Environment & Sustainability Archives - Page 6 of 8

An example of the campaign materials used in Cobram to raise awareness about Qfly

Pilot program reduces fruit fly population in Cobram

09/07/2022 Horticulture Innovation Australia limited 891 Views 0 Comments

By Horticulture Innovation Australia

The Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund aims to control the fruit fly populations that impact the productivity of Australian horticulture industries. At the core of the Fruit Fly Fund is the ground-breaking $60 million SITplus partnership. The SITplus program pulls together some of the world’s leading fruit fly experts and research organisations, to deliver an integrated solution to the management of Queensland Fruit Fly (Qfly).… Continue reading

Sap-sucking harlequin bugs cluster together as early-stage nymphs

Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

Understanding insect life cycles

09/07/2022 Denis Crawford 1093 Views 0 Comments

By Denis Crawford

There is more than one type of insect life cycle. Understanding the life cycles of insects can help when managing pests and/or encouraging beneficial insects.

**Control pest caterpillars before they reach full size (Supplied by Denis Crawford of Graphic Science)**

In Pest Files of April this year I described the insect life cycle of ‘complete metamorphosis’ or holometabolous development, from egg to larva to pupa to adult.… Continue reading

Insect diversity is not just about butterflies (Supplied by Denis Crawford of Graphic Science)

Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

Insects – the foundation of biodiversity

02/06/2022 Denis Crawford 947 Views 0 Comments

By Denis Crawford

Biodiversity in gardens means growing a variety of plants, which are likely to attract a variety of insects. That might sound alarming to some, but it’s actually a good thing.

Biodiversity can be a bit of a buzzword, but the way I look at it, is insects are the foundation of biodiversity.… Continue reading

All types of plastic can be recycled using the Cat-HTR process. (Image: Pixabay Ralphs_Fotos)

Recycling

Plastics set to return to from whence they came

02/06/2022 Bruce Thompson 849 Views 0 Comments

By Bruce Thompson

Australians produce 3.4 million tonnes of plastic each year but just 13% is recycled. And we’re above average because globally, only 9% of all plastic is recycled. With the future forecast of there being more pieces of plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050, it’s a fate our quickly plasticising oceans seems unable to avoid.… Continue reading

lose-up of Eucalyptolyma maideni (Supplied by Denis Crawford of Graphic Science)

Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

Signs of sap-feeding insects

01/05/2022 admin 1077 Views 0 Comments

By Denis Crawford

Sap-feeding insects may be quite small, but they usually leave signs of their feeding activity.

I had a couple of speaking engagements at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (MIFGS) this year. I was always on the lookout for insect specimens to show people, either the insects themselves, or the damage they cause, or other signs of their activities.… Continue reading

SPICEE, Installed 2016, suspended rotating living air plant sculpture, The Friends School, Hobart, Australia, photgraphed July 2019

Environment

Xeric Tillandsia offer sustainable integration into extreme urban environments

01/05/2022 admin 1036 Views 0 Comments

By Lloyd Godman

With expanding cities, foliage cover is often displaced and replaced with concrete and bitumen. A changing climate and increasing temperatures will place greater demands on ways to integrate plants into the urban environment to mitigate the heat island effect.… Continue reading

Green walls impose even higher demands on growing media performance

Growing Media

Potting mixes not just for pots

07/04/2022 John Fitzsimmons 1015 Views 0 Comments

By John Fitzsimmons

By now, most of us are familiar with the key performance criteria of potting mixes but it doesn’t hurt to refresh our knowledge periodically, particularly with the growth in specialist lines available to industry and for resale. It’s also worthwhile to consider the expanding list of applications; potting mixes are not necessarily just for pots any more.… Continue reading

Eggs are laid on new leaves (Supplied by Denis Crawford of Graphic Science)

Environment & Sustainability Pest and Diseases

Inside the chrysalis

05/04/2022 Denis Crawford 1110 Views 0 Comments

By Denis Crawford

For insects which go through a lifecycle of complete metamorphosis, the pupal stage is a critical one. But sometimes the pupal process is not smooth sailing.

Only insects which pass through a lifecycle of complete metamorphosis (holometabolous) have a pupal stage.… Continue reading

An aerial image shows The Cape’s restoration of the natural environment progressing alongside the residential construction (Image: Alan Foon)

Sustainable Landscaping

The Cape – A zero emissions housing community

05/04/2022 By Georgia Warren and Eily Schulz 1710 Views 1 Comment

By Georgia Warren and Eily Schulz

The Sustainable Landscape Company (TSLC) is contributing to the delivery of The Cape, a zero-emissions housing community in Cape Paterson, transforming a degraded former cattle station into a thriving habitat site for residents as well as flora and fauna.… Continue reading

Tillandsia plants installed at level 92 Eureka Tower where they have survived on their own biology for over seven years (Image: Lloyd Godman)

Sustainable Landscaping

Experiments with Tillandsia plants in extreme urban habitats

05/04/2022 Lloyd Godman 1157 Views 0 Comments

By Lloyd Godman

As the honeymoon period of vertical gardens ends, a critical question asks, How can plants be integrated into architecture in a sustainable manner?

Tillandsia SWARM is an ongoing ecological art project where Tillandsias (air plants) are mounted on a range of extreme urban sites, left to their own biological devices to survive, and monitored over time.… Continue reading