Ian Tanner, founder of Ecological Funding Group, at his backyard pond.
Story by Belle Butler
In response to the global biodiversity crisis, which has seen around 69% of wildlife populations decline in 50 years, Lawson resident Ian Tanner has established an Ecological Funding Group which is raising funds to provide focussed donations to the Environmental Defenders Office and The Nature Conservancy.
Key Points:
- Biodiversity is critical for sustaining life on the planet. The greater the diversity of our ecosystems, the greater our resilience.
- Contributing 1% of GDP could help reverse the biodiversity crisis.
- One main focus of the Ecological Funding Group is hosting tours into the bush in order to encourage people to become more deeply involved with the natural world.
There’s nothing quite like a near-death experience to jolt you into action (or to start a story!). Lawson resident Ian Tanner was having some late-night fried rice when a mouthful became lodged in his airway. He couldn’t breathe or utter a sound to wake anyone in the house. As he tried to stay calm, he found himself staring at the dirt on the floor:
“I remember thinking, this is the last thing I’m going to see, and how pointless is that. I’ll be remembered as someone who indulged and travelled a lot. I realised my whole life had been indulgences.” – Ian Tanner
This mid-choke thought evolved into a big-picture insight: “I could sort of see all of time as a block. Like an iron block that was bigger than you could ever imagine, and that was unconscious matter, the way most things are. But we are conscious, we’re alive, we live. And we live through each other, through the biosphere, through the biological processes that we have, eating, breathing and everything biological. It’s not about the buildings and the concrete, it’s about life and the beautiful forms that it takes.”
Ian was eventually able to dislodge the food, but the incident left a lasting impression. He felt an acute need to act in the best interests of the planet. Ian changed his lifestyle, personally donating to wildlife conservation and land conservancy groups, investing in solar panels and an EV (the resultant savings of which he also donates), and repurposing the flat ‘football pitch’ of his backyard by turning it into a Farm It Forward food growing plot. Thinking bigger, in 2019 he created the Ecological Funding Group, which raises money to donate to professional action groups working to stop biodiversity loss and to repair ecology.
Ian’s family has a Farm It Forward growing plot in their backyard.
Biodiversity is critical
Biodiversity is critical for sustaining life on the planet. Among many other benefits, diverse ecosystems provide sustenance, shelter, medicine and other resources; they regulate climate, control disease, support nutrient cycles and pollination; and they provide places for respite and recreation. It is estimated that about half of Australia’s economy relies on these systems. The greater the diversity of our ecosystems, the greater our resilience.
Over the last 50 years there has been about a 69% decline in wildlife populations. When we lose one part of the system, we weaken the system itself. Most biodiversity loss has been a result of human activity, while human-induced climate change is predicted to become the biggest threat to biodiversity in the coming decades. In a chicken and egg kind of scenario, maintaining and restoring biodiversity will help slow and mitigate the effects of climate change.
“Not nearly enough money is going into biodiversity,” Ian said, citing an article from The Nature Conservancy that stresses the need for a shift in how we value and invest in nature. “It’s the poor cousin of climate change, but the climate crisis will be the collapse of ecology. To stop the biodiversity crisis we need to put 1% of GDP in. So I thought, ‘the governments aren’t doing enough, so I’m just going to do more.’”
Ian does this via his Ecological Funding Group, which raises money in a variety of ways. The Group accepts individual contributions, hosts fundraising events such as music gigs and bird watching tours, and collects recyclable containers in collaboration with Katoomba High School and from events such as this year’s Winter Magic Festival to deposit for cash refunds. All money coming in goes out, with focussed donations going to the Environmental Defenders Office and The Nature Conservancy.
Ian and his son Will sorting out containers from the Winter Magic Festival 2019. (supplied)
Containers collected from this year’s Winter Magic.
Ian credits his core bond with nature to a ‘trip out bush’ he took with a friend when he was 19. “And that connection is really important, because you don’t care about it if you’re not connected to it,” he said. For this reason, one main focus of the Group is hosting tours into the bush in order to encourage people to become more deeply involved with the natural world. “The bird watching trip was so effective because it was a fundraiser and participants got that connection with nature. So, they’re giving money towards nature and making that connection with it: they can see the whole thing in motion.”
The Group is also currently working on a prototype for turtle islands as a public sculpture, with the potential to later sell.
Ian with an early-stage prototype of a turtle island.
Ian sees reconnecting us with our environment as a key aspect of convincing human populations to adequately fund the reversal of the biodiversity crisis. “We all rely on the biosphere, but because of our power we are isolated from nature. Whole ecosystems might be lost and people wouldn’t immediately notice it, even though it will affect them later. It takes imagination and altruism towards future generations to see that.”
