Environment – Book Review
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Oct/Nov 2005

A Guide to Maintaining the Range: The Blackall Range Landholders Guide
reviewed by Alan Harrington

Barung Landcare has just published the second edition of a very valuable resource book: The Blackall Range Landholders Guide.

Since 1989, Barung Landcare has been working to protect and restore the natural environment of the Blackall Range, and the book shares the expertise and knowledge gained from those 15 years of experience. The Guide has been expanded to 126 pages of very useful information that is presented simply. Compiled and edited by Katrina Shields and designed by Penny Smith, The Blackall Range Landholders Guide is a group effort with contributions from many Barung members and local experts including Mim Coulstock, Lin Fairlie, John Muir, Peter Oliver, Sammy Ringer and Jan Tilden.

The Landholders Guide is aimed at old and new residents, whether living on suburban blocks or large acreage. It offers easy-to-read, up-to-date tips on: what landcare really means; how to live with local fauna; how to farm trees; how to reduce garden maintenance and power bills; how to select the right tree for the right place; and how to access help and funding for your projects.

As I browsed through the book, I found it quite enthralling. The Potted History chapter by Elaine Green gives a fascinating insight into our region's past, and I think the Guide is worth it for that chapter alone. For example, did you know that many of the roads we drive along today were once Aboriginal pathways through the scrub, often forming boundaries between territories? The Old Gympie Road is one such pathway. You probably know that the Blackall Range is the traditional home of the Gubbi Gubbi people, but did you know that the Gubbi name for this area is "Barung" ("place of the rat kangaroo")? It's all absolutely intriguing!

The range of topics is wide and includes information on understanding our local environment, restoring our native flora and fauna, controlling environmental weeds, living sustainably on your land, and much more. The book has a detailed resource and contact section, so you can easily follow up on matters of particular interest to you. Complementing the topics are plenty of photographs, including some delightful colour ones.

The Guide is a credit to Barung Landcare, and I congratulate everyone involved. This is a "must-have" book, not only for those who live here but also for you to give to your friends to show them what a wonderful place the Blackall Range is.


[From "Maple Street Co-op News", Feb/Mar 2005; published by The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.coop@ serv.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]