Help us to protect our Native Forests!
Support our ‘Walk For Forests’ campaign– to expose the continuing threats to our Ancient trees, wildlife and ecosystem.
Help us 'Change the definition of the term 'Old Growth' To ensure long and lasting protection of the Native Forests of the South West
The South West corner of Australia is home to some of the most magnificent forests of Australia.
Tingle Forest Mt. Clare
Red Tailed Black Cockatoo
Over the last 200 years, over 50% of what was once virgin forest, has been cleared for agriculture and infrastructure, and the majority of the remaining forests have been heavily logged, by FPC or cleared for mining.
Jarrah logs to be chopped and burnt as firewood
In addition, forests are being burnt periodically by DPAW under an outdated and flawed regimen which lays waste to huge sections of forests, and is vastly detrimental to wildlife and the local flora and fauna.
In response to all this.....We are organizing a walk from Albany to Perth – weaving on and off the iconic Bibbulmun Track through what’s left of the SW forests – to expose the damage that the forests have faced, and the continuing threat to what’s left of the Native Forests of WA.
https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/https://thegreatwalkofpeace.org.au/
Our Starting dates will be 29th September with a new Moon opening Ceremony down near Albany at Base Camp. We aim to Walk into Perth around the 12th/13th December to Parliament house, and then into The Concert For Forests.
We
will be operating as a safe supportive, caring peaceful community along the
course of the walk, and will be sharing the responsibility of food, set up and
pack down of camp each day, as well as sharing knowledge, experience, stories
and music with each other to foster lasting relationships.
History
In 1988, A group of passionate individuals came together to walk from Denmark to Perth to protect Old Growth forests from being logged and woodchipped by FPC. This movement was known as:
The Great Walk
As a result of their actions and dedication to the cause, Old Growth Forests were protected.
The momentum of the walk continued, and the Great Walk Networking still exists today hosting regular walks.
However the definition of the term "Old Growth" was soon updated and defined to exclude much of the Old Growth forests left, and it wasn’t long before The FPC continued with the logging of the Ancient Forests of the SW.
(*See Old Growth Forest def below)
The Great Walk of Peace
The great walk of peace –inspired by the movement of 1988, is the rebirthing of this movement with more expansive aims to create a structure to host walks all round the world - focused around any environmental or social justice cause, with a secondary focus on community and self-Development.
The first walk being the Walk For Forests
So come join us! We are currently scouting and working on the route for the walk, as well as trying to organise a few more pre walk events – concerts, compassionate communication courses, and tree planting days.
You may join at any time along the route for as little or as long as you like. The only requirement is an acknowledgment of the structural principles that form “The Great walk of Peace” These are:-
A focus on:
- An Environmental or social Justice cause
- Self Development
- Community Building
- Peace and Non-Violence
- Solutions and problem Solving
- Service to Self and Community
- Building bridges and finding common ground with people outside our immediate circles.
We aim to be as inclusive as possible to those wishing to join.
We hope to cover as many costs beforehand as possible – to allow those with less money to join without issue.
Quenda
If we are able to secure enough funds, to allow the momentum to continue and to create walks around Australia and the world, centred around Peace with a focus on Environmental Justice, we would be extremely grateful.
Goals
- To come together with a unified vision to protect our forests and natural environment
- To raise awareness of the issues facing South West native forests in WA
- To change the current definition of ‘Old Growth Forests’ – to fully protect all forests which have Old Growth Characteristics
- To bring together people from all walks of life and to build bridges between, people with opposing views; To find common ground between those who want native forests protected, and those who see them as part of their livelihood.
- To build our connection with Country and to the land and environment;
- To creat a strong sense of belonging within a community which listens to, accepts and values us.
- To come to a deeper knowledge and understanding of ourselves, and our place in this world
- To inspire people to carry on ‘The Great Walk of Peace’ movement as a means to mobilise people and create long term change
The Great Walk Truck ‘88
How you can Help
- Join us! Register on the website. Come walk with us to experience the majesty and grace of our Forests, and to learn about how the logging industry has affected the land over the last 200 years.
- Be part of the team, take part in organising or participating in concerts and events, helping to spread and promote the walk, or help with scouting and route-planning.
- Nourish us- organise food supply for the walkers during their journey. We are aiming for local/ organic/ biodynamic/ spray free.
- If you have any specific knowledge about the Bush lands, wildlife, ecosystems, or knowledge of the land in any way, we'd love to learn from you.
- If you have experience in Non-violent or Compassionate Communication, and Conflict Resolution, and are interested in running courses. We'd LOVE to hear from you.
- If you can’t walk, but would be happy to act as support crew for any section, get in touch, and let us know how you’d like to help.
- If you are a good networker, if you know of landowners within 50km of the Bib track or know of particular sites worth visiting, if you know of any scientists and experts who may be willing to share their time and knowledge and experienced bush walkers who may not have heard of us yet- connect us. You will make a difference
- For any other contributions, If you have any interest at all in community, self development, and preservation of our beautiful arcane giants of the South West, we'd love to have you join the team
Old Growth Forest Definition
Karri Forest – Within Karri Forests, if there is a single stump within 2 hectares of trees 400-600 years old, then that single stump automatically disqualifies that area from being classed as Old Growth.
Also, for an area to be classed as Old Growth, it must be 2 hectares square. So any Forests next to rivers, or on steep slopes, with long skinny sections – not equalling 2 hectares squared, are automatically disqualified from the definition of Old Growth.
Jarrah Forest – Within Jarrah Forests, if there is an average of 3 stumps per hectare, over 2 hectares, that land is disqualified as Old growth. For smaller sections, if 2 stumps are found within a half hectare block, that land is also disqualified from Old Growth Classification
If Jarrah has been identified to be contaminated with Phytophthora cinnamomi – or Jarrah Dieback, this automatically disqualified it from Old Growth Classification
So you can clearly see how ludicrous these definitions. They do not serve to protect what’s left of Old Growth forests, as it is extremely difficult for any section of bushland to be completely without a stump.
This definition needs to change.
As you can see this definition fails to protect High Conservation value Old Growth Forests. There are many large pieces of land, filled with trees centuries old, which under these current definitions, fail to be protected, and as a result – are still under threat of being logged.
Help us make this change.
Meet The team
And of course all the people we’ve met on our journey, who have helped us with the website, artwork, with venues to host events, and to people who’ve dug up footage from years ago, to video editors, to the musicians who played at our crowdfunding launch.
Heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of you!
Thanks so much for listening! We'd really appreciate your help in sharing this vision and getting it out through your networks. :)
Much love and eternal Rainbow colours!
The Great Walk of Peace team.