NEWS DESK
Drawing conclusions over quarry for 50 years ARTIST Sharyn Madder turned back the clock recently to recall an anxious moment more than 50 years ago. At the time the Frankston student was so horrified by plans for a quarry on Arthurs Seat that she drew a cartoon, right, that was published in the The Frankston Standard. “I only remembered the cartoon when going through my mum's clippings,” Madder, who has kept her passion for nature as an artist who specialises in environmental education to teach children about conservation, said. She says the cartoon is relevant as the Ross Trust, owner of Hillview Quarries, is proposing a new, larger “Botanic Gardens-sized” quarry on Arthurs Seat. “The quarry will be 800 metres from Red Hill Con-
solidated School and will destroy pristine bushland that’s home to koalas and threatened and endangered species,” Madder said. “When the proposal came out I just couldn't believe we were back here again. “After more than 50 years it seems we haven’t moved on much and we aren’t valuing the environment more.” Madder went back to the drawing board to pen a new cartoon, left, depicting the Ross Trust’s plans. “I hope the cartoon will help people understand what they are going to lose if this quarry goes ahead, and how important it is to protect the little pockets of bushland that remain down here,” she said. “People are busy going about their lives and not paying too much attention until it’s too late.”
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Western Port News
18 August 2021
IT is lockdown No.6 and one year since Hastings-based photographer Celia Furt warned against feeding junk food to birds. Furt was out with her camera again last week to show that not much has changed. “The photos tell the same story as last year: people during lockdown feeding junk food to the pelicans and seagulls,” she said. “However, the difference is that last year the signs weren't up as the fishing pier at Hastings was in the middle of being rebuilt and was closed off to the public. “Despite the signs, people are careless, they are still feeding human food to the birds. “I know that it feels like fun raising such a feeding frenzy among the birds but, at the end of the day, people are just poisoning them. Birds cannot digest bread, fries, pizza and whatever else people are feeding them. “The food birds cannot digest gets stuck in their throats and crops, and they die a terrible death. “Birds can literally fall from the sky.”