Tanya Loos
Consider the locals; how to select a site for a outdoor event that minimises harm to nocturnal wildlife.
The riverside or bush outdoor party is a wonderful opportunity for people to get out of the city; however the impact of the event on a colony of sugar gliders or a Powerful Owl nest site can be substantial. It is possible to consider the needs of wildlife when selecting a site for your outdoor event; in this workshop we will explore the impact of night events on hollow using marsupials and birds such as sugar gliders and owls as case studies. Then we will discuss how we can use our knowledge of wildlife ecology to develop principles of site selection that minimise harm. Out of the workshop we will develop a set of guidelines for the EGA website/ journal. EGA attendees on the whole seem to want to connect more closely with spirit and with nature, and one way to do this is to minimise harm when we do what we normally do in our lives. I stopped attending outdoor night events in the late 90’s when I realised the effect these parties must have on nocturnal fauna. And prior to that, I just had no idea! Not wilful ignorance or cruelty, just a simple lack of awareness. It is really easy to select a site that has minimal nocturnal nightlife, and I would like to share this with the EGA community.
Tanya is an enthusiastic field naturalist, birdwatcher and nature writer. She is currently President of BOCA Ballarat, soon to be BirdLife Ballarat after BOCA and Birds Australia merge. Tanya completed a graduate certificate of Ornithology at Charles Sturt University in 2008, and currently works as a flora and fauna consultant in biodiversity and planning. She is a long term member of the Australasian Bat Society, Field Naturalist Club of Victoria and the Australasian Raptor Association. Tanya writes a nature column for her local paper, the Hepburn Advocate, and really enjoys sharing nature with other people, especially beginners. She has been privileged to observe a lot of rare and unusual animal behaviour and sightings of threatened species – just by being still and present and keeping her eyes peeled. Pretty much all of her sacred plant explorations confirm what she knows to be true in her day to day life – to care about the earth and other living things, the first step is to notice, then empathy, love and action soon follow! Tanya lives on a bush property near Daylesford, with her partner Snu and their dogs, Puff and Leela.