the bushes and watch them, captivated."



'Foxes are fascinated by children'

If this sounds sinister, it is not. Bryant works with schools to educate children and manage their fox populations. In his experience, foxes do not attack children; they are curious, but as wary as any wild animal. Martin Hemmington, of the National Fox Welfare Society, agrees that it is very unlikely that a fox will attack one child, let alone two. "I've been bitten more times than I care to mention through my own careless actions. When a fox bites you, it backs off. It doesn't look to come back and bite again," he says. When he has been called to catch a fox that has wandered into a house and become trapped, he says it is common to find them doing "the wall of death" – leaping around a room in a panic. Perhaps the fox inadvertently injured the children doing this, although Pauline Koupparis told BBC London her husband "lunged" at the fox "three or four times and it moved a few inches each time" before he eventually chased it down the stairs.



Hemmington is adamant that a fox would not have attacked the children believing they were prey. Foxes rarely attack creatures that are bigger than them and even the biggest vixen is not as heavy as a nine-month-old baby. "The only thing I can think is that the fox got into the house and panicked, but I can't understand why it panicked twice, with two children," he says.



Those in the fox-control industry are now reporting scores of panicky calls from parents wanting foxes eliminated from their gardens. Should there be a cull? "I don't think so," says William Moore, of Foxolutions. Culls don't work because if you kill or catch and remove an urban fox you create a vacuum: within days, a new pair of foxes will move in to establish a new territory. "They are pretty self-regulating. They keep themselves to themselves. Man is so dirty, we've encouraged them by chucking our food away," says Moore.



In fact, for every person beckoning them to their backdoor to feed them, there is another picking up the phone to order their extermination. For every exceptional incident of a fox attacking a child, we should recall another statistic: in 2008/9, 5,221 people, including 1,250 children, were treated in hospital in England after being mauled by man's best friend, the dog.





How to outfox the fox



▶ Never feed foxes; refrain from leaving out bird food and cat food.



▶ Use a secure wheelie bin. Don't leave rubbish bags outside.



▶ Foxolutions recommends Scoot, a fox repellent that fools a fox into not recognising its own scent markings so it believes another fox is claiming the territory.



▶ Try an infra-red device that links to an outdoor tap and fires water at intruding foxes (available from jbryant.co.uk).



▶ Put garden sheds on a concrete base so foxes cannot live underneath. If a fox nests underneath decking, remove one plank so the vixen no longer feels secure.

                                                                                        From The Guardian website.

deformed fish

THE owner of a Queensland hatchery where double-headed fish embryos were found is taking past and present owners of a neighbouring macadamia farm to court, alleging spray drift from their operations damaged her fish and her business.




"I want them to admit that they were doing it and stop it," said Gwen Gilson, owner of Sunland Fish Hatchery near the Noosa River. "We want clear air and clean water. That's essential."



The problems became widely known in January last year when Ms Gilson confirmed that in addition to massively deformed embryos, surviving fish showed abnormal spinning behaviour and other physical deformities.



The Australian then revealed the existence of a possible cancer cluster among residents on Boreen Point, near the macadamia farm.



It is understood there may be more cases brought by residents, alleging health problems from suspected cancers to gastrointestinal and bladder complaints, skin disorders and headaches.


According to documents sighted by The Australian, Ms Gilson is seeking damages and a declaration that between 2005 and the present the defendants negligently "permitted dangerous fungicide and pesticide chemicals" to escape from the plantation.


The defendants could not be contacted for comment.



Ms Gilson claimed that problems began at her native fish hatchery in September 2004 after a macadamia farmer allegedly sprayed nut trees with fungicide and pesticides.



All two million sea mullet fry allegedly died when Ms Gilson transferred them into an open tank at the hatchery. She will also claim that native bass stocks died when fresh water was provided for them from the open tank.



From then on, Ms Gilson alleges that stocks of Mary River cod, yellow belly, silver perch and mullet also died or showed deformities and abnormalities after spraying. Fish bred and raised away from the plantation in controlled trials were normal.



Jolyon Burnett, chief executive of industry group the Australian Macadamia Society, last year said the matter was serious. "Anything that affects the health of our members, their families and the community in which they operate is of significant concern."



A taskforce of government, industry and independent scientists, established by the Queensland government, is expected to submit a final report next month.

