$10k grant helped grow 3,500 hectares of forest protecting Kalgoorlie

For years, dust storms were part of everyday life in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. When the wind picked up, the outback mining city could disappear under choking clouds of red and grey dust, forcing people indoors and bringing the town to a standstill.Today, that problem is a fraction of what it once was. Thanks to a long-running greening effort that began in the 1970s, the city is now protected by thousands of hectares of forest, rehabilitated land and carefully managed reserves, according to ABC.How bad it used to beAccording to ABC, long-time local Doug Daws remembers the storms vividly. He said people would hear the wind approaching and rush to shut every window and door before the dust arrived. Even then, it often did not help much.The problem was not new. Dust storms had been affecting the region since the 1890s, when gold mining transformed the landscape around Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Clearing land for timber, digging mines and dumping tailings left the soil exposed and easy for the wind to lift into the air.What people saw in town was the result of a wider environmental chain reaction. The mining boom stripped away vegetation, destabilised topsoil and left behind huge piles of loose wast...