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The cartoons below have been embedded from the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph.
Cartoons are a form of visual representation of ideas, views and concepts. It is important that students develop skills in interpreting cartoons. Interpreting cartoons involves knowledge of the context of the cartoon, identifying different issues being explored in the cartoon, identifying the techniques used by the artist, and considering the views or opinions that the artist is trying to convey. Basics: - What is the cartoon about? - Who is represented in the cartoon? Why? Knowledge of the context: - What events have happened? - Look at the date of the cartoon. What events had happened at the time the cartoon had been drawn? - Who are the key people/roles involved in the event/issue? Identifying issues explored: - What can you see in the cartoon? What words are used? - What concepts are being explored? Techniques: - Has the artist used symbolism, irony, analogy or exaggeration in communicating? - Is the cartoon persuasive? Views and opinions: - Can you identify the political views or perspective of the artist? - How are these views or perspective communicated? - What other opinions are there about this issue?
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Fires around Port Macquarie, Lake Cathie and Lake Innes began in November 2019. As of 21 January the Crestwood Drive, Port Macquarie fire had burnt out 3572ha, while the connected Lindfield Park rd, Port Macquarie fire had burnt out 859ha.
The Lake Innes Nature Reserve was home to a flourishing koala colony. Between 350 and 600 koalas are believed to have died in the fires around the Lake Innes area. The image on the left is a screenshot of the RFS Fires Near Me app showing the location and extent of the Port Macquarie fires. The screenshot on the right shows the size of the Port Macquarie fires in relation to other fires in the mid-North Coast region.
Photos below show the aftermath of the fire - taken on 17 January, 2020.
The post below from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services indicate that while the fire around Lake Innes was extinguished, there remains risk for future fires flaring even several months later. The post below was posted on January 21.
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
Following the fire a number of injured koalas required intensive care. The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital was inundated 
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has a large number of koalas in care. The least injured/ill koalas are available for public viewing, while those most injured are screened from public viewing for their own wellbeing. Below is an example of the management of koalas, their injury/illness and treatment.
Go Fund Me Campaign
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital set up a Go Fund Me Page to raise much needed funds to support care for injured koalas and to establish drinking stations and a breeding program for koalas in the region. The initial goal was for $25,000. By 21 January, the campaign had raised nearly $7.5 million dollars. The scope of the projects originally proposed have now been expanded in light of the huge amount of money raised. Port Macquarie Koala Hospital - Go Fund Me.
A bushfire started on December 31 at Charmhaven on the Central Coast and burned over several days. This is one of the smaller fires in The Australian Bushfires 2019-2020, but still burnt out 418ha of land. Local residents were issued with warnings and in some cases were evacuated. Two homes, located on Birdwood Drive and Arizona Drive were lost.
The photos below show the aftermath of the fire, taken on 18 January. There is some evidence of regrowth, but the fire-ground still smelt of smoke and was still hot underfoot.
Community groups have attempted to rescue injured wildlife and provide food for them. Below are photos of food left in a hanging container and food left on a tree stump.
Coordination of feeding and watering stations has been aided by the using of spatial technologies such as Google maps.
A Water Our Wildlife CCWSAR Map has been developed to help volunteers know where feeding and watering stations have been set up, so that people can visit them independently and re-stock them.. 
Victoria – Joint Task Force 646
Following a request from Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, on December 31, naval vessels, helicopter and fixed wing military aircraft were made ready for use in evacuations. This was decided in consultation with the Prime Minister and Defence Chief General Angus Campbell. HMAS Choules transported approximately 1100 evacuees from Mallacoota to Western Port on January 4-5. The ship then returned to Mallacoota to deliver diesel fuel and a fuel management team to keep generators running. RAAF Black Hawk and Taipan helicopters transported firefighters to fire grounds, and helped evacuate vulnerable people. Three Spartan aircraft assisted with evacuations. On January 5 and 6 ADF flew in emergency food, fuel, water and medical supplies to 18 cut-off communities. On January 7 they prepared a staging area for around 100 international fire fighters around Omeo. On January 7, further evacuations from Mallacoota took place, and satellite phones and food, medical supplies, water and fuel were delivered in some isolated locations, including Bemm River and Genoa. Reconnaissance flights were conducted over fire affected areas on January 8. A medical team was deployed to remote towns such as Combienbar and Gipsy Point. 5400 litres of diesel and 800 litres of unleaded petrol were flown in to Mallacoota. Equipment and Engineering personnel were provided to assist state government in reopening roads, removing debris and clearing fire breaks and fire trails. On January 9, ADF undertook route clearance north of Bairnsdale and the Great Alpine Road was reopened. Hay bales and fodder were moved into key locations. Air Force air traffic controllers assisted to help manage the large volume of air traffic at the Bairnsdale Airport. From January 10, ADF undertook continued work in support of relief centres at Omeo, Swifts Creek, Bairnsdale, Orbost and Mallacoota. ADF also supported evacuations from the Victorian Alpine region. Activities Undertake internet research: - Make a list of the different issues affecting the people of Mallacoota prior to the ADF assisting them? - Make a list of the different tasks undertaken by The Australian Defence Force to assist the people of Mallacoota? - Why do you think that The Australian Defence Force had to be called in to assist the people of Mallacoota? Was this a good decision? What are the costs and benefits of using the ADF in this way? - What challenges did the ADF face in assisting the people of Mallacoota? Extended response: - Outline the effectiveness of The Australian Defence Force in responding to the bushfire crisis affecting Mallacootta. Media analysis: Embedded below are social media posts from The Guardian, The Australian Defence Force, the Royal Australian Army and the Royal Australian Airforce. - What is the purpose of The Australian Defence Force, Royal Australian Army and the Royal Australian Airforce posting updates about their activities? What are the benefits of these posts? - Consider the following statement about media: "Media and media messages can influence beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviours and the democratic process." What messages are conveyed in the posts below? What values are communicated? How might these posts influence democratic processes?
