Social media and the environment

Could social media save the environment?

Seems the answer is, it depends.

David Attenborough once said, “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced”.

Generally, most environmental campaigners would agree with Sir David.

There are numerous accounts of how social media is responsible for negative impacts on sensitive ecosystems – more exposure resulting in overuse and abuse, photo-trophy hunters, ‘selfie’ addicts chasing that extra special location and so on. Some environmentalists advocate that photographers should not announce where an image was taken and even delete the exif data before publishing an image.

Clicktivism is often criticised as a downfall of social media in regards to support for the environment. Clicking the ‘share’ or ‘like’ button makes some people believe they have achieved some change but in fact, have they? Clicktivism can create the impression of support rather than contributing meaningfully to a cause. It has to be said though, online activity can often motivate some people to be more active offline.

As we are all too well aware, ‘fake news’ is rife on social media and it can apply to environmental matters. It is just as easy to spread misinformation about nature on social media as it is to provide false facts about vaccines and elections.

 

Credit: studyfinds.org

The flip side though, is that social media can be a powerful tool for environmental activism, awareness and education. Social media enables environmentalists and nature lovers to connect and it is easier than passing out fliers in the street.

Around the world, green groups and environmental campaigners have taken to social media to alert communities to minor and major environmental issues. This is a bit ironic in that it might involve more time on a cell phone or in front of a computer screen than actually being outdoors experiencing nature. It is a balancing act. 

Grantville NCR

The best advice – sure, use social media to learn about nature and the environment or to promote a cause but be sure to check your facts and be honest. Most of all, get out there and experience it!

Social media can have powerful positive or negative effects; it depends on how it is used.

 

 

 

Tree hollows at a premium

Australia has the greatest variety and number of animal species that are reliant on tree hollows for their survival.

Nearly 30 amphibian, 80 reptile, 115 bird and 80 mammal native Australian species use tree hollows for diurnal or nocturnal sites for rearing young, shelter, roosting or feeding. Many hollow-reliant animals are recorded as rare, threatened or vulnerable. Many invertebrate species that are essential to a healthy ecosystem are also hollow-dependent.

 

Most animals that are obligated to use tree hollows have no other resource. A few will adapt to a crevice in a building or a rock, or similar. The little Striated Pardalote for example, has adapted to using hollow cross beams on power poles. 

 

The best trees for forming hollows are the eucalypts and many of them do not begin to form useable hollows until they reach 120-150 years of age. 

 

 

A further element of pressure on the use of tree hollows is the adoption by pest species – Common Mynas, Starlings, European Honeybees, etc. 

Many birds will defend their ‘hollow territory’. Some will guard their chosen hollow for some weeks before it is required for egg-laying. During a recent one hour visit to Picnic Point at Longwarry North, the following birds were seen entering, leaving or guarding their selected tree hollows – Eastern Rosella, Rainbow Lorikeet, Galah, Little Corella, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and King Parrot.

There is an ongoing process of decline of mature, hollow-bearing trees due to dieback, land clearing, bushfire, firewood collection, lack of recruitment, and urbanization. Trees with hollows, even dead trees, need special protection and we urgently need to be planting indigenous tree species that in time will form natural hollows.