Rainforest Live '97 Journals from Queensland, Australia

  From the week ending April 25, 1997

Environmental Attitudes
by Melissa Barker

The reforestation attitudes directed research project was in full swing this week with an average of four interviews per day. This week we have focused on surveying the attitudes of the residents along the Clemenson Creek, which has been done in conjunction with the Wet Tropics Tree Planting Scheme (WTTPS). The majority of the residents have rural residential zoning, but there are also farmers who live along the creek. Our survey asks several questions about land use and practices. There are a set of slightly different questions for those residents who have reforested and those who have not. Land owners are asked if they feel they are affected by upstream practices. They are also asked if they feel that they effect land owners downstream. Historically, it has been difficult to convince some of the older farmers that certain practices, such as allowing cattle to go into the creek, does in fact have an effect on downstream users. It was interesting to see that some farmers still feel that way along the Clemenson Creek. After the interview most land owners have taken us out on their property to see their reforestation plots. Some land owners have also done reforestation on their own. Most of the rural residents feel that the reforestation plots will increase aesthetic quality (the beauty of the land), decrease erosion which leads to better water quality, and get rid of unmanageable shrubs.  

Ethnobotany Project Update
by Lisa Holderbach

As the second week of our ethnobotany directed research project comes to a close, it is interesting to sit back and think about all of the amazing information and people that we have been introduced to in the last week. The focus the ethnobotany project is to compare the quantity of medicinal and food plants present in forest that were used by different Aboriginal tribes that once lived in the area. Land management practices have changes since the Aborigines lost control over the land and traditional practices, such as regular controlled fires, no longer occur. This has resulted in a change in the composition of the forest where they once lived. Now, many of the plants that the Aborigines used for food and medicine either no longer exist or exist in such small amounts that they could not sustain themselves by using them. Interviews and phone conversations have allowed to talk with different Aboriginal elders and learn about their culture. We learned that their land was the focus of their lives because it provided the resources they needed and desired. We were also lucky enough to visit an Aboriginal family, the Gosams, where we listened to the young men play the didgeridoos and viewed some beautiful artwork. It was very refreshing to be reminded how much nature can provide for all of us as long as we take time to enjoy it.

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