Terri Allen and Margaret Rowe pictured at the Wonthaggi Rifle Range Wetlands in 2022 after each received an OAM for their decades of conservation work. Photo courtesy of Kerrin Thomas, ABC Gippsland By Catherine Watson
IN THE introduction to Gippsland’s Field Naturalists, the editors quote Professor Jones of Hull University: “Research is organised play for adults.”
And so it is for the 16 noted local naturalists featured in this book: Mae Adams, Terri Allen, Beth Banks, Mary Ellis, Geoff Glare, Ken Harris, Lorraine Norden, Alison Oates, Barbara Oates, Margaret Rowe, Wendy Savage, Mike Tesch, Dave Sutton, Gary Wallis, Jack Weerts and Marja Bouman.
I’m lucky enough to have met many of them over the past decade and was fascinated to read the back story of how they came to be so involved and erudite. There is no egotism about their learning. They are generous in sharing and learning from one another.
IN THE introduction to Gippsland’s Field Naturalists, the editors quote Professor Jones of Hull University: “Research is organised play for adults.”
And so it is for the 16 noted local naturalists featured in this book: Mae Adams, Terri Allen, Beth Banks, Mary Ellis, Geoff Glare, Ken Harris, Lorraine Norden, Alison Oates, Barbara Oates, Margaret Rowe, Wendy Savage, Mike Tesch, Dave Sutton, Gary Wallis, Jack Weerts and Marja Bouman.
I’m lucky enough to have met many of them over the past decade and was fascinated to read the back story of how they came to be so involved and erudite. There is no egotism about their learning. They are generous in sharing and learning from one another.
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They all speak of the pleasures of being in nature and of the life-long friendships they have developed. It seems that the more they gave the more they got.
Many of them were involved in the Prom’n’aides, an informal group set up after the disastrous 2005 fire that razed 65,000 hectares at Wilsons Prom. Their job was to assist park rangers and scientists to monitor the recovery of plant species over the following decade. On many occasions they left the Prom bone-weary after a day of tramping and examining, but there were many good times to go with the hard slog. “… photographing spectacular scenery (and candid shots of ‘workers’), bird watching, eulogising about the geology, finding and identifying insects (with the spin-off of a helicopter ride to find moths in the biosphere study), marine finds, pretend bushwalking and the antics of the orchid tragics.” |
The first edition of Gippsland’s Field Naturalists has sold out. It is being reprinted and will be available in the Bunurong Environment Centre. |
The new book is a companion piece to Terri Allen’s Gippsland Lady Botanists, published in 2007. Mary Ellis and Terri shared the editing. In their introduction, they write of the frustration of dealing with government agencies that spend more time rearranging their names than fulfilling their official function and obstructive shire officers. (Is it any wonder that so much conservation work is done undercover?)
Despite the bureaucratic obstacles, they write, “The achievements have been monumental: tracks, wetlands, rehabilitation of flora reserves, management plans, accumulation of data about birds, insects, vegetation recovery post-fire, education of children and land holders, rebuilding after natural disasters such as floods and fires, publications and art works. The best may be friendship.”
I’ve seen it myself on our woodland walks and working bees. When ego, misgivings, shyness melt away and we are truly in the moment – the great quest of so much modern self-help psychiatry. Just for a couple of hours people forget about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the cost of living, climate change, their family and health problems. In a world of woe, nature is a refuge, a stillness, a meditation, a place of sanity and joy.
Despite the bureaucratic obstacles, they write, “The achievements have been monumental: tracks, wetlands, rehabilitation of flora reserves, management plans, accumulation of data about birds, insects, vegetation recovery post-fire, education of children and land holders, rebuilding after natural disasters such as floods and fires, publications and art works. The best may be friendship.”
I’ve seen it myself on our woodland walks and working bees. When ego, misgivings, shyness melt away and we are truly in the moment – the great quest of so much modern self-help psychiatry. Just for a couple of hours people forget about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the cost of living, climate change, their family and health problems. In a world of woe, nature is a refuge, a stillness, a meditation, a place of sanity and joy.