PLANTING F4H56H

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Planting bamboo is an effective measure for the prevention of upstream flooding and to protect basic crops downstream due to its unique ecological benefits:

1. River Up: Flood Prevention

Deep Root System: Bamboo roots are deep, dense and widespread, stabilizing the soil and reducing erosion. This prevents sediment from being washed away into rivers, which can raise riverbeds and increase the risk of flooding downstream.

Water Absorption: Bamboo acts as a natural sponge, absorbing large amounts of rainwater during storms. This reduces runoff and slows the flow of water into rivers

Canopy Cover: Its thick foliage reduces the impact of raindrops on the soil, minimizing surface erosion and maintaining the soil’s capacity to absorb water.

2. River Down: Protecting Basic Crops

Regulated Water Flow: By reducing the speed and volume of water flowing downstream, bamboo minimizes flash flooding, which can damage crops like rice, corn, and other commodities.

Sediment Control: Bamboo prevents excessive sedimentation in rivers, ensuring irrigation systems remain functional and free of blockages.

Microclimate Regulation: Bamboo forests can also help moderate temperatures and humidity levels downstream, benefiting crop growth.

In short, bamboo serves as a natural dampener, protecting ecosystems and farmlands mitigating the effects of heavy rains and ensuring more stable water systems.

Source : Internet

BAMBOO AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPING: Bamboo in the wilderness

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The market size of engineered bamboo within the Asia Pacific region is set to reach US$ 40.7 Bn by 2031 As Tasmania's native forestry declines and demand for timber skyrockets, the necessity for alternative building materials will continue to grow. Accordingly, a new look at forestry and wood products in lutruwita Tasmania is timely – but it must be sustainable and renewable. A planned campaign, titled ‘The New Tasmanian Renewable Wonder Wood’ to promote the sustainability and environmental advantages of a 'new plantation resource'. When trees are marketed as, harvested for today, and regrown for tomorrow, that’s why wood is seen as the ultimate renewable resource.

Importantly, it is also the rhetoric of status quo 19th cum 20th C practice based on exploitative investment and typically for the 'utility needs' of elsewhere.

MONA LINK

On close inspection ‘the numbers’ that can be assembled around engineered bamboo are very impressive. However, up to now “Tasmania”, “timber”, “industry”, and “bamboo” are four words unlikely to be found in the same sentence that talks about lutruwita Tasmanian ‘placedness and industry’ . Given lutruwita Tasmania’s colonial histories and their aftermath this is unsurprising. And then, there is reality that lutruwita Tasmania has no endemic species of bamboo. Then again bamboo has entered the lutruwita Tasmanian Cultural Landscape and its speculative appearance at MONA'S DARK MOFO 2016 was/is somewhat audacious.

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By 2050 planet earth's human population is forecast to expand from 7.5 to 9.6 billion people. We will require 70% more food (United Nations), 50% more fuel (International Energy Agency), and 50% more water (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). We also need to reduce CO2 emissions by over 80% (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). All of these will have to be achieved to ensure economic, social, political, climate, food, water and fuel security (Institute for Molecular Bioscience 2019).

There’s no silver bullet, but there is one thing that can deliver increased primary production productivity while simultaneously delivering biofuel, improving water quality and efficiency, and improving the carbon balance – TREES. Trees are the ultimate renewable. Penny Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Private Forests Tasmania, explains.

“It is widely understood that growing trees is good for the planet and deforestation is bad. But what is not well understood is just how powerful strategically growing, harvesting and then replanting trees in a primary production landscape can be,” says Ms Wells.

Private Forests Tasmania is a statutory authority tasked with facilitating the expansion and development of the private forest resource in Tasmania. “Planting trees on farms with the intention of harvesting and replanting is a win-win for the environment, society and landowners.”

Trees can increase farm productivity: Trees on farms can modify the local microclimate providing benefits to crops and livestock that are grown or raised alongside trees. YES! Plus, the ‘trees’ that are getting all the attention are Australian hardwoods by-and-large.