                                               

our ever expanding city

THE following is an article in The Age about public housing in Melbourne. It makes me ask- how big do we really want our city to get? The picture underneath it- of Prahran in the future- looks a bit scary to me. Where will all the new residents' cars go, for a start?

'HUNDREDS of homes will be added to three of Melbourne's largest public housing estates - at a time when the waiting list for public housing is nearing 40,000.
The Fitzroy, Prahran and Richmond estates will be developed in partnership with private enterprise.
The federal government is to announce today a $175.3 million contribution to initial funding for the project, which will see an extra 547 public, community and affordable homes built in its first stage. The state government has not announced how much it will contribute.
The waiting list grew by 1013 in the three months to March, from 38,781 to 39,794. At that rate, the new capacity will already have been eaten up. No tenant will move in this year.

(The Age, May 17)

severn cullis-suzuki speaks to the UN

Following is an incredibly passionate speech given to a large audience by a 12 year old girl, clearly worried about the future. Especially powerful is the section beginning: 'You teach us..' followed by 'Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?'. Suzuki is also on youtube.com at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZsDliXzyAY

By SEVERN CULLIS-SUZUKI


Address to the Plenary Session, Earth Summit, Rio Centro, Brazil 1992


Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. - The Environmental Children's organisation.


We are a group of twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference:


Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me.

We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.



Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come.



I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.



I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere left to go. We cannot afford to be not heard.



I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what chemicals are in it.



I used to go fishing in Vancouver with my dad until just a few years ago we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear about animals and plants going exinct every day - vanishing forever.



In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterfilies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.



Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age?



All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions.



I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do you!



You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.

You don't know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.

You don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct.

And you can't bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert.

If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!



Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organisers, reporters or poiticians - but really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles - and all of you are somebody's child.



I'm only a child yet I know we are all part of a family, five billion strong, in fact, 30 million species strong and we all share the same air, water and soil - borders and governments will never change that.



I'm only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.



In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel.



In my country, we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and htrow away, and yet northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to lose some of our wealth, afraid to share.



In Canada, we live the privileged life, with plenty of food, water and shelter - we have watches, bicycles, computers and television sets.



Two days ago here in Brazil, we were shocked when we spent some time with some children living on the streets.



And this is what one child told us: "I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the street children food, clothes, medicine, shelter and love and affection."



If a child on the street who has nothing, is willing to share, why are we who have everyting still so greedy?



I can't stop thinking that these children are my age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born, that I could be one of those children living in the Favellas of Rio; I could be a child starving in Somalia; a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India.



I'm only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this earth would be!



At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us to behave in the world. You teach us:



not to fight with others,

to work things out,

to respect others,

to clean up our mess,

not to hurt other creatures

to share - not be greedy

Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?



Do not forget why you're attending these conferences, who you're doing this for - we are your own children.



You are deciding what kind of world we will grow up in. Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying "everyting's going to be alright', "we're doing the best we can" and "it's not the end of the world".



But I don't think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My father always says "You are what you do, not what you say."



Well, what you do makes me cry at night. you grown ups say you love us. I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words. Thank you for listening.



Ms. Suzuki is the daughter of David Suzuki. At the age of 12 she spoke at the Earth Summit in Brazil. She received a standing ovation.

big yellow taxi

This was written a long time ago and still has a lot of relevance today:

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot


With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got till it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot



They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum

And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see them

No, no, no, don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got till it's gone

They paved paradise, and put up a parkin' lot



Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT

I don't care about spots on my apples,

Leave me the birds and the bees - please

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got till it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot




Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door slam

And a big yellow taxi took away my old man

Now don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got till it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got till it's gone

They paved paradise to put up a parking lot

They paved paradise

They put up a parking lot

Paved paradise and put up a parking lot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg

Joni Mitchell

overall plan

Your blog must include:


a. A name, profile, aims.

b. A personal statement about the environment (belief)

c. Evidence of research in the form of an interview (live preferable)

d. A letter to the editor

e. A feature article based on current reading- global warming? recycling? saving water? public transport? any hot topic

f. A review of any excursions

g. An interview with a parent/ peer

h. Original photographs

i. Links to useful sites (including other students’ blogs)

j. A full glossary

k. An interview with a student from another Fiontar group

l. What is happening overseas?

m. What is happening in your local community?

n. Evaluations

o. Vlog (optional)