Embedded below is a series of tweets by Brendan, a local resident of Mallacoota. As the emergency unfolded, he published updates on the progress of the fires and the experiences of him and his family, and later on his community. The tweets included below are just from the first few days of the disaster. You can also listen to an interview with Brendan by clicking here.
Unlike a formal newspaper article or a television news story, this is a very personal account, describing one man's individual experiences. Activities - Create a list of the impacts of the fire on this particular person. - Create a list of impacts on the community of Mallacoota. - Use the hashtags #Mallacoota, #Australianbushfires and/or #bushfires to search Twitter. Explore the perspectives of other residents during the emergency. Add to your lists above, and write a short description of the accounts of these individuals. - Consider the language and the descriptions included in the accounts you have read. How do these differ from the language and descriptions in more formal pieces of writing or news such as newspaper articles or news reports? - As a geographer, what are the advantages of reading personal accounts of a natural disaster such as the Australian Bushfires? What are the disadvantages? - What steps could you take to verify the accounts of individuals on twitter or other forms of social media?
This is part of a unit of work for Changing Places - Australia's Urban Future. Lesson 1: Australia's Projected Population Growth Lesson 2: Implications for Future Growth and Sustainability Lesson 3: Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Precinct Lesson 4: WestConnex - Sydney, Sustainability and Transport Lesson 4: Sydney Sustainability and Transport (Teacher's Notes) Lesson 5: The GreenWay Lesson 5: Deindustrialisation Lesson 6: Create an infographic Lesson 7: Contributing to a Sustainable Urban Future Lesson 7: WestConnex - Protest Movements and Impacts Lesson 7: Conflict Over Dulwich Hill OR See the complete unit on the Changing Places website. Sydney’s Inner West is still experiencing deindustrialization as industrial land users continue to move further west. Zoning for high density residential developments has exacerbated the increase in land values of industrial properties in Inner West suburbs. As a result some of the last remnants of the suburbs’ blue collar, industrial working class history are being redeveloped. Old waterfront industrial sites such as Rozelle Bay and White Bay have already been rezoned as part of the Bays Precinct urban renewal initiative. Recent rezoning for high density residential housing in suburbs such as Marrickville and Dulwich Hill will see a decline in small industries in coming years.
Fieldwork: Visit Marrickville, and take photographs that show evidence of change occurring. Examine the main street, Marrickville rd. Conduct an environmental survey on the main street. Conduct a landuse survey of Marrickville. Use an outline map of the suburb, and shade in different colours to represent different landuses (yellow – low density residential, brown – high density residential, red – commercial, grey - industrial, blue – public facilities/institutions, green – recreation). Compare your landuse survey to the proposed plans for Marrickville and describe the landuse changes that will take place. Lesson Activity: Deindustrialisation Choose one suburb that will be changed by the Planned Precincts. Create a digital map that shows the existing density of the suburb, and another map which shows the proposed density of the suburb. Use Google Maps to help you create your map. Use flowcharts and mind maps to visually represent the changes that are occurring in Sydney’s Inner West. You may choose to group your ideas around specific suburbs or developments. 
This is part of a unit of work for Changing Places - Australia's Urban Future. Lesson 1: Australia's Projected Population Growth Lesson 2: Implications for Future Growth and Sustainability Lesson 3: Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Precinct Lesson 4: WestConnex - Sydney, Sustainability and Transport Lesson 4: Sydney Sustainability and Transport (Teacher's Notes) Lesson 5: The GreenWay Lesson 5: Deindustrialisation Lesson 6: Create an infographic Lesson 7: Contributing to a Sustainable Urban Future Lesson 7: WestConnex - Protest Movements and Impacts Lesson 7: Conflict Over Dulwich Hill OR See the complete unit on the Changing Places website. Community groups lobbied for the continuation of a Greenway Trail along the light rail corridor to link up with the Cooks River cycleway. The Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay is a green corridor following the route of the Rozelle to Dulwich Hill light rail line. It is shared pedestrian and cyleway that links the Cooks River Cycleway and the Iron Cove BayRun. The combination of both light rail and the Greenway encourages public transport use and cycling/walking both for recreation and commuting, reducing some of the car dependence in this part of Sydney. In addition to providing opportunities for residents to choose cycling and walking as an alternative to car travel, it also provides a habitat corridor, linking several bushcare sites in the Inner West.  Fieldwork: Visit a site along the GreenWay. Walk along the greenway and choose 3 separate locations to complete an environmental survey. Compare the results of the 3 surveys. Explain how the Greenway contributes to the sustainability of the Inner West.
