NEWS DESK
Kids have concerns over climate change, says author By Barry Morris
CHILDREN are concerned about climate change and the impact it will have on their lives, says author, illustrator and artist Terry Denton. Denton, a celebrity in the world of children’s literature, lives in Mornington and has a block of land at Mt Martha backing on to Balcombe Estuary reserves. He spends much his time on talking tours and listening to children in Australia and New Zealand. The curly mop-haired artist, who works in tandem with author Andy Griffiths on the treehouse series of books as well as writing his own books, has agreed to be patron of the environment group BERG Mt Martha. Through talking at schools he has been struck by how environmentally aware children are today. “Kids are aware of global warming and how fragile the environment is,” he says. “Because of the internet and also because it is part of the curriculum, kids are much more aware than, say, 30 or 40 years ago. “Even some games tackle the environment and global warming is a huge thing with kids - it concerns them.” Denton says he has never written a book on the environment and “perhaps, now that I’m patron of BERG MM I should rectify that”. He says he wouldn’t want to be a teenager today, describing it as “a tough game”. “The whole social media thing would be a powerful distraction for me,” he says. “At the same time, primary school kids, up to year eight or nine, are reading more than they ever have. “They’re also more articulate. At a school in Coburg I was amazed at how sharp the kids were. “Growing up in the 1960s there were mas-
sive literary problems that are not there now. “The book industry will tell you too that this is pretty much a golden time for children’s books.” Denton has fond memories of Balcombe Estuary and paddling a canoe up the creek in the 1980s. He regrets that with his books’ success over the past five years he has been too busy to paddle. “I just love the wonderful, natural world of the estuary. It’s an amazingly rare thing. It’s so special, particularly with its water birds. It’s still pristine,” he says. “I love that something as beautiful as the estuary, teeming with life, is in the middle of what is quite a busy suburban area. “It deserves to be looked after. I’ve always been interested in the struggle for the environment. “In the next 30 years there’ll be a lot more people living down here so we have to be careful how we manage the development of Mornington Peninsula. “Balcombe Estuary is a model of how that can be done with BERG MM working with [Mornington Peninsula Shire] council, Rotary and other organisations. “It’s a work in progress but BERG MM has saved what could have been lost. I’m sure there are going to be further battles ahead.” Whenever he gets the chance he still goes down to the estuary to paint water colours. As an artist, he hopes to reach out to children through art about the beauty and wonder of the estuary, the birds, animals and fish. “Kids are very visually literate,” he says. Somebody’s home: Treehouse books’ co-author Terry Denton seems a bit undecided about this novel bird house in a Mt Martha backyard. Picture: Barry Morris
Athletes chase new peak performance highs Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au SOME competitive types will go to any lengths to improve their athletic performance. Dedicated to their sport, they aspire to lofty goals while noting every second saved, every centimetre gained, and every kilo lost. That desire is making a new high altitude training centre in Mornington the go-to place for endurance athletes as well as those just wanting to lose weight. The centre’s technique works by drawing in air from outside the building and pumping it into a holding tank. There, the oxygen and nitrogen are split into their components with the oxygen taken out of the mix and pumped into the altitude centre at a controlled rate.
Air at sea level is 20.9 per cent oxygen but inside this is reduced to 13.9 per cent – the equivalent of breathing air at 3500 metres. By comparison, Mt Buller is 1800 metres high. High altitude training was once only available to professional athletes. AFL footballers from Essendon, Geelong, Collingwood and St Kilda spent time in Arizona to reap the rewards of a tough pre-season’s training. Now athletes on the peninsula can use high altitude training to acclimatise to the rigors of a low-oxygen environment to train for arduous hiking or trekking adventures. “Athletes use high altitude training to enhance their endurance performance,” New Heights Altitude Training Centre’s Scott Pimlott said. “At altitude the body produces more red blood cells as it adapts to the low-
oxygen environment. It is 30 per cent harder to perform in that environment. Our clients find their bodies become so much more efficient because they have so much extra fuel. “The body starts adapting after an hour in the high altitude environment; you can see the blood saturation levels changing. The body is adapting.” Mr Pimlott said high altitude training was also a weight-loss tool because it increases the body’s metabolic rate over an extended period. The body consumes fat for five or six hours after a session enabling clients to achieve leaner muscle mass. They don’t have to do as much training to achieve their goals to make big gains, he said, adding that one hour’s exercise inside the centre equates to two hours’ exercise outside.
“It helps people to increase their lung capacity, which benefits those who suffer from asthma. Also, it’s a time efficient way of training.” A keen mountain biker, Mr Pimlott, of Red Hill, said recent clients had trained for an ultra-marathon in the Sahara over six days and 251 kilometres. “Others come to train for the ironman, running marathons and cycling marathons,” he said. “Rye boxer Jayde Mitchell trains at our facility as this type of training is popular in the boxing world.” Can do attitude: Mornington athletes Clinton Watson used high altitude training to increase his endurance capabilities in preparation for the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, Morocco. Picture: Supplied
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Frankston Times
16 July 2018