The University of Tasmania’s Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood (CSAW) is utilising these new large-scale examples of timber use in transformation projects to encourage more collaboration between developers and local industry in the future.

Professor Greg Nolan, Director of CSAW enjoys the opportunity to bring together local skills and knowledge in innovate ways.

“Transformation projects are an excellent example of the positive outcomes of the Tasmanian Wood Encouragement Policy,” Professor Nolan said.

CSAW recently welcomed architect Gary Fleming as Tasmania’s first Wood Encouragement Officer. Jointly appointed by the Tasmanian Timber Promotion Board and the University of Tasmania, Mr Fleming will work with industry, government agencies and suppliers to identify opportunities that increase the use of timber products.

Nick Steel, CEO of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association said, “As a university on the cutting edge of science and technology it is fantastic to see them lead by example in these campus transformations by using timber, the ultimate renewable”.

Looking at these few paragraphs we can see the Tasmanian Timber Industry and within that contextual alignment we can see how ‘the industry’ – hardwood based as it is – has shaped and continues to shape Tasmania’s ‘Cultural Landscape’ post European settlement – and by-and-large how it continues so to do.

Wherever and whenever a ‘tree’ is planted it sequesters CO2. In the end, it might hardly matter where it was planted. On the other hand, where that is might matter enormously locally given that a tree’s placedness contributes to the shaping of Cultural Landscapes and their operative sustainability.

Arguably, lutruwita Tasmania’s Cultural Landscape, in the aftermath of colonisation, has been altered significantly, and given the colonial imperatives, not always sustainably. It is not for nothing that in two centuries lutruwita Tasmania has seen so many extinctions and with so many species under threat of extinction. Likewise, so many landscapes have been ‘modified’ for the benefit of a far away Eurocentric elsewhereness – think forestry and agriculture and wool production in particular.

Interestingly, pine trees are grown for 30-40 years before the entire plantation is harvested and replanted. Tasmania replants more than 10 million seedlings a year covering an area equivalent to 14,000 football fields. Consequently, the 'investment' in the plantation takes 30-40 years to mature and environmental diversity in those 14,000 football fields are compromised in 30-40 year cycles for a dividend that is dependent upon 'timber market values' – see https://pft.tas.gov.au/timber-market-tracker.

By way of contrast 14,000 football fields planted to bamboo most likely would not deliver the same 'lump sum cash dividend' that the same areas of pine trees might. However, bamboo's environmental dividends, and their economic outcomes, might well eclipse the pine trees' cash invested to dividend earned outcome.

Importantly, lutruwita Tasmania's Cultural Landscapes would change more than significantly in 30-40 years. Yes, that is not an evidence base assertion but it is an idea worth testing. In any event comparing and contrasting such an area planted to a single species of any plant there are, and will be, consequences – many anticipatable and some not so.

Anne Frank ... "I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more." A poignant understanding of "wilderness'' from another time albeit, currently, we might muse with the likes of Anne Frank and dare to imagine a different world in a different cultural reality, informed by a different mindset, in our time.

Rather than 'plonk' bamboo plantings in a place in such a way as to displace all that was there before would be folly. This is the folly we already know so much about as we have seen unsophisticated unsustainable monocultural plantings that have depleted and diminished a sense of place rather than nurture it for those who follow – our great grandchildren et al. This is where the colonial mindset kicks in.

This is the mindset that says that sustainable timber production is about its exportability. And speculatively, this mindset might have already reached the point where lutruwita Tasmania is approaching the point where the island could be a net importer of 'timber'. Interestingly, in this bamboo endeavour lutruwita Tasmania might do well to look away from the island's colonisers and to Indonesia's 1,000 Bamboo Villages initiative for guidance.

There are questions hanging in mid air waiting for answers in the midst of all this. We might well wonder if bamboo might have something to offer if a new and more sustainable mindset can evolve.