This is part of a unit of work for Changing Places - Australia's Urban Future. Lesson 1: Australia's Projected Population Growth Lesson 2: Implications for Future Growth and Sustainability Lesson 3: Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Precinct Lesson 4: WestConnex - Sydney, Sustainability and Transport Lesson 4: Sydney Sustainability and Transport (Teacher's Notes) Lesson 5: The GreenWay Lesson 5: Deindustrialisation Lesson 6: Create an infographic Lesson 7: Contributing to a Sustainable Urban Future Lesson 7: WestConnex - Protest Movements and Impacts Lesson 7: Conflict Over Dulwich Hill OR See the complete unit on the Changing Places website. Social Movements Social movements can provide residents of a community with a means of influencing their local environment. They provide a way for residents to communicate opinions on planning and other matters to the formal planning structures and organisations, and to intervene in the formal political system. Activities of social movements can include letter-writing campaigns, protest meetings, and media campaigns. Social movements can be important agents of urban change and can empower local communities. An example of a social movement is the urban cycling movement which aims to reduce car dependence and improve sustainability of transport, increase safety on roads for cyclists and encourage a collective increase in personal health and wellbeing through exercise.  Resident Action Groups Resident Action Groups are a form of social movement at a smaller scale, and usually involve issues of a short term nature. RAGs often tend to be localized and single-focused. Although these groups are usually designed to force significant changes in society as a whole, they can at times bring about change at a smaller scale. Unlike social movements more generally, RAGs are more obviously limited and can be interpreted as having NIMBY (not in my backyard) motives. Recent transport infrastructure development and proposals for high density throughout the Inner West of Sydney have created an increase in the number of RAGs and concentrated the patterns of RAGs around development sites. There are currently a large number of Resident Action Groups in the Inner West of Sydney protesting and lobbying against WestConnex and increased development. Examples include Rozelle Against WestConnex, Save Dully, and Newtown WestConnex Action Group. Rozelle Against WestConnex The Rozelle Against WestConnex group lobbies against WestConnex in general, but more specifically the Rozelle Interchange in the vicinity of the Rozelle Goods Yard, as well as the tunnels running below Denison and Darling Streets. This will involve acquisition and demolition of homes and businesses and creation of 12-metre high, unfiltered smoke stacks. Save Dully The Save Dulwich Hill Community Group promotes issues related to the redevelopment of the suburbs and lobbies the government to preserve the heritage of suburb. Visit the Save Dully website to read more about their actions. Dulwich Hill experienced growth in the late 1800s following the introduction of the tram line, and as a result contains buildings with heritage architecture, particularly Federation architecture. The Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Strategy, encompasses the suburb of Dulwich Hill, rezoning for higher density and redevelopment of older buildings. Save Dully is lobbying to ensure that the historic and diverse nature of Dulwich Hill is preserved. Newtown WestConnex Action Group The M4-M5 link tunnels will run underneath Newtown. Many Newtown business owners have begun protesting the development, worried that congestion and bottlenecks will negatively impact retail businesses, or alternatively that clearways along King St will kill business. The Newtown WestConnex Action Group has been formed. In Alexandria a new bridge is being constructed over the canal to allow movement of traffic from the St Peters interchange. Lesson Idea: Individual and community action Examine the ways that individuals and communities have contributed to the political process and discussions about the WestConnex project. Write a paragraph about 5 actions taken by individuals and communities. Do you think these have been effective? Do you think these actions are justified? What other actions could individuals or communities take? Examine a video of a council meeting about West Connex (try a simple search on Youtube). Consider how the different groups and individuals perceive how WestConnex impacts their community and/or environment. Choose a persona from one of the following: local resident, local councilor, construction worker, urban planner. Write a series of tweets that you might compose to tell your feelings and opinions about the issue. Take photographs of a site that will be or has been affected by WestConnex. You may use Google Street View if you are not close by to a relevant site. Annotate the photographs showing how features of the environment have changed or will change as a result of the WestConnex development. Assess how the changes to the site will impact on its environmental quality. Obtain aerial photographs of the Inner West of Sydney (these may be screen shots from Google Maps). Visually represent the changes that are taking place in the area. Annotate the aerial photographs showing locations affected by Planned Precincts, WestConnex and the Metroline. Include detail about the types of changes that are going to take place. Fieldwork: Questionnaire
Conduct a questionnaire on residents that live in the Inner West of Sydney. Design 8-10 questions to ask. Some examples:
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Louise SwansonDeputy Principal at a Sydney high school. Coordinating author of the new Geoactive book series. Archives
March 2021
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