The fight for flora

Whether you scrunch or fold, traditional toilet paper is a bit crap. Why? Over 1 million trees are flushed down the drain every day just to provide the world with enough dunny roll, according to research by environmental impact consultancy Edge, commissioned by toilet paper producer Who Gives A Crap.

In this episode of Changing the Bog Standard, host Dan Ilic meets Bill Eger, firefighter and president of Manyana Matters, a community-driven organisation from the coastal village of Manyana, on the South Coast of New South Wales.

The organisation was formed to combat development bordering nearby Conjola National Park.

Much of the bushland around Manyana was destroyed in 2019-20, by bushfires that left many locals struggling with mental health issues.

Not only do trees support Manyana’s biodiversity and cultural heritage, but they represent a sense of place and a sense of hope. When soon after the bushfires, developers came for what was left of the trees, locals including Eger took a stand.

Featuring:

• Dan Ilic - host and investigative humorist

• Bill Eger - president of the Manyana Matters Environmental Association and a local firefighter

Bill Eger was a command assistant for the Rural Fire Service and a first responder during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. As well as dealing with the loss of bushland around his home town of Manyana, he saw destruction all over the South Coast. It left him, and many he knew, with deep emotional scars.

“When you go through these sorts of things, it’s hard,” Eger says. “Normally, loss and grief, you process it, you can move on. But when there’s nothing left, there’s nothing really to process.”

Manyana is a biodiverse pocket of wilderness that Eger calls a “little paradise”. It is home to numerous endemic species, and many of the species that call Manyana home, such as the scrub turpentine, swift parrot and greater glider, are endangered.

Soon after the Black Summer fires, developers threatened to clear an unburnt section of native forest.

“You know, people were in shock,” Eger says. “They were grieving … and then when a developer decided that he was going to come in here and bulldoze one of the only pieces of unburnt habitat that was left in the villages … the first thought that went through my head was, that’s insane.”

The community formed Manyana Matters, contacted the Environmental Defenders Office, researched endangered species, formed objectives, and successfully halted the development – at least temporarily.

“In some ways we have already won, because the species that do exist in there are still breeding and carrying on their lives,” Eger says. But the area is yet to be permanently protected and the fight is far from over.

It’s not just about trees, but biodiversity and protecting the community as well, he says. Manyana Matters is dedicated to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of the area and advocate for better governance and planning processes, as well as educating residents about the importance of protecting this environment.

“For me, it’s a place of imagination. It’s a place of inspiration and relationship … I think there’s got to be some sort of cognitive change in our society to understand how important these forests are to the survival of the environment and ultimately our own survival.”