Climate Change and the Early Adaptor

What a week it has been here in Australia! The devastating floods in North Queensland paled into insignificance in comparison with the horrendous loss of life, homes, infrastructure and biodiversity in the Victorian bushfires. With the benefit of the 20:20 vision of hindsight, what could we do differently?

One thing stands out like the proverbial. True custodians of the land, Australia’s indigenous people were - and still are - masters of the regular, controlled, low intensity burn. This practice controls the build up of fuel. A number of scientific studies have warned of the dangers of the build up of fuel which has occurred both in Australia and the USA because of poor forest management, changes in land use and climate change which increases the likelihood of extreme weather events. These events make it crucial that homeowners adapt to the new conditions. In both countries these warnings have been ignored and wildfires have resulted, even though foresters confirm that an uncontrollable crown fire becomes a manageable ground fire when denied fuel.

Another core issue to be addressed is the current practice of building homes amongst the trees in a known bushfire zone. Like it or not, ultimately the responsibility rests with homeowners who chose to build, or buy, there. In future it may be difficult to insure these homes. Globally insurance companies are reeling from the true cost of extreme weather events and the insurers will be forced to adapt as well. As Darwin discovered, it’s not the strong that survive, it’s the adaptors.

To our indigenous brothers and sisters ceremony also played a vital role in land and water management. “We danced for the rain to come. And when the rains came, we danced again, in gratitude.” There are boxes and boxes of records of indigenous rain making ceremonies in the archives in Canberra. These ceremonies took place all over Australia.

I suppose to a Westerner in the 21st century this seems a bit odd, but it’s not much different from activating a giant prayer network, celebrating Thanksgiving or the harvest in the traditional European way. And it’s good science. We can, after all, alter the molecular structure of water crystals simply by focusing on love, or the icon of our choice, be that Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Mother Mary or Mohammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him. Before and after photos clearly demonstrate the difference. Similarly there have been plenty of scientific studies on how plants respond to different vibrations. Different types of music impacts on plants differently. Our first Australians understand this well and extend the energy way beyond experimenting with a few plants.

As well as ceremony there is the shamanic nature of indigenous art, the theme of the film Liquid Assets currently in development. While researching the screenplay I learnt that Aboriginees believe the act of creation keeps the culture and the country itself alive. Their rock art is intended to be seen in conjunction with ceremony, song, dance and storytelling. A very powerful combination indeed.

In 1987 I arrived in Los Angeles shortly after a severe earth quake. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Native Americans living in the worst hit area had forewarning of the quake and did ceremony and prayed to quiet Mother Earth. None of them were injured. They also have spiritual practice involving the wind. Last year a Cherokee confirmed that if there is a hurricane coming, he has been taught to greet the wind with love, become one with the wind, love the wind and lead it away from his settlement. This is their wisdom and it works for those in the know.

After all, quantum physics confirms that we live in a field of infinite intelligence because every cell has intelligence. Indigenous ceremony and art alter the infinite field of intelligence through the positive power of intention.

Today is Friday 13, traditionally known as “Black Friday”. Today is also the first anniversary of Australia’s national “Sorry” day, a day of reconciliation for our original peoples and newcomers. In 2007 I attended Gin~Murun~Gari, a retreat for external and internal reconciliation, for black and white women alike. Those present will never forget witnessing “Aunty” Jenny Thompson declaring, “I am very grateful for the past 200 years. It has made me strong. It has made me who I am. Now, let’s draw a line in the sand and move on.” There is so much we can learn from these peoples and others like them.

What would it take to adapt our land management and water management and avert needless tragedy?

Bless all those who listen to the planet. All those who listen to the planet are blessed.

Barbara

What does a seaside garden have to do with the film Australia?

Recently, behind the dunes on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I was shown a new house being built for a young man who intends renting it out. The subject got around to water – as it always seems to around me - and his parents’ belief that he had to landscape wisely, because of budget constraints and also, “Because the tenants won’t water.”

We agreed that a low maintenance, tenant friendly garden was vital. Imagine their surprise when I recommended landscaping for local biodiversity, which is a posh way of saying grow the plants that were growing here before white people came along and bulldozed them to make suburbs. The paths behind the dunes revealed a huge variety of ideal plants which have thrived in the local weather conditions for millenia. His parents were surprisingly unaware of these treasures, even though they had lived in the district all their lives.

Many of these plants are easy to propagate, which is creative, cheaper and fun. His parents live nearby and enjoy propagating, a great solution. A recent foray in my Brisbane suburb yielded a fist full of seeds from a sarsparella vine which had been covered in purple flowers in spring, the very best specimen I have ever seen. I simply tossed the seed pods onto a bare spot in the garden and forgot about them. A few storms later there were a clutch of wee seedlings. It’s that easy.

Of course, no garden is complete without some kitchen herbs. The soil behind the dunes is sandy and won’t retain moisture, so sustainable water management becomes vital. Not to worry, an easy solution is at hand. After a southerly blow there is plenty of pumice on the beach, along the high water line. Ground up into a coarse power, pumice is a wonderful wetting agent, one which has been used along the Nile River in Egypt for thousands of years.

I realized that I was more blessed than his parents, because years ago my awareness was heightened by a walk through this country with Nurden Serico, whose mother was one of the stolen generation from Coolum. Anyone who has seen the film Australia will understand the term “stolen generation”. As we walked, Nurden shared his knowledge of bush tucker, as well as his love for country, and asked, “The earth, She is so beautiful, why would anyone want to harm Her?”

The plants whose names I recall are:
Dianella has tiny blue and yellow flowers followed by vivid blue berries which are great bush tucker.
Midjum is a great bush tucker shrub
Hibertia, or golden guinea flower, flowers all year, is shrubby or will climb.
Carpobrotus, a ground cover, has cerise flowers which contrast beautifully with the hibertia.
Various ornamental grasses, along with the hibertia and dianella, encourage the fairy wrens.
Hovea, a shrub, flowers in late winter and early spring. I collect the seeds in Oct and love to hear them pop on the first really hot dry windy day. They literally explode out of their tiny pods. Good fun, though a bit of a shock the first time it happens.
Swamp lily, or beach lily, has prolific spidery white flowers and is easy to grow from seed.
Iris, 3 different types grow in the region
Leptospermum has white flowers in late winter and early spring
Native violets form a great groundcover in shady spots and the flowers are edible
Mitta vine to attract butterflies
Pandanus palm, or screw palm, to create privacy near the BBQ area, is easy to grow from seed. The big golden seed pods are a delight.
Coastal banksia flowers all year.
Casuarinas and banksias ensure plenty of birdlife, including the yellow tailed black cockatoos.
Wattles

The walk was organized by a community group to celebrate the local wildflowers. Your council will have a list of such groups. Resources on the Sunshine Coast include:
www.Noosanativeplants.com.au or Stephanie Haslam’s book of the same name www.maroochycatchmentcentre.org.au for local species, their nurseries and books
www.fairhill.com.au native plant nursery at Yandina

In the light of climate change and critical water shortages globally, there is so much we can learn from our indigenous people about sustainability. It’s time for us all to be custodians of this beautiful planet. Both my book Creating a culture with a reverence for water and screenplay Liquid Assets, a feature film which goes into production in 2009, attempt to share their wisdom.

Wishing everyone a sustainable and peaceful 2009
Barbara Carseldine
23rd January 2009