tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71780864448078853722011-04-21T19:43:48.552-07:00Sylvie ShawSylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comBlogger1161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-55528621504415008672008-06-23T04:10:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:43.069-08:00

The Brahminy Kite flies in slowly and settles on a branch overlooking the river. Tiny birds such as Wrens and Flycatchers hop chirpily through the undergrowth. Ravens caw overhead. It's just another beautiful day on the river. As Bono sings in the evocative U2 song Beautiful Day. It's a beautiful day Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get awaySee the world in green and

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-58140866429358337962008-06-21T19:16:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:43.244-08:00

Intense solstice light spreads across the river valley. It’s a sleepy kind of day in what Brisbane residents call mid-winter. Coming from southern climes, this seems like a warm spring day. There is a hint of coolness in the delicate breeze; but the heat is pervasive, especially out of the shade. In Brisbane there is very little respite from the daunting summer sun. Happily that is still a few

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-28172921827241692932008-06-20T18:45:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:43.689-08:00

Just this week the federal government released its River Health Audit. Out of the 23 river valleys listed, only one is gets a positive tick. The quality of other major rivers in Australia is deemed 'poor' and 'very poor' - 13 river systems are described as 'very poor'.The government's first solution is to blame the previous government while allocating $3.1 billion to buy back water towards

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-8132002377850763222008-04-25T03:16:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:44.339-08:00

Along the trail I meet Susan walking her black and white sheep dog. The first thing she remarks on is the quality of the sky, its clarity, its intensity and its depth of colour. The seasons are changing. Mornings are cooler and the cloying humidity has dropped. In the summer months Brisbane is bathed in a sweltering humidity which covers the city in a sheer film of water vapour that seems to dull

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-50441410331841559742008-04-19T22:22:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:44.693-08:00

The natural world has the power to move us, inspire us, transform us. This can be sudden or gradual event initiated via scientific exploration, religious understanding, spiritual experience and/or immersion in beautiful and sacred places in the wild and in wilded urban places. In his article titled 'On Being Moved by Nature', Noel Carroll (2008:170) speaks of being 'emotionally aroused' by nature

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-72238972451417309222008-04-14T06:15:00.002-07:002008-11-13T06:45:45.383-08:00

As the seasons change in Brisbane the sky along the river valley becomes clearer, a more intense blue which is reflected in the river's brown muddy flow. Different birds appear. This week a lone Straw-Necked Ibis patrols near the trail, searching the hardened earth with its scythe-like bill for food. Honeyeaters chirp piercingly as they hop among the drooping leaflets of the Allocasuarinas along

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-10138540109747587072008-04-11T13:56:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:45.632-08:00

The river valley sits shrouded in fog. Outside the valley the sun glows. In other places, other cultures and other religions, the river is the Goddess. Likewise, the living spirits of rivers are depicted as deities, for instance, as snake, python, anaconda, dragon. Frequently, these deities are female perhaps because the element of water is regarded as a feminine essence embodying 'life, birth

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-119523640896641822008-04-06T04:58:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:45.988-08:00

Sylvie ShawThe mouth of the Brisbane River was carefully hidden from the early explorers. The entrance was narrow, sheltered by Fisherman's Island, tangled rain forest, a tightness of mangroves and the huge spreading Moreton Bay Fig. It was as if, states one historical account of the river, '[n]ature herself seemed to have made certain that the river would never be found' (ABC, 2008).It is said

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-21462867111370432072008-03-29T16:15:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:45:46.459-08:00

Sylvie ShawThe wild is a place, a way to be, a process (i.e. to go wild) and a perception about what happens when wild land and wild waters are paved over, smothered or pulverised. This blog touches on some of the integral viewpoints of the effects of wild and wilderness. Drastic changes along the river, and to the river's ecosystem, have been largely directed by developers responding to

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-22483828027869001692008-03-26T14:26:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:46.781-08:00

Sylvie ShawEarth, The Forgotten Temple (2004) is the title of a book which addresses the deep religious connection that nature brings. Author Niki Collins-Queen was a counsellor but put her career on hold to explore her deepening relationship to nature and God. Her church is the outdoors, the mountain top and the backyard. In an article called 'Author finds God and spirituality in nature',

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-5308531914853563052008-03-22T20:16:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:47.046-08:00

Knowing place reflects an intimacy with the elements of that place, the trees, the animals, the human visitors and, in the case of this blog, the Brisbane River. American nature writer, novelist and preservationist Wallace Stegner (1992) says that: 'Your province is not the wilderness, where the individual makes contact with the universe, but the farm, the neighborhood, the community, the town,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-26675657968694015342008-03-21T04:33:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:45:47.593-08:00

