By Spencer Shaw, February 2014
Choosing a career in the management of natural areas could be seen as a perfect career for those folks inclined to a bit of masochism. It appears the battle to save our natural heritage is always being lost – with forests cleared, wetlands filled, ecosystems degraded and species becoming extinct. Why on earth would you persist in the face of such apparently overwhelming odds, if not for the thrill of being beaten every day!
The curious fact however, is that on average I’d have to say the majority of people working hands-on to save the natural environment are a rather positive and optimistic bunch. How can this possibly be so, in the face of such apparently overwhelming odds?
For example our bush regeneration crews regularly arrive at the parks we work in to find more trees and shrubs have been killed by residents to give them views of the ocean and that garden clippings and rubbish have been dumped in bushland – introducing new weeds and changing soil fertility. We know many native animals are disappearing locally from the little islands of bushland that remain, we know weeds are running rampant and that some nurseries are still selling plants that will become weeds and escape into and change remnant bushland, we know that project funding is linked to the financial year and not to the cycles of nature and the actual time that it takes to restore or replant native vegetation. It can be a pretty depressing picture at times…
Perhaps I’m clinically optimistic, but I think there is room for hope. I’m inspired by the landowners who want to learn more about their land, to manage it not just for themselves but to share their land with the diverse plants and animals that call our landscape home too. I’m inspired by the growth in environmental education and the desire to connect with nature. I’m inspired by the growth of Bush Regeneration as an industry and career option, to manage and plan for better management of natural areas. I’m inspired by the fact that I know we can do it, that we don’t have to make a choice between having a healthy environment and healthy, happy, prosperous humans – we can have both, in fact we need the healthy environment to make all else possible!
Every time you make a choice to share and educate others about sharing our land with our local native flora and fauna, every native tree you plant, every nest box you install and every book you read about native animals and plants is an optimistic step forward. Thank you.
