Climbing Geological Wonders: Myth and superstition are preventing our enjoyment of the natural world.

My Poster on Geotourism presented at The inaugural Australian Geoscience Council Convention, AGCC 2018 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Climbing Geological Wonders: Myth and superstition are preventing our enjoyment of the natural world.
Abstract
Adventure tourism in the form of hiking or climbing geological wonders is an important source of education and inspiration for current and future geo-scientists and interested tourists. Recent proposed bans on accessing important geological features in Australia; Ayers Rock in the Northern Territory, Mt Warning in northern NSW and St Mary's Peak in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, puts this source of wonder, inspiration and education at risk.
Other peaks under threat include:
Mount Tibrogargan and Mount Beerwah - Rhyolite plugs in the Glass House Mtns Qld
Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range in Western Australia Paleoproterozoic meta-sedimentary basins
Mt Yengo - Basalt capped Mtn in the Cessnock region of NSW

Access to the natural world should not be determined by myth, superstition or petty bureaucratic rules. Moves to ban Climbing Ayers Rock and other natural wonders are irrational and don’t stand up to close scrutiny. That access to mountain peaks is being banned in the 21st century is a chilling indictment on the quality of science education and the teaching of critical thinking throughout Australia. Better geological education is needed in all Australian schools to help improve the level of geological literacy in the community and the understanding of the physical world we live in. Accessing geological wonders helps inspire future generations to take up an interest in the earth sciences. Without free access to the natural world, and the scientific questions it drives us to answer, we risk a return to the dark ages, and a slow descent into barbarity.

In his key note address at the Australian Geosciences Convention () in Adelaide Prof. Iain Stewart said imparting ideas in the earth sciences was "About the Wonder". Closure of the Ayers Rock climb and the threatened closures of other mountain walks in Australia (St Mary's Peak, Mt Warning) represent an unprecedented attack on science. All these walks are "About the wonder". They generate experiences of nature that impart deep awe and are key in inspiring future generations to take up an interest in the world around them.
If you share my passion for science and adventure then please take a small amount of time to write a letter to your local member of Parliament, Federal Minister for Environment, or the Prime Minister. The ban is 12 months away, there is still time for rational voices to be heard.

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