The first bird-watching tour coordinated by Ecological Funding Group and hosted by bird enthusiast Dion Hobcroft. (supplied)
Moving forward, Ian would like the Ecological Funding Group to expand and host more nature tours, events and fundraising opportunities. “I see it as a real opportunity to bring people together, and I want it to be dynamic and growing.”
He encourages anyone who wishes to be involved to get in touch, and he hopes that everyone finds a way to contribute that 1% required to turn the biodiversity crisis around. “Our time is so short compared to this hugeness of time,” he said. “We as conscious individuals must do something. We all owe it, this is the debt we owe to the biosphere. And even a small amount makes you feel good about yourself.”
Take Action:
- You can get in touch with Ian via the Group’s Facebook page: Ecological Funding Group
- Further reading:
Share this article:
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
More from around the region
Find out how you can join our team of writers and videographers next Saturday 25 May! Our stories drive and transform our culture. Over the last 15 months we’ve hired staff, run workshops and mentoring programs for aspiring writers and videographers, and welcomed volunteers to our team, so we can find and share the solutions we need. If, as communities, we work together to support one another and to share better ways of doing things, future extreme weather events are less likely to become disasters and we’ll have the capacity to do what needs to be done to restore the health of our planet so that all life can flourish. Would you like to join our fabulous and growing team! Next Saturday evening at 7pm we’re launching the Planetary Health Writers’ Network, following a workshop with award-winning writer Sophie Cousins from 2-5pm. Join us! All ages welcome. Registration essential for the workshop here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/3V6kQke and for the Writers’ Network here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4dLOthL
Both events are free thanks to funding from Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
#changethestory #solutionsmedia #togetherwecan #writers #videographers #creativesforclimate #planetaryhealth #katoomba #bluemountains #collaboration #writersnetwork
In April 2021 Blue Mountains City Council became the first Council and government entity in Australia to commit to integrating Rights of Nature (RON) principles into its operations and practices. Yesterday we were thrilled to be able to spend a few hours with Susie Talbot, an Australian lawyer, based in the UK, who was visiting on a Churchill Fellowship to explore the implementation of Rights of Nature in different parts of the world. It was inspiring to hear how she has spent decades using the law to achieve transformative change in relation to complex socio-economic and environmental challenges. In 2020, she founded the Anima Mundi Law Initiative to strengthen the intersections between human rights and ecology, and to encourage the practice of law in alignment with planetary realities and collective consciousness. Projects include the creation of a ‘Rights of Nature Toolkit’ and we look forward to working with her into the future. You can read more at her website: https://www.animamundilaw.org/
Photo: Susie Talbot standing in front of Scott Marr`s artwork in the Planetary Health Exhibition space.
#rightsofnature #earthjurisprudence #anewlegalstoryforanecologicalage #ecologicalage #churchillfellowship @churchillfellowship #animamundi #humanrights #ecology #planetaryhealth
Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”; and William Butler Yeats, the great poet, said “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” If you’re a teacher, educator or involved in education in some way in the Blue Mountains the staff of the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative would love to meet you next Monday 20th May when we join the Blue Mountains Sustainable Schools Network to see how we can all join forces to urgently accelerate the change we need to restore the health of our planet. 3.30-5.30 at Faulconbridge Public School. RSVP Beth Healy DirtMum (details in poster)
#sustainableschoolsnetwork #collaboration #planetaryhealth #environmentaleducators #artteachers #englishteachers #musicteachers #allteachers
Hans and Tillie Coster have brought a Tolkien fantasy to life, building an underground Hobbit Hall at their property ‘Middle Earth’ in the Kanimbla Valley. They`ve come very close to self-sufficiency, storing their solar power in banks of nickel-iron batteries, and building underground has meant they`re more able to withstand extreme weather events. They`ve also reforested degraded country, planting over 3000 trees! Read more in Lithgow Area Local News (link in profile):
https://lithgowlocalnews.com/middle-earth-kanimbla-valley/
#middleearth #hobbiton #hobbithall #kanimblavalley #selfsufficient #offgrid #nickeliron #solarbatteries #nickelironbatteries #reforestation #undergroundhouse #compostingtoilet #disasterriskreduction #planetaryhealth
There are only about 750 Dwarf Mountain Pine plants left in the wild, according to the latest survey. The survivors are limited to waterfall spray and seepage zones in the southern escarpment between Katoomba and Wentworth Falls, but renewed efforts to save it in light of its potential upgrade to ‘critically endangered’ status are giving greater recognition to a rare and unusual prehistoric native in our midst. Read more in Katoomba Area Local News (link in profile)
https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/saving-the-dwarf-mountain-pine/
#dwarfmountainpine #criticallyendangeredspecies #prehistoricnative #biodiversity #collaboration #whatwecando #katoomba #wentworthfalls #bluemountains #planetaryhealth
Our Planetary Health newsletter is now out, sharing inspiring stories from the Lower Mountains to Lithgow: Read it here and subscribe via any of the Local News sites: https://bit.ly/3QKevs6 (link in profile)
Katoomba Area Local News: Living on the Ledge: Saving the Dwarf Mountain Pine
Lithgow Local News: How a Tolkien Fantasy Turned Into Off-grid Reality at Middle-Earth in the Kanimbla Valley
Blackheath Area Local News: Inspirational, Intergenerational Play in Blackheath
Lower Mountains Local News: The Positive Social Impact of the Glenbrook Country Women’s Association
Mid Mountains Local News: Stronger Together: Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre Walks the Talk
Springwood Area Local News: People Of Binfluence: The 2024 Binfluencer Awards
#solutionsmedia #hyperlocalnews #planetaryhealth #localstories #inspiration #bluemountains #lithgow
Woohoo we just hit 1 MILLION views on our reel about Physicist Hans Coster and why he`s using nickel-iron batteries.