'What if' might well be the the preface to those questions still hanging.

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GARDENING WITH BAMBOO

 

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SERIES 22 | Episode 10 ..................... Bamboo provides a beautiful backdrop for Jerry's vegie garden and it is such a useful plant. It helps Jerry feed his guinea pigs, provides him with mulch, bamboo shoots, canes for construction, shelter from the wind and most importantly it protects his food garden from the searing western sun. 

It's the practical values of bamboo that earn them a place in a food garden and that's why Jerry is keen to show you how to use and maintain bamboo and get the best out of them in your own garden. 

Cultivars There are two types of bamboo, running and clumping. Jerry only recommends growing the clumping variety because it is simple to control.

Monastery Bamboo (Thyrostachys siamensis) like all bamboos, produces an amazing amount of leaf litter, so it's very wise not to put it next to a gutter. It makes fantastic compost and you can rake it up and use it on beds as mulch. It has vertical canes, clumps tightly and the leaves grow higher up, it's good for a narrow pathway or a small garden because you can easily walk past it. 

If you're looking for something even more impressive, look no further than Oldham's Bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) its canes grow 10 metres high, so privacy is really easy to achieve and the canes are so strong, you can make wigwams and lattices for the garden. 

Growing Bamboo grows in the warm seasons and that's the time to harvest. It blunt blades really quickly, so Jerry recommends you treat yourself to a new saw every summer and try and keep it from getting congested. Quite simply, it's easier to prune and maintain bamboo if you keep the canes separate. 

Eating Not many people know it, but both species are great to eat, especially Bambusa oldhamii which is also known as Sweet Shoot Bamboo. This is one of the main reasons Jerry grows it, to use in his kitchen. If you want to eat bamboo shoots you're looking for the very young shoots. You can use a spade or a pruning saw to harvest them. The reason you get them young is because in a week's time they'll get bigger and as soon as they've got a hollow in the centre they become totally unpalatable.

Cooking Bamboo shoots are easy to prepare. Simply cut the shoot in half, peel off the tough, outer leaves and you'll find the tasty shoot hiding inside. Jerry boils the shoots in salted water to get rid of any bitterness. This also makes them soft and tender and they will be perfect to add to a stirfry. 

Bamboo - it's beautiful, useful and edible and that's why it holds pride of place in Jerry's garden. .............. Credits Jerry Coleby-Williams, Presenter

TASWEGIAN BAMBOO : A 2024 MUSE

What a breath of fresh air it has been to learn that there is finally some interest in utilising Bamboo to its capacity here in Tasmania. That there’s a movement towards the introduction of and perhaps acceptance to the notion that Bamboo can provide effective control of soil degradation and riverbank erosion as well as acting as a leeching agent for wastewater, is music to my ears. In fact, it’s the very same tune that first resonated in my brain when discovering the almost unbelievable depth of ‘talent’ Bamboo boasts: Human and animal food, human and animal shelter, windbreaks, screening, fibre, biomass and the list goes on. 

So much so that now it’s often said that the list of what you can’t do with Bamboo, is much shorter than the one that demonstrates what you can. After seven years growing this amazing plant due in the main, to the fact I believed my carbon footprint would be dramatically reduced, I remain astounded that the commercial and environmental uptake is still remarkable, by its relative invisibility. 

How is it that a plant providing so much biomass, useful fibre, timber, extra oxygen (and therefore consuming more CO2) and food in a world struggling to come to terms with many ecological crises, is largely ignored?? Not to mention that this all occurs in a completely sustainable fashion, given that a single plant is able to be harvested year in year out, without loss of life. This, to me phenomenon, is not confined to the shores of Tasmania, the entire western world has been ‘guilty’ of not adopting Bamboo as a major resource – to this day! 

