Yosemite National Park

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I recently went to America in December with my boyfriend and visited several national parks. It was winter, however some would argue that this is the most beautiful and unique time to visit these national parks. The most amazing and spectacular park we saw was Yosemite. It just takes your breath away once you arrive. It took about 4 hours to drive there and it was definitely worth the trip. The first thing we saw was endless number of burnt trees from the recent wild fire. They were logging all the burnt trees as that particular type does not recover once it is burnt. They are then replanting two small trees for each large tree. The area is expected to recover in about 200 years!

Once we descended into the valley, we could not believe our eyes, photos cannot portray the beauty. You really have to see it for yourself to appreciate the nature. We were lucky as it had snowed the day before in the valley and got to enjoy the snow in warm temperatures. Here are a few pics:

I would highly recommend travelling the distance to see Yosemite, next time we visit we will spend at least 3-4 days there rather than 3-4 hours as we only got to do 2 small walks.

Until next time, 

Keep loving the green life

5 Tips To Improve The Nature In Your Backyard

Anyone can help to improve the world's biodiversity by starting in your backyard. Making a few minor changes in your backyard allows to you to grow your own ecosystem.

<Photo from: http://ferncreekdesign.org/backyardecosystem.html>

Compost bins

Having a compost bin is great as you can throw all your food and garden scraps in it and soil will begin to develop along with micro-organims and biodiversity. Here are just a few things to throw in there.

• Vegetable and food scraps
• Tea leaves and tea bags and coffee grounds
• Vacuum cleaner dust
• Garden scraps
• Used vegetable cooking oil
• Egg shells
• Old newspapers (wet)
• Sawdust (not from teated timber)
• Wood ash
• Human and animal hair

Bird bath and bird feeder

These will encourage a large variety of animals to create a home in your backyard. The birds will take baths and eat bird seed in your backyard. Birds will eat bugs in your backyard, aerate the soil and attract bugs that pollinate. It is important to wash these regularly though to prevent spread of infection among the bird population.

Small vegie or herb garden

Making your own vegie or herb garden will provide you with organic fresh produce. But it will also encourage insects such as bees who pollinate in your own garden. You can add waste from here into your compost bin. You also save money, there is greater quality in the food and you will spend more time outside.

No pesticides or fertilisers

Instead use natural solutions such as your own compost, kelp or animal manure is great for fertilising your plants. You can make a homemade pesticide by crushing a bulb of garlic and covering with vegetable oil, then strain the liquid and add a few drops to 1 litre of water  to prevent any pests from eating your vegetable garden.

Variety of plants

By investing in a variety of plants in the garden you can then create your own community. Animals including insects and birds will love the variety and start to use the garden as their habitat. They can gain shelter, look for food and even reproduce in the safety of your garden.

Until next time,

Keep loving the green life

Place of Interest: Lamington National Park, QLD

Lamington National Park is one of my favourite places that I have visited. It is possibly the most popular rainforest to visit in Queensland, Australia and is definitely thriving with biodiversity. It is more than 20 000 hectares of flora and fauna. Amazing bushwalks, including a tree top walk allow visitors to view the pristine national park without interfering with nature. It is worth the long car trip up the dangerously windy road to see what nature has to offer.

 <Images from: http://papundits.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/o’reilly’s-at-green-mountains-part-2/>

Whilst visiting, we saw the rich biodiversity before our own eyes. There were red-necked pademelons (a type of wallaby), ringtail possums, glow worms and many other creatures roaming around the plush greenery. Numerous types of birds (more than 160 types) including black cockatoos, tawny frogmouth owls, bowerbirds and lyrebirds filled the rainforest with music. However, along with the many visible organisms, the most important of them all are the microorganisms which we cannot see. 

As well as the vast biodiversity, there is a strong history of Lamington National Park. It was home to Aboriginal tribes for thousands of years, then in the late 1800s logging started in the area, with many significant people lobbying to protect the forest. It was finally a success in 1915. If you are ever in Brisbane or the Gold Coast, it is a must to see this stunning national park for yourself, as photos can never encapsulate the true beauty to be seen here. 

Until next time,

Keep loving the green life