Environment
The Australian alpine environment is a small area within our vast continent. This bioregion contains our highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko, and crosses two states from NSW into Victoria. It is home to many threatened plant and animal species as well as ecological communities.
Unfortunately climate change is already affecting Australian winter environments. POW Australia recognises the interconnectedness between the climate, the snowfall and the fragile environment. We aim to connect people with nature to inspire them to protect the places they love.
Click on an article below to learn more about the Aussie winter environment.
Introducing the POWcast
Protect Our Winters Australia is excited to present POWcast, our very own podcast channel where we discuss our love of the mountains and our shared journey to protect them. In these fascinating discussions we chat to the people who bind our mountain culture together, weaving stories of adventure, environment and community into a yarn of passion and purpose. The POWcast...
Mountains on Fire: A People-Based Solution to an Existential Problem
Protect Our Winters Australia is calling on the Victorian State Government to establish a volunteer remote area firefighting force in order to save our mountain forests. This would be a practical approach to tackle climate-driven bushfires, which have become too common for our high country to handle.
How increased CO2 is affecting our mountain environment
While we may lose ski days to the warming climate, it is the plants and animals living in the High Country that are hit the hardest. As the flora and fauna have evolved to live in a very specific environment, slight changes will have big impacts.
The Australian Alps: What plant is that?
Australia’s Alpine ecosystem is incredibly rare as one of Australia’s smallest bioregions. Here we explore just a few of the plants that call this area home and learn how they survive.
Welcome To Our Alpine Environment
The Australian alpine environment makes up such a small physical space on our continent. A cold and often harsh space has seen species evolve interesting adaptations to allow them to survive and flourish.
The Aussie Snow Gum: An Icon In Trouble
Any visitor to the Australian Alps would be no stranger to the snow gum. Its rainbow bark and twisted trunk are synonymous with the high country itself. “They are the iconic tree of the mountains”, says Cam Walker of Mountain Journal fame and Friends of the Earth.
Tragically, Cam says, because of climate change, the trees are “facing the prospect of ecological collapse”