I spent my childhood running wild in the local bush - eastern suburban Melbourne. As the years passed, I watched as the urban spread extended further, engulfing areas where I once went camping. I also noticed a terrible loss of flora and fauna. Satellite photos, one of my areas of expertise, revealed a tragic loss of tree cover. Now I am trying to explore, locate, identify and catalogue the remnant vegetation in 'my' little patch, as it hasn't yet been described. From there I would love to work with the local land managers to plan and set in place a strategy to keep what remains, and potentially enhance it and regenerate the bush where possible.
I am a qualified environmentalist who believes in keeping patchwork bush connected by high conservation value corridors, so that the long term viability of of populations is maintained and improved.
I am a botanic artist, and one of the things that I found an extra challenge was that there was no list of flora and fauna for my area because it was thought that everything had previously been destroyed. I was disappointed, because it hasn't, and I would dearly love people to appreciate what they have. In particular the small native terrestrial orchids which most people don't see. I hope that my pictures will enable them to see the beauty at their toes and believe it worth conserving. So the attitude of: 'that patch of bush' is a 'fire trap' or 'waste land that can have houses on', will become obsolete. The bushlands will remain, well managed and conserved for future generations to enjoy and understand.
I am optimistic that the Citizen Science forums will encourage more people to be involved in understanding and caring for their environment, ensuring its health into the future.