Sharing what has occurred here in Tasmania since my own ‘enlightenment’ is really the motivation behind this document so let’s get into that. My predecessors growing Clumping Bamboo in Tasmania have been few and it mystified me eight years ago, as to why. Googling Bamboo in Tasmania revealed no results, certainly on a commercial basis, when I began my research. In the knowledge that Clumping Bamboo would grow in this temperate climate, it became clear that things needed to change. All the aforementioned attributes were a given. What wasn’t clear were things like the achievable heights and growth rates. 

Seven years later, there are still anomalies in both. Variables like soil types, microclimates, care and maintenance (water and nutrient in the main) have produced unexpected results What IS clear and very much predictable, is the growth rate and achievable heights vary greatly to those achieved in a sub-tropical/tropical environ. Perhaps at this point a clear distinction between clumping and running Bamboo is appropriate. 

Apart from the most known facts about the two (Runners run and Clumpers don’t) it’s perhaps not as widely known that generally speaking – Clumping Bamboo plants are sub-tropical/tropical whereas (whilst not mutually exclusive), the most common cold climate Bamboos are runners. 

Whilst my opinion is that Runners have no place in an uncontrolled environment, that argument can stay contained for another day. 

On the advice of Australia’s largest wholesale Bamboo nursery owner who is now a personal friend, seven Clumpers were chosen as the plants that would satisfy an unknown Tasmanian demand for Bamboo. 

• Understanding that Tassie housing demand was growing, and the inevitability of medium density dwellings would follow, meant the demand for fast growing screening would increase – TICK. 

• Recognising that Bamboo (especially the larger species) is an excellent windbreak - demand for in particular Oldhamii, would follow – TICK. 

• The third TICK was far more uncertain and is largely to this day. 

Oldhamii Bamboo grows to more than 20mtrs in tropical climates yet is versatile enough to withstand cold climates – that was a given. Research suggested this plant (grown as windbreaks in NZ), would grow to circa 9mtrs tall here in Tassie and produce timber of between 75-80mm thick. That spelled Timber Industry to me, so Oldhamii became the second biggest import on my list. The biggest being the number one screening plant in Australia – Gracilis. 

Both plants are now successfully propagated on our Dromedary farm and are growing beautifully. That is – Gracilis is performing right up to and beyond expectations and filling the role of a fast-growing screening plant in the tightest of circumstances – admirably. 

Oldhamii on the other hand is frustrating the heck out of me due to inconsistencies in growth. My own plants have been inground for varying timeframes, starting in 2018. Those plants are topping out around 5mtrs high with culms circa 50mm thick. I have the same stats from plants I interred only 4yrs ago! In Legana a grower had achieved the same in 2yrs!! What hasn’t yet occurred, is a height beyond 6mtrs. The main reason Bamboo in Tasmania struggles to achieve the heights witnessed in Asia and other tropical/sub-tropical regions, is the length of our growing season. 

The most vigorous of Bamboos can grow a metre in height per day in the tropics where constant temperature, humidity and rainfall all combine to thrust these giants skyward. With a growing season of 3-4mths, 30 to 40 metres in height is possible. In Tasmania, our growing season comes quite late with the bigger Bamboos in particular. 

I always maintain that our Spring begins at Christmas time! When I was learning to propagate, my mentor told me not to attempt propagation until the overnight temperature reached 16deg C. That we only get a few nights per year with those conditions told me a lot. Our fluctuating temperatures throughout the shooting season (late Summer into Autumn for the big Bamboos in Tasmania) and the close proximity to the Winter cold means that the emerging shoots have nowhere near 3-4mths to achieve their potential height. Add to this that a good percentage of Tasmania lack humidity and receive rainfall a mere fraction of the totals of the tropics, eliminates any mystery. There may well be a hidden benefit in that the slower growth rate could be responsible for a denser timber. Certainly, the timber in our parent stock is quite thick walled and will therefore be useful in domestic projects at the very least. 

What has been clear with Oldhamii is its hardiness with only a few exceptions, as well as the dominance of its footprint on the landscape. What is now my parent stock has created a virtual wall of biomass and despite the time it is taking – the benefits of growing the plant far outweigh the slight disappointments. 

