- What is your relationship to the environment in which you live?
- What do you enjoy about the environment in which you live?
- Describe your environment and the features you value.
- Describe your favourite smells in the environment in which you live.
- How healthy is your environment?
- Have you witnessed change in your environment over your lifetime?
- How critical is water in your environment?
- Would your environment cope with less water in future?
- Do you feel you have the capacity to change your environment for the better?
- What do you wish for your environment in the year 2030 and beyond?
CSIRO's best estimate of climate change by 2030 would see an eight percent reduction in surface water availability and a 125 percent growth in groundwater extractions. Research also indicates an average temperature increase across the inland of up to two degrees C. What shape will our environment be in by 2030? We have 21 years before this Coming of Age.
Who cares what shape the environment will be in? As if we have any control over it while countries such as India and China are consuming resources at the rate they are.
ReplyDeleteHey Kim,
ReplyDeleteMy response.....
1. My relationship to the environment I live: landholders at Cumnock; work for a community owned landcare organisation; studying a bachelor of ecological agriculture; passionate about sustainability on a holistic level.
2. What do I enjoy about the environment I live in: I enjoy the tranquility, the natural beauty; the variability; I enjoy finding things I haven't seen or noticed before; I enjoy sharing the natural world with my young children & increasing their curiosity & interest in all things natural. I also enjoy seeing ecological change in response to our land management practices.
3. Things I value - I value all things. All things have a place, we just need to determine what their place is and how to make the most of it sustainably. In saying this, I don't see much of a role in things like rabbits, foxes, etc. I value native species high;y and I think the natural process & their complexities are one of natures wonders.
4. Smells - you can not beat the smell of rain! It has such a rich, organic smell that brings such a great feel with it. The smell of spring is also glorious. Especially when riding through a paddock & you catch the waft of native flowers.
5. How healthy is our environment - I wouldn't say much of our environment is healthy. I think our environment is very forgiving and resilient, but not healthy. When you find those odd places that do resemble what I would describe as healthy, you realise that the majority of the area is not reaching its full potential & is not very healthy. It appears that as soon as man-kind tinkers with natural cycles, we begin the deterioration of of it.
6. Witness to change - my lifetime isn't long enough to make a big statement, but, in the 4 years I have been working in the Little River Catchment I have seen changes in land management & attitude which demonstrate a healthy attitude to change & the natural world.
7. Water - it is extremely important! Water useage & water use efficiency are key components in agricultural systems and communities. The important part is not the amount of water, but rather, what we do with the water we have/get.
8. Will the environment cope - I do not know. I think the environment will adapt and due to its resilience it should be OK. The major question is will people make the necessary adaptions/changes to deal with these changes?
9.Capacity for change - Yes. We try & keep an open mind and trial things. We are conservationsts by nature and believe in sustainability. These are the fundamentals required, our challenge will be to keep this frame of mind for the rest of our lives!
10. The year 2030 & beyond - I hope that the environment is able to support all living things - that everything has the ability to live and breed succesfully. I hope that we have not lost any more species and that there is a big change in the way agriculture is practised. I hope that NRM is a regular part of social responsibility. I hope my children feel that the world is heading in the right direction & that it is a healthy place to have their own children. I hope that society influences government on a much larger scale in the way that natural resources are managed. I hope the world is united in protecting what we have left.
I am not sure exactly how it will look. Maybe it will look similar to what is does today?
I hope this helps you out! Good luck with your exhibition.
Thanks for the contribution Pip! I think a lot of what you have said would resonate with many who live in rural communities. There is so much still unknown about how our environment will take shape over coming decades - but having hope is what keeps us working towards a healthy, secure future for the environment and the communities it nurtures.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your relationship to the environment in which you live?
ReplyDelete* I live and work in it.
What do you enjoy about the environment in which you live?
*As above.
Describe your environment and the features you value.
* Rolling rural mid-West savannah and eucalypt woodland.
Describe your favourite smells in the environment in which you live.
* Rain and woodland humas
Have you witnessed change in your environment over your lifetime?
* Yes, More on-farm dams, less creek pools and more litter.
Would your environment cope with less water in future?
* Probably.
Do you feel you have the capacity to change your environment for the better?
* Yes.
What do you wish for your environment in the year 2030 and beyond?
* More creek pools and flows, and less litter.
JACK RANDELL
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