Close Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Read Our Newspapers Online
    • Read the Latest Western Port News
    • Read the Latest Mornington News
    • Read the Latest Southern Peninsula News
    • Read the Latest Frankston Times
    • Read the Latest Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
  • Competition
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • On the run for mental health
  • Taste loss for single use coffee cups
  • Release for trapped kangaroo
  • Grassy bowl clearing a borderline ‘error’
  • Record penalty for labour hire firm
  • Fatal collision in Red Hill
  • New rules may lead to NDIS housing
  • Vape warning after extreme reaction
Facebook X (Twitter)
MPNEWSMPNEWS
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
MPNEWSMPNEWS
Home»News»Doctor on the run for environmental change
News

Doctor on the run for environmental change

By Stephen TaylorJanuary 20, 2020Updated:January 28, 2020No Comments3 Mins Read
Daily grind: Rowan Brookes, left, running through a south-west Victorian forest and, above, with companions Simone Backhausen and Simone Brick. Pictures: Supplied
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
Daily grind: Rowan Brookes, above, running through a south-west Victorian forest and, below, with companions Simone Backhausen and Simone Brick. Pictures: Supplied

SOMERS resident Rowan Brookes decided against taking it easy over the Christmas holidays. Instead, she pushed her body to its limits to raise awareness of the effects of environmental change.

Dr Brookes ran 250km over five days along the Great South West Walk in western Victoria, an area of national significance with a long history of indigenous settlement and rich biodiversity.

The route through three national parks includes hardwood forests, the Glenelg River, Nelson, Aboriginal heritage sites, the Southern Ocean and its vast dunes, sandy bays and beaches, cliffs and freshwater lakes.

Animals that live or pass along the coast include blue and southern right whales, fur seals and inhabitants of the only mainland rookery for the Australasian gannet.

Dr Brookes finished her run on 31 December at Portland’s maritime discovery and visitor information centre.

“My aim was to use an endurance event to focus people’s attention on environmental change,” she said.

 

“These are issues of global significance that we all need to act upon. Without personal connection to the challenges, it’s too easy to turn away.”

Dr Brookes said many endangered species in the walk area, such as the southern brown bandicoot, were threatened by habitat reduction, weed infestation, water reclamation by farmers, feral animals and bushfires.

Along the way she saw physically changed ecosystems – some impacted by an onslaught of plastic pollution swept in by ocean currents.

“Endurance running has exposed me to extremes and beauty that most people will never know,” she said. “As a scientist and educator I also know that the pristine wilderness that we see is often only surface deep and most people are unaware of the pressures the ecosystem is facing.”

May species are being impacted by climate change, she said. “Hopefully the run will get people interested in the issue and lead to greater awareness of its impacts.”

On the run Dr Brookes was supported by friends Simone Backhausen and Simone Brick, who stayed with her at overnight campsites along the route.

The trip was recorded by photographers Timothy Arch and Pat Cordon who are making a short documentary of the journey.

Dr Brookes said Melbourne University – where she works – was arranging a series of talks at Mornington Peninsula schools for her to “demonstrate the broad range of roles for women in science and communicate the environmental issues I witnessed”.

First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 21 January 2020

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Release for trapped kangaroo

December 7, 2023

Record penalty for labour hire firm

December 6, 2023

Fatal collision in Red Hill

December 5, 2023

New rules may lead to NDIS housing

December 5, 2023
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Peninsula Essence Magazine

Click here to read

November 27, 2023
Peninsula Kids Magazine

Click here to read

November 30, 2023
Council Watch

‘Dialogue’ terminated over flag

November 28, 2023

Transparency backed, but ‘secret’ talks stay

November 28, 2023
Letters to the Editor
Interview

Rolls Royce-driven life worth recording

November 13, 2023
Property of the Week

105 Quinns Parade, Mt Eliza

November 28, 2023
100 Years Ago This Week

Frankston shooting case – Accused committed for trial

December 4, 2023
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Local History
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
About

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

MPNG also publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

Facebook X (Twitter)
© 2023 Mornington Peninsula News Group.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.