Anecdotally then, convincing stakeholders that a Bamboo timber industry is just around the corner is a tough gig. However, when the other proven benefits of:

•  screen; and

• windbreak; and 

• shelter belt; and 

• forage; and 

• biomass; and 

• soil improvement; and

•  polluted water remediation; and

•  fencing; 

•  erosion control are considered; and

wouldn’t it be grand if a couple of years later than anticipated, that timber DID become a viable resource? 

It occurred to me that it might be possible to acclimatise the Asian world-renowned timber bamboos after a few seasons here. Most have died outright with a few survivors that are only mini versions of their tropical parents. I’ll keep trying but for now, Oldhamii is the plant of choice when it comes to the best multi-purpose plant in Tasmania. 

The way I look at the world is most definitely with a glass half full attitude. My belief in Bamboo as a must have for anyone seeking a sustainable, beneficial resource has my glass nearing the very top.

Author: Geoff Pyne Dec 28th, 2024. 

BAMBOO FIJI655CVW

 

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Suva, Fiji, August 21, 2024 – The project “Fiji Bamboo to Adapt and Mitigate Climate Change” generated great interest and positive feedback from the Fiji Ministry of Public works, Meteorological Services and Transport and Ministry of Forestry and other Steering Commitee members during its first Project Steering Committe (PSC) meeting in Suva, this week.

Implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) with an aim to support the sustainable, inclusive production and use of bamboo as a resilient, sustainable, and cost-effective construction material in Fiji, the bamboo project objectives also include economically empowering women and other marginalized groups in Fiji. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Fiji has 20 species of bamboo, one of which is indigenous and the rest introduced from abroad. Bamboo has been a vital part of Fijian culture and life for a long time, used for many purposes including construction, cooking, and fishing. 

The Pacific Green Business Centre, the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) and Fiji’s Ministry of Forestry are keen to establish a Bamboo Centre in Fiji to serve as a focal point for bamboo-related activities and revive the bamboo industry in the Pacific.

With the growing global interest in bamboo, owing mostly to its potential in combating climate change, this is the right time to invest in the industry in Fiji.

There have been a number of attempts in the Pacific in bamboo related activities but many have not been followed through with. There have been a number of trainings provided in relation to bamboo in both propagation and utilisation but these skills need to be complemented by other trainings, such as simple business principles or financial management.

The Fiji Bamboo Centre will be the central support system for Fiji’s fledgling bamboo industry to provide those trained with assistance .....CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Ministry of Forestry plans to establish a bamboo plantation to serve as a genetic pool for Fiji’s bamboo species.

This move aims to improve bamboo resource management and utilization.

Minister for Forestry Alitia Bainivalu has outlined key initiatives for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

These include creating a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for bamboo inventory and conducting inventories across provinces to enhance bamboo management.

Another major initiative involves research and development trials to test bamboo’s durability in construction with data collection and analysis planned to explore its potential for building resilient structures.


Bainivalu states that bamboo is central to Fijian culture and daily life, with about 20 species, including the indigenous Polynesian Bamboo, or ‘Bitu Dina’ (Schizostachyum glaucifolium).

Some species, like the Punting Pole Bamboo (Bambusa tuldoides), the Giant Bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus), and the Tali Bamboo (Gigantochloa apus) are rare and localized.

