Local author Dr Robyn Gulliver’s new book The Advocates: Women within the Australian Environment Movement traces the stories of nine women environmentalists around Australia. Over the past fifty years these women have held corporations to account, cleaned up toxic waste in their own backyards, and returned biodiversity to our forests.
One of these advocates is local Heather Barns, the co-founder of Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (‘B4C’). In the book we learn of the challenges Heather has experienced while building this thriving catchment and landcare social enterprise.
Through her and her co-founders’ efforts, B4C now supports multiple bushcare groups, undertakes education and school projects, organises hundreds of events and supports thousands of conservation volunteers right here in our local community.
Eight other women are featured in the book, two of whom have also spent decades advocating for Queensland’s unique environment.
One of these is June Norman, who walked 1200 km alongside the Great Barrier Reef in her retirement and won a UN award for facing down the military and authorities at peace and anti-mining camps. Jan Nicol, born in West End, bought a ‘Wombat Acre’ as a teenager and now volunteers full time as a climate advocate in her retirement.
Author Robyn lives locally in Wynnum while co-author Jill L. Ferguson lives in California. Together they are excited to launch The Advocates with Melbourne University Press, and share the stories of these women’s behind-the-scenes struggle to preserve and restore Australia’s environment.
You can read these stories and learn more about the book at https://www.mup.com.au/books/the-advocates-paperback-softback or [email protected]
