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Macquarie Geography Challenge Group 3, 2013
Task 1
Task 2
Sanja Jovovic51 years oldImmigrated 13 years ago
What motivated you to move here?
Australia offered better education opportunities and facilities for my children. I believed and still believe education can take you anywhere. If my children choose to return to Serbia permanently they can go back with great educations and prospects. They have both gone back for extended periods over the 13 years we have been here and they hold strong feelings towards Europe but they also call Australia home. The NATO bombings and the disintegration of YUGOSLAVIA also played a major role in our decision to move to Australia. It was unsafe for us to be there, especially with such a young family. I have also always wanted to live in an English speaking country.
Task 2 continued…
What is the best moment or event you have experienced whilst living here?
The best moment for me was when my children finished school. It was what we had come here for and I was so proud of what they had achieved. My daughter is currently at University and was offered a cadetship that she succeeds in. This is the kind of education I wanted for them. I am so proud of both of my children.
What was the worst moment you’ve had here?
My husband, Vladan, had to return to Serbia because his father was sick. I was left with the children who were young and very much still adjusting to Australia. I myself could only speak a small amount of English and was working at this time. I felt alone as all my family and friends were back in Serbia but I reminded myself why we had moved here and I believe it was the right thing to do. We will always have a strong connection to Australia.
Task 3The Demographic Transition Theory
The Demographic Transition Theory is the idea that fertility and mortality rates are directly linked to the level of economic development within a country, region or place.
Ku-ring-gai Council
The Ku-Ring-Gai Council area is in Northern Sydney and includes 16 suburbs. The current population of Ku-Ring-Gai is approximately 110,000. The land area is about 8500 hectares, which makes the population density about 14 people per hectare.
The Ku-Ring-Gai area dates from around 1814, when people settled next to the Lane Cove River. The land remained semi-rural until the 1940s when the population began to climb from about 50,000 to 100,000. Growth since then has been on a slow incline, up to the 110000 today. Most of the recent growth has occurred through urban consolidation, which means that there has been more high density housing built, particularly in areas such as Turramurra, Killara, Gordon and Wahroonga.
Task 3 continued…
Population Changes compared to Greater Sydney
The Ku-Ring-Gai council has not provided population charts for
before 2001. We can see from the table the differences in
population compared to Greater Sydney.
As you can see, there tends to be a higher percentage of
Australian citizens and a higher percentage of eligible voters
living in this area.
Task 3 continued…
From this table we can see that there are less young to middle aged people,
but more primary and secondary schoolers compared to Greater Sydney.
There are also more older and elderly people. This may be because the Ku-
Ring-Gai area is a more expensive place to live, so younger people are unable
to afford to live there., where as older people can.
Ethnicity within the Ku-Ring-Gai area
20% of the Ku-Ring-Gai
area come from countries
where English is not the
first language.
The country of birth
table is indicative of
the cultural diversity
within the Ku-Ring-Gai
area.
Task 3 continued…
Individual Income
In the Ku-Ring-Gai area, 29%
of people earn over $1500 per week.
As you can see, there is a significant
difference between those that earn over
$2000 per week between the Ku-Ring-Gai
area and Greater Sydney. There tends
to be a higher percentage of people
earning less money per week in Greater
Sydney. This shows that the people in
the Ku-Ring-Gai area typically earn
more money, which is also indicative
of the more expensive area
in which they live.
Task 3 continued…
Households
In the Ku-Ring-Gai council
area 46% of households are
made up of couples with
children, compared with
35% in Greater Sydney.
This is also indicative of
the higher income and
cost of living in this area
because people who are
more financially stable,
tend to live in this area.
Task 3 continued…
Migration profile
Migration is a significant component of population change in Australia.
The table below shows that most of the people who moved to the Ku-
Ring-Gai council area were from another part of New South Wales.
Only 7.7% were from another country.
Task 3 continued…
In relation to the Demographic Transition Theory
The birth and death rate in this area is lower than other areas in Sydney. You can see this because there are less infants and more elderly in the Ku-Ring-Gai area compared to greater Sydney. The Demographic Transition Theory states that the lower the birth and death rate of a country, region or place, then the higher the economic development. This means that the population growth is slow, so the area is more easily able to adapt to change. A place that has high population growth, is less able to adapt because the change happens over a shorter period of time. The Ku-Ring-Gai area is a more expensive area to live in, and people generally earn more money than other areas of Sydney. This means that the Demographic Transition Theory must be true to this area of Sydney.
Task 4The Calculation and Initial Results
Naomi
I completed my ecological footprint calculation and I have to
admit I was surprised at my final result. It was concluded that
2.9 Earth’s would be needed to sustain my current lifestyle
choices.
Task 4 continued…
ClareWhen I set out to calculate my ecological footprint I honestly thought that I would score fairly well. The results shocked me. Understanding that if everyone lived like me we would need 2.7 earth is a big wakeup call that reducing my ecological footprint would take more than making use of a worm farm and line drying my clothes.
Over half of my ecological footprint was used supporting the food I eat. This was quite unexpected, I never thought about the impact that eating so much animal products and not consuming food locally sourced could have on the environment. For this reason I decided to reduce my intake of animal products for a week, and then retake the ecological footprint calculation.
