The Stream Community is proud to present
Our Footprint
The power to protect nature is in our hands. As everything is connected, one small thing can make a big difference.
It is by acknowledging and respecting the traditional owners and custodians from the past, in the present and into the future, and their connection to the land, language and culture that we will thrive in our place on the planet.
'Our footprint' statistics are both shocking and empowering. Our knowledge is power for positive change.
Landscapes of Fear
The combined effects of people (lights, noise) and predators (through scent from urine, faeces and fur) cause stress in small mammals as they occupy ‘Landscapes of Fear’. These are the less obvious impacts of sharing our backyards, sports fields, the bush that we walk, run, or ride through with native biodiversity.
What might these ‘Landscapes of Fear’ be like for small mammals? A trio of bandicoots are alert to the sights and sounds of the surrounding environment. There is a mixture of sanctuary and fear, unpredictability and confusion in their urban world.
Hunt & Gather - The food footprint on the planet
Humans play an important ecological role in natural foodwebs, considered apex predators similar to lions and tigers. Neanderthals hunted much larger prey than the modern human because it was more energy efficient. However, many of these species are now extinct and modern hunter-gatherer communities hunt anything they can find. This not only threatens a range of native animals but alters the cultural practices of indigenous communities.
The composition attempts to stir a visual connection to the changing story of predator prey relationships through literal representations and stylistic beauty.
Black and white line work illustration executed digitally.
The Waste Space - Kicking the habit
The Waste Space was designed as an interactive face to face waste sorting competition. The game and the infographics seek to inspire collective action by reminding people how to minimise waste to landfill. Small changes to habits and consumer choices can reduce waste generation, leading to significant positive improvements to our environmental footprint.
Did you know that 80% of the waste in landfill could have been recycled?
Our Creek
The Ourimbah Creek Valley is home to at least 48 threatened fauna species and 12 threatened flora species. The two species this project focused on are Syzygium paniculatum (Magenta Lilly Pilly) and Prostanthera askania (Tranquility Mintbush). Both species belong to larger genera which have general names on Darkinjung Country: Mudjuburi and Girang respectively.
The Ourimbah/Norimbah Creek Valley is critical for the survival of both species as it represents the westernmost occurrence of Magenta Lilly Pilly, which is crucial for understanding its adaptive capacity in a changing climate, and the valley contains one of the largest known monitored populations of the Tranquility Mintbush.
Contemplating connection to the bio-ecological system that humans are a part of is vital to its continued survival.
Killen, C., McIntyre, P., Foster, L., Ransom, L., Mulcahy, A., Williams, B., Duncan, K., Richards, E., Smith, K., Drabsch, B., Cassin, A., Chalmers, A., & Callen, A.
Koalas on the coast
More than 85 percent of Australia’s population lives within 50km of the coast. Urban development into coastal regions is threatening localised extinction of many koala populations. In Port Stephens, the koala population is one of the last remaining strongholds for koalas in NSW. But urbanisation fragments and degrades habitat, leading to further risk of koala extinction. The map on the left shows the chance that a koala is using the habitat. Areas shaded lightgreen to dark blue show the areas most frequently used by koalas. The map on the right shows the urban and bushland areas of Port Stephens. You can see the areas most frequently used by koalas are also highly urbanised. These areas include the preferred feed trees for koalas. Each move by a koala to find food resources or mates in these areas exposes them to attack by dogs and collision with cars. Without urgent mitigation it is predicted koalas will be extinct in NSW by 2050.
It's a frog's life?
Seasonal drying of pools in streams can limit the availability of breeding habitat for many frogs. Drought conditions are predicted to increase in intensity and frequency based on climate change models. More frequent drought is likely to restrict breeding habitat for Littlejohn’s tree frogs and other stream-breeding anurans.
This video shows a typical day in the life of a field ecologist and the various Australian frogs seen during our work. Without fieldwork we would not get the data needed to study human impacts on frog species.
Contributors
Alana Burton
Alex Callen
Anna Lonergan
Astral Lee
Bernadette Drabsch
Cassandra Bugir
Charlotte Alley
Chloe Killen
Courtney Birch
Darcie Brett
Dayna Perez
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Edwina Richards
Jane Lo
Jemma Gillard
Kathirine Sentas
Kaya Klop-Toker
Kevina-Jo Smith
Lila Raymond
Lillian Webb
Linda Cox
Loren Fardell
Louise Wills
Luke O’Donnell
Lynette Plenderleith
Maree Elliott
Michelle Kelly
Nathan Van Maastricht
Nerita Taylor
Nicole Perez
Olivia Joy Unicomb
Prue Sailer
Puck Van Der Laan
Rachel Klyve
Rebecca Seeto
Rose Upton
Samantha Wallace
Sarah Stock
Shelby Ryan
Simone O’Callaghan
Skye McMahon
Tallulah Cunningham
Victoria McMaster
