Gasfield in a Forest Tour – September 2024
As part of the upcoming Pilliga Ultra Marathon, NWPA have committed to providing a guided “Gasfield in a Forest” Tours, travelling into the threatened Pilliga Forest as part of the three day event being held at the Pilliga Pottery.
Friday 13th September 2024.
8:00am (depart Pottery) – 1:30pm
Tour Guides
Johanna Evans, North West Protection Advocacy founding member and gas industry commentator, investigator and communicator
Anna Christie, researcher and founding member Leard Forest Research Node citizen science hub monitoring coal and gas expansion in Narrabri region
Itinerary
9:00am Meet at X-Line Rd, corner Newell Highway, approximately 38km south of Narrabri. For those leaving the pottery please depart at 8.00am.
Pilliga Forest Gasfield tour will include:
9:00-12:30 Morning Tea at Bohena Creek, significant ephemeral tributary of Namoi River which runs through Pilliga Forest.
Visit Santos’ Bibblewindi Water Treatment Facility, notorious site of 10,000l plus spill of untreated coal seam gas water in 2011 which polluted as far as Bohena Creek. View facilities, site of spill and failed attempts to rehabilitate.
Visit a working gas well
Visit the site of gasfield expansion, deep in the forest at the highest point of the Pilliga Forest
12:30pm Return to Pilliga Pottery
What to bring: Hat, sunscreen, drinking water, good closed shoes, camera, pen & paper
Please email for more info: northwestpa@protonmail.com
GasWatch is an initiative of North West Protection Advocacy (NWPA), an unincorporated community group which has operated since 2017 under the auspices of patron, Maria Rickert, the founder and owner of the Pilliga Pottery.
Over the past 7 years, NWPA has maintained an informative website, organised NSW and interstate tours for landowners and stakeholders to learn about the myth of gas industry co-existence with farming and healthy communities, developed a guided tour of the Pilliga Forest gas fields, made submissions to Governments and regulatory agencies and undertaken citizen science and gas field monitoring under the Gas Watch name. You can see our latest inspection report here