Task 4 continued…
The PledgeNaomi
In an effort to reduce my ecological footprint, I pledged to eat
meat for only one meal a day and to generally reduce my diary
intake.
Task 4 continued…
ClareMy large ecological footprint is largely due to energy use and food. As someone who loves cooking, not to mention eating, I realised that this should be the focus area of my challenge. One of the suggested strategies to reduce my ecological footprint was to reduce meat consumption by at least half. To really get in the swing of the challenge, I decided to attempt to eat a vegetarian diet for a week.
Further, I felt that it was important to find ways to buy and prepare food in a way that limits its ecological impact.
To research this I had a look at the Food Choices website http://www.foodchoices.com.au/samples/resource%20sheet%2056.pdf to see where else the impact of my food consumption could be reduced. I really love the convenience of a one stop shop and usually undertake a weekly shop at my local Foodworks, however the information on Food Choices made me realise that there is a need to have a more considered approach to purchasing food. I identified some ways that I could reduce my impact by:
Buying locally produced foodsBuying food from local farmers’ marketsAvoiding processed foodsEating food in seasonBuying organicReducing packaging
Task 4 continued…
Undertaking the Pledge and ResultsNaomiAfter eating meat for only one meal a day, as a maximum, and reducing dairy product intake, I retook the quiz. I was happy to see that my result was reduced by o.8 Earth’s. The amount of global hectares used to support mylifestyle was also reduced by a substantial amount. This was all very encouraging as I found it difficult to reduce my meat and animal product intake by such a large amount. This experience has been very eye opening to me. I have never really taken the time to think about the effect my lifestyle will have on our environment. During this experience I did find it difficult to reduce my animal products consumption however to see such positive results makes it worthwhile. I will try my best to keep up the efforts I made this week to help reduce my impact on the Earth.
Task 4 continued…
ClareMy first step was to identify where I could ensure that I was sourcing locally produced food. In looking into this I quickly found that it was possible to have a selection of sustainably grown food from the Sydney Basin home delivered. For me this seems like a fantastic solution. Unfortunately this couldn’t be organised in time for the Geography Challenge but I have been able to sign up to get started in a few weeks. While there are a number of suppliers offering this service I decided to go with Food Connect http://sydney.foodconnect.com.au. I was attracted to supporting this company due to their commitment to sourcing food grown within the Sydney Basin using sustainable methods, while also supporting farmers through fair trade.
For the purpose of the Geography Challenge, I used a Guide to Sydney’s Seasonal Produce http://seasonalfoodguide.com/sydney-nsw-seasonal-fresh-produce-guide-fruits-vegetables-in-season-availability-australia.html to prepare meals with vegetables I could buy from my local supermarket. I also found the Taste website http://www.taste.com.au a very useful tool in finding seasonal recipes.
Finally my local council website to be full of information on community garden projects and farmers’ markets in my local area which I will have to explore in future. You can find your local council’s website at the following location http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_localgovdirectory.asp.
After undertaking the challenge, I was pleased to find that I had reduced my ecological footprint to 2.4 earths.
Task 4 continued…
Reflection and Comparison of the ExperienceWhen comparing our results, it was comforting to see that as individuals we are not particularly over-indulgent meat or animal products eaters compared to the other. The fact that we both had food as our highest contributor to our footprints, suggests that food production could be a large global issue, and that as individuals we are not alone with this issue. If everyone is eating animal products to the extent that we are, maybe there is need for global change around this issue.
We both agree that reducing our food footprint was a difficult task to complete, however it did provide a great outcome. We both found that one of the biggest difficulties in reducing meat consumption is changing eating habits while eating meals with people not undertaking the challenge, particularly our families.
We have both concluded that, for us, it is about breaking habits, changing the way in which we think about food, and attempting to find the best local option that will help to reduce our footprint.
Task 5The genre of music: African Pop aka ‘Afropop’
Origin: South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe and Nigeria
Artist: Chameleon
Connection to global change: African pop evolved in the 19th century and since then, has become widely known for its vibrant and infectious style which has streamed into global change and social phenomenon. Popular musicians of this genre, such as Chameleon, are often portrayed as role models for the young and their emergent dance and music styles reveal youth culture rather than traditional values. This is customarily associated with African pop music generalising the youth population and giving Africans an established identity.
Task 5 continued…
World War II was a significant historical event that has strongly connected war efforts to popular music and entertainment. Afropopwas used for recruiting and wartime propaganda which had helped the African government vigorously support residential popular music as well as establishing new recording studios. As further change had been accelerating, the independence movement allowed female artists to professionalise in popular music business and more and more music unions were initiated. As the African pop culture was expanding, it became more involved with global changes.
The death of universal pop sensation Bob Marley, had greatly affected the Afropop culture as international record companies had started to bring in other ethnic groups into African pop which had endorsed global recognition of the genre. Different styles of music were integrated and as the Europeans, Americans and African-Americans became civil over the years and segregation had been abolished, African pop music had crossed over to whites. This was persistent over the 20th century and had provided the western world with a global contemporary idea of ‘folk’ music. African pop today is emitted directly from the African continent itself so it can be grasped that with global changes, music industries are vastly affected especially if the artists of the genre are exposed to nationalist struggles.
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