The document provides information about various geography tasks completed by students. It includes summaries of interviews with immigrants to Australia, analysis of demographic data for the Ku-Ring-Gai area of Sydney, explanations of the Demographic Transition Theory and ecological footprint calculations. Two students, Naomi and Clare, undertook pledges to reduce their ecological footprints by eating less meat and sourcing food locally. They were able to lower their footprints after one week. The document also provides an overview of the genre of African pop music and how it has been influenced by and influenced global changes over time.

1. Macquarie Geography
Challenge
Group 3, 2013

2. Task 1

5. Follow me:
http://youtu.be/SJ6NLDomGSo

6. Task 2
Sanja Jovovic
51 years old
Immigrated 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.

7. 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.

8. Task 3
The 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Task 4
The 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.

16. Task 4 continued…
Clare
When 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.

17. Task 4 continued…
The Pledge
Naomi
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.

18. Task 4 continued…
Clare
My 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 foods
Buying food from local farmers’ markets
Avoiding processed foods
Eating food in season
Buying organic
Reducing packaging

19. Task 4 continued…
Undertaking the Pledge and Results
Naomi
After 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 my
lifestyle 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.

20. Task 4 continued…
Clare
My 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.

21. Task 4 continued…
Reflection and Comparison of the Experience
When 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.

22. Task 5
The 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.

23. Task 5 continued…
World War II was a significant historical event that has strongly
connected war efforts to popular music and entertainment. Afropop
was 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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