Young Spencer to speak on wallum

Mandy Nolan saw 13-year-old Spencer Hitchen speaking at Woodford and was so blown away, she has invited him to come and speak locally about his ideas for the environment.

Spencer started the Save Sunrise Glossies to protect his local Wallum ecosystem and the Vulnerable to Extinction Glossy Black cockatoos.

’I came down to Brunswick to Wallum habitat down there quite a few months ago,’ says Spencer. ‘I’m going to be coming down to talk about how to observe, learn and protect your local environment and give people some tips on how to stand up for nature and help protect the Wallum ecosystem in their backyard.’

‘There’s a lot of species that are endemic to the Wallum and they can’t live anywhere else because they’ve adapted to that ecosystem. The Glossy Black cockatoos actually drink on the site where they’re going to put houses. It’s really important that we protect their drinking sites and their feeding habitat – the drinking sites especially are really important.’

Greed and inadequate planning laws

The event is hosted by Greens Deputy Mayor Sarah Ndiaye and Mandy Nolan – who says that sometimes it takes the wisdom of a child to shine through developer greed and inadequate planning laws. 

Nolan feels Spencer’s powerful speech Observe, Learn, Protect is powerful and needs to be seen. ‘It is the next generation who carry the burden of our bad decisions. It’s time we listened to what they want and what is important to them. Saving habitat for endangered species is

crucial. You don’t get a second chance. Spencer unpacks the significance of this ecological site, the survival needs of the Glossy Black cockatoo and the political processes required to facilitate proper environmental protection.

Spencer will appear at Mullumbimby Civic Hall on Sunday at 5pm followed by a Q&A.