Rich environmental heritage

Following a trip to the Macquarie Marshes today with fellow artist, Gail Naden, and Western Plains Cultural Centre curator, Adnan Begic, I have a new appreciation for the rich environmental heritage of this Ramsar listed wetland. Our guide for the day was Berty Bartholomew - a wealth of knowledge and opinion bundled up in a man who is a gifted story-teller and custodian of many Aboriginal sites in the area. Not enough water has yet worked its way down the system to flood the bird breeding sites and there were many stark reminders within the boundaries of the Northern Marsh of human impact on the wetlands, the main one being the bypass channel taking water away from the river for stock and domestic purposes. Human activity in the area goes back to pre-European times, evidence of which can be seen in the scar trees. However these scars seem insignificant compared to the banks and channels carved into the floodplain.

But nature still does its thing in some quarters despite human intervention. Highlights of the day were watching a Little Eagle swoop down on the crested pigeon and photographing a stunning skewbald goanna. Emus and kangaroos were in a abundance, and thankfully we only sighted one snake! Given another few weeks, the bird life should increase as the water from upstream slowly makes its way towards Carinda, flooding the lagoons and reed beds.

When I returned home this evening to read the weekend papers, I noticed an article about David Suzuki's latest book (interestingly, the back of the page was about this season's latest fashions). There was a comment in the article attributed to Suzuki which said: A lot of my friends are thinking it's too late (to save the environment)...But I say if you really believe there is nothing that can be done, then shut up and get out of the way. Because you always have to offer people hope.

There are some who say that the Marshes can never be what they once were because they are now at the tail end of a regulated water system. There are those who say that the greed of the irrigation and grazing industries will mean the Marshes will be forever cheated of water. While the Nature Reserve is indeed pretty much under lock and key, there are signs that with some thoughtful management and the care of people such as Berty, that the Marshes does have a future as a significant waterbird breeding site in Australia.

The fact is that humans do live in this environment, living within the demands of modern society. We can't expect the natural environment to be what it was, but we can work towards ensuring a secure future for those areas like the Marshes with a rich environmental heritage.