The Ministry’s Research and Development Division aims to expand the use of these species to benefit local communities.... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Building a bamboo industry in Fiji: https://sustainablemanagement.solutions/building-a-bamboo-industry-in-fiji/

FIJIAN BAMBOO NOSE FLUTE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn8WeKgO8Po

FIJI'S BAMBOO CHAMPION https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/fijis-bamboo-champion/

BAMBOO SEA GOING CANOE https://abeltasman.org.nz/moana-nui-mass-migration-and-triangular-men/

SEE IMAGES https://taswegianbamboo.blogspot.com/p/material-cultural-landscapes.html

In FIRSTnations communities 'making practices' are passed on in what has been coined as the EIGHTways of learning which describes the following processes:
• Learning through narrative
• Planning and visualising explicit processes
• Working non-verbally with self-reflective, hands-on methods
• Learning through images, symbols and metaphors
• Learning through place-responsive, environmental practice
• Using indirect, innovative and interdisciplinary approaches
• Modelling and scaffolding by working from wholes to parts
• Connecting learning to local values, needs and knowledge

In post colonial circumstances all too often there is a component of 'unlearning' that takes place as traditional systems and cultural knowledge are reawakened.

For instance, in many/some Pacific Island villages missionary inspired housing is being turned away from given that iron roofs fying through the air in high winds present a danger that bamboo an thatch structures do not. This is a development worth taking note of!

OPTION U76C3

 

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ARCHITECT B6JER3

 

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PLANTING MU74

BAMBOO AUSTRALIA: "Medake" bamboo - Phyllostachys bambusoides. ( JAPANESE running bamboo)With spring approaching we are now preparing for shoot harvesting from the 5 acres of the species that compliments our limited supply of Moso. As well as harvesting the shoots and poles the images clearly show the added benefit of stabilising the bank of the creek which acts as a rhizome barrier. CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO

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STRUCTURE JU53X

 

STRUCTURE 5T5SS

 

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STRUCTURE 68BWQ

 

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BAMBOO INDUSTRY IN TASMANIA

 

Bamboo has finally grabbed the attention of the Western World and the future of this plant looks amazing. Despite this groundswell of interest in the plant, there are very few plantations in Australia and virtually none in Tasmania. The growers that do exist are quite stretched for supply as the demand grows for plants and our biosecurity regulations make it even more difficult to get plants into the state. 

Tasmania is quite unique in many ways and growing Clumping Bamboo has it challenges. The temperate climate and lack of summer rainfall are the main obstacles but they don’t prevent us from successfully growing the plant. However, we are unable to produce the sizes achievable in the sub tropics and tropics, due to the short summers we experience. This makes it very difficult to predict yields and without an existing market, virtually impossible to predict returns and time frames. What I can state, is that the current mainland price for green (untreated poles) is circa $14/mtr in the size we can expect in Tasmania https://www.bambooaustralia.com.au/bamboo-poles-nursery-stakes-and-slats/ .

Before they become poles, the bamboo culms emerge as shoots and are an in demand product for the food industry https://www.agrifutures.com.au/farm-diversity/culinary-bamboo-shoots/ . Current mainland prices I have seen are around $40/kg. 

Though not yet proven, we are hopeful of achieving 8 to 10 metres in height from Bambusa Oldhamii (proven cold climate all rounder) after 4yrs growth. Each plant should produce approx. 15 culms per year at that point with pole harvesting possible in year 5 (shoots earlier). 

As a relatively small island adjacent to the Great Southern Ocean, Tasmania is subject to constant battering from wind. The fast-growing nature of Bamboo and its resilience to strong wind, along with its prolific biomass, makes it a particularly practical solution for farmers wishing to protect their crops/stock as well as domestic applications as relief. It is this market sector that is most interesting because it provides a multi-faceted, practical solution to wind. 

The ecological benefits of Bamboo should be a driving force behind local government adopting Bamboo as viable planting options on nature strips and in parklands. When local production reaches the point where supply isn’t an issue, this will be a focal point of marketing. 

Bamboo Van Diemen is determined to educate Tasmania and promote Bamboo as an important player in the sustainable future of the planet and seeks growers to see the opportunities ahead and get planting. 

To conclude: There is no doubt in our minds that Bamboo has a massive future but it is at this stage very difficult to project returns on investment based on a domestic market that is currently non-existent. In many regards, growing Bamboo then, is a leap faith but as statistics become available – the future will become clearer. So apologies for being vague but the reality is we are trail blazing here in Tassie.