You can now read the full story and watch a video about him and his wife Tillie at their property Middle Earth (links in profile). We`d love you to subscribe to our Blue Mountains Planetary Health YouTube channel and share the latest video on him there as well.
The video is fabulous:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kqAczIRzqk&t=17s
#offgrid #underground #nickelironbatteries #planetaryhealth #reforestation #selfsufficient #middleearth #bagshotrow
A small group of Blue Mountains women is helping local women survive and thrive and also contributing to improve maternal and newborn survival in developing countries. Assembling birthing kits for women in remote locations is just one of the many ways the @zontaclubbluemountains is empowering and supporting women, both abroad and at home. Read more in Lower Mountains Local News (link in profile)
https://lowermtnslocalnews.com/zonta-blue-mountains/
#womensupportingwomen #maternalhealth #birthingkits #zontainternational #zonta #abetterworldforwomen #localaction #localactionglobalimpact #planetaryhealth
We are thrilled to announce that award-winning health writer and author Sophie Cousins will be leading the workshop: Our Community, Our Stories: Writing for Change from 2-5pm on Saturday 25 May at the Planetary Health Precinct. Sophie`s work has been published in the New York Times, London Review of Books, the Guardian, the Lancet, Meanjin and others. She also works as a public health consultant for the World Health Organisation. The workshop will be followed at 7pm by the launch of the Planetary Health Writers Network. Places are limited so bookings essential (link in profile): https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/our-community-our-stories-writing-for-change-tickets-895548458547
#writingforchange #impactfulstories #solutionsjournalism #writingworkshop #planetaryhealth #changethestory #thenewsweneed #writersnetwork #bluemountains #katoomba
We`re thrilled to welcome Tamsyn McGrouther to our growing team of volunteer storytellers. She`s reporting on how the Springwood Lot Party transformed an underused space, the car park at Springwood Train Station, into a vibrant community space with food stalls, art opportunities and live music. Read more in Springwood Area Local News (link in profile) : https://springwoodlocalnews.com/springwood-lot-party-2024/
#changethestory #hyperlocalmedia #solutionsmedia #springwood #inspiringstories #planetaryhealth #bluemountains #localnewsmatters
What do tea, samurai clans, William McArthur, Benjamin Franklin, Vietnam and the Botanic Gardens at Mount Tomah have in common? Read our story in Blackheath Area Local News to explore the way camellias and cultures are woven together and why it’s important we think about conserving biodiversity as a global project implemented at a local level. (link in profile) https://blackheathnews.com/camellias-at-blue-mountains-botanical-garden/
@botanicsydney #botanicgardens #mountomahbotanicgardens #camellias #camelliasinensis #tea #samurai #bluemountains #themounts #biodiversity #planetaryhealth
Mushrooms are a hot topic at the moment with more and more research illuminating the essential role these organisms play in the health of the planet as well as the significant health and medicinal benefits they hold for humans. Belle Butler visited local mushroom grower, Alex Felix, at his farm in Lawson to talk about the mighty mushroom. Read more in Mid Mountains Local News (link in profile)
https://www.midmtnslocalnews.com/earthrising-mushroom-farm/
#mushroomgrowkit #mushrooms #fungi #growyourown #lawson #bluemountains
