Neil Hewett, Cooper Creek Wilderness, The Daintree, Nth Queensland, emailed this picture of a lichen spider,
See Spider (40 kbs).
It came with the note,
“If only humankind would blend with the natural landscape with a little more discretion.”
And I gather the action was inspired by my ‘Global Warming Skeptics in Denial’ blog post.
And I was reminded by the spider of an article I saw in the lastest issue of Orion Online and the finding/thought that,
“Engagement with nature buffers against life stresses.”
.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.
Nature?
The wildlife at Wooleen are many – sand flies, mossies that leave 50 cent wounds, and it seems that humans are not terribly welcome in those areas. Not many Aboriginals around either.
Goats – buckets.
Spiders? – amazingly I have not seen one yet in the Murchison (says he with trepidation).
Dingos’ Lack of if goats are plentiful – but when goats are absent, dingos are plentiful.
And Wooleen has for this first time in 140 years destocked – no sheep for 12 months to allow the land to rest. All water bores have been shut down to reduce the roo numbers that cause just as much damages as the sheep.
Cattle are the go – less environmentally disruptive than sheep,. but each head needs 15 litres water per day. Per year.
More on my frequent sorties to the Murchison as time goes by, and has to remember to send Jen the photos! once she posts the wooleen site …………:-)
Louis,
“…humans are not terribly welcome in those areas. Not many Aboriginals around either.”
The two groups are not mutually exclusive!
In respect to Richard Louv’s Nature Deficit, he might have been describing my four year old son Taiga, when he mentioned aggressive, antisocial children having trouble paying attention, listening, following directions and focusing on tasks. And yet no child could have a more thorough immersion in the very depths of nature at its most luxuriant. Indeed, what I could very well imagine an over-burdened pedagogue blaming on ADHD, is the very spirit that such an naturally invigorating upbringing inspires.