March 15, 2010
Byron Shire Echo – Ph 02 6684 1777
April 1, Byron Shire EchoArticlesSpirit of ChildhoodWhat a difference a new road makesMichele Grant There was a notable change for commuters in the northern part of the Shire this summer. The peak holiday period passed without the usual traffic chaos. There were no snaking queued-up cars stalled around the Brunswick River bridge. No hot frustrated drivers crawling along the road from Yelgun or clogging up the bypass. Local residents can now travel around the neighbourhood, pop into Brunz or over to Billi and Mullum without fear of being rundown by B-doubles or sideswiped doing hair-raising righthand turns. At the imposing new roundabouts at Rajah and Orana Roads drivers are imbued with a tremendous sense of power when the oncoming traffic careering down the hills is forced to stop and give way at the concrete oasis. Unfortunately Abigroups million budget didnt extend to resurfacing the small section of road from Heartbreak Hill near the speed camera to the Orana Road intersection. Pedestrians and bike riders travelling from Brunz are left stranded at the top of the hill where the pathway abruptly ends. The patchy uneven road surOcean Shores are an ongoing hazard. Potholes spring up like mushrooms after rain. Shara Boulevard, Balemo Drive, Orana and Rajah Roads need more than Councils plug em up cosmetic surgery to rejuvenate the road surface and avoid a civil suit for damage to shockers and ball joints. Another worry for residents is the colourful greasy discharges floating along the sediment ponds at Billinudgel. Changing from red to brown or green after rain events, staining the stark white concrete drains before quietly seeping into the river. Both noise and industrial pollution need to be carefully monitored and effectively addressed to protect the Marshalls Creek floodplain and Brunswick River, and the community needs to ensure it happens. The glor ious new Billinudgel overpass has improved connectivity and enhanced commercial opportunities, encouraging locals to walk and ride, meet and mingle and enjoy the neighbourhood. This extravagant gift is shaping a new sense of community. The overpass also provides an excellent vantage point for viewing the Shires future population growth centres, needed to justify the massive expenditure on infrastructure. Lit up like Luna Park, some claim the Overpass is visible from the moon, yet drunks staggering home from Billinudgel still manage to smash their beer bottles and routinely toss empties into the sediment ponds. Changing peoples attitudes and behaviour takes much longer than building a new road and is often far more taxing- july workshops from JulyWhere Words come in WavesEarly Bird 3-day Passes On Sale NowTickets and information at or Jetset Byron Bay face is ideal for aquaplaning in wet weather, and must take some responsibility for the terrible accident that recently claimed the life of one young man and left another seriously injured. Sadly new roads have not secured the community a funeral free festive season. The local road has removed the terror of living alongside the Pacific Highway. It has transformed traveling and enabled residents to exist in a safer, slower, saner, rural headspace, without having to run the gauntlet every time you leave the house. Shoppers can nick up to the Gold Coast on the new highway in under half an hour, workers can commute in less time than it takes to get to Byron. Locals and tourists alike can enjoy a cruisy, scenic trip to Murwillumbah and towns along Tweed Valley Way without being constantly tailgated or wedged between intimidating trucks. Getting over the Burringbar range is no longer fraught with danger, unless its pouring rain. Many are still adjusting to the changed conditions. The new Pacific Highway has caused a lot of sleepless nights for nearby residents. Painted rippled lines designed to keep drivers alert send rumbling shockwaves and dream destroying decibels over the floodplain and up the newly carved valleys. The rat runs throughThe Spirit of Childhood Foundation Ltd, based in Mullumbimby, operates programs promoting positive early childhood experiences and bonding through building the strength and resilience of parents, carers and the wider community. Seen here are Indigenous women Anne-Marie Lee, Raelene Bulumbara, and Selina Ashley Brown together with Jane Hanckel, CEO of Spirit of Childhood. The three indigenous women were attending a one week workshop in Mullumbimby. They are being trained to bring the Spirit of Childhood techniques of child development and connection to their own communities near Katherine in theNorthern Territory. The interactive programs are based on the principle of action learning. They provide new skills and strategies to strengthen early parent child bonds, build parenting skills and support an understanding of the developmental stages of early childhood. Planned for this year is the Learning from Each Other Spirit of Childhood workshop to be held in Katherine, NT in August. The workshop will bring together elders and senior community members to share and continue the development of programs for strengthening outcomes of early childhood. See more at A night alternativeWendy Bithell, founder and guide of Vision Walks, and her sidekick Peter Roberts demonstrate what would arguably be one of the better uses for military technology. Preferring to make love not war, these nature lovers combine years of experience travelling national parks worldwide to give you a nocturnal experience viewing critters in the Nightcap National Park and Whian Whian State Conservation Area. The goggles amplify the available light, allowing visi-tors to easily observe nocturnal animals when they are at their most active. Wendy reports that observing native animals at night alters the standard psychological relationship that exists between prey animals and humans. Possibly because being observed by humans at night time is a relatively new phenomenon to them, the nocturnal animals are less afraid and more curious of people than they are in the daylight. See more at Jack Johnson supports wetlandWetlandCare Australia WCA, which has its national office in Ballina, has been very fortunate in obtaining support and sponsorship from singing legend Jack Johnson during his Australian tour. WCA was the lucky recipients of ten tickets to each of his Sydney, Brisbane and Wollongong shows, which they were able to use as fundraising tools, and as encouragement to volunteers.To find out more about WCAs work, log onto www. wetlandcare.com.au.