Walking in nature is good for your health. In 2007 the UK mental health charity known as Mind released the results of a study into the health effects of nature connecting. The study was conducted specifically on the impact of green exercise among people with mental health problems and involved a comparison between ecotherapy - a walk in the country and retail therapy - a walk in an indoor

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-68651944669853749842008-03-20T15:06:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:47.809-08:00

The Brisbane River is undergoing tremendous changes along its banks. According to criticism from Associate Professor Peter Skinner of The University of Queensland, the state government has been ''suckered into' allowing developers ... to treat the Brisbane River as if it were a 'vacant lot'' (Robinson, 2008).What I'm reminded of here are the lyrics of the poignant Joni Mitchell song, revived

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-38952397422949026352008-03-16T14:36:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:45:48.111-08:00

Shhrrrtumpth, shhrrrtumpth, shhrrrtumpth - a strange squwelchy, hoarsey, staccato call emerges from the tree canopy. I think it must be a fledgling Coucal rasping its call for food as I have not seen a bird like this along the river before. As I peer among the branches an adult Turkey is resting on one of the low branches overlooking the water, while young Turkeys fossick in the leaf litter

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-50482185291430970472008-03-08T16:05:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:49.112-08:00

Young leaves along the river trail glow in the aftermath of rain. Crimson. Bronze. Copper. As the new leaves grow they change colour due to the green pigment that is Cholorphyll. Cholorphyll is a natural molecule engaged in an intimate tango with the sun and the wider ecosystem. It is also a very clever molecule. Its role is to capture the sun's energy so that it can be harvested for use in leaf

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-28070288080722317452008-03-08T01:51:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:49.413-08:00

When I was in Java a few years ago staying with friends, we'd often go for a walk around dusk. The locals would ask what we were doing and where we were going. 'We're going for a walk,' we'd say. 'Where to?', they'd ask and they'd look quizzically when we replied, 'Well, no where in particular, just going for a walk.'In Britain walking is the most popular and pleasurable activity according to a

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-68389755888332336882008-03-06T12:59:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:49.790-08:00

The crescent hangs in the pale evening sky. The river breathes. The last carrolling of the Magpie and the laughter of the Kookaburra fade as darkness falls. Flying Foxes perform their sunset exodus up from the river valley and out across the rooftops, flying fast in search of blossoms and fruit. At dusk, the environs of the Brisbane River are indeed alive with movement and sound as night

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-2456340233669210562008-03-03T14:04:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:50.176-08:00

It's called the green movement, the party is the Greens, but green is not the only colour for ecological care and action. The Brisbane River flows brown at the moment after the heavy rain, the grey-white spider webs resemble small nets in the bushes, while the blue-focused 'Save Moreton Bay' campaign is hotting up. One passionate campaign member is the brilliant writer Tim Winton who speaks

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-44267760745694431452008-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:50.509-08:00

Waking up to the Science Show on ABC Radio National was a shock. 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily impacted by human intervention. Marine ecologist Ben Halpern from the University of California (Santa Barbara) was being interviewed by science journalist guru Robin Williams. Halpern made the point that 'nearly half of the ocean is suffering from a lot of multiple activities that are

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-37064375224962734792008-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:50.978-08:00

If you were designing a ritual for the river, what would it look like? Each year at the Brisbane River Festival the River is honoured with a spectacular of fireworks. Massive colourful sparks fill the sky, spiralling, bursting, floating in an excitement of sight and sound. The Brisbane populace throngs the riverbank marvelling at the event which pays reverence to the icon of this city. Rituals

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-49756279881318544272008-02-21T14:27:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:51.262-08:00

Caring for the place where you live/love - how does that happen? Is the quality of caring something we only hold in the mind? Or does caring for place entail a practical engagement with that place? And does it involve a sense of responsibility and/or some kind of action to look after that place?When I started this blog I knew little about this place, the original custodians of the land, the life

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-86670514890160953612008-02-16T15:07:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:51.589-08:00

The bush is quivering with Silver Eyes. First you hear them chirping and then detect a flash among the branches. These tiny yellowy-green birds are hard to spot with their camouflaged feathers but I stand quietly and tune into the sound and sight as the small birds herald the day and the hint of rain.In the background the Circadas sing their rhythmic chikkkssshh-chchikkkersssh. A Magpie sits on

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-2406938543940947562008-02-14T14:20:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:51.806-08:00

In the US the term watershed is equivalent to the expression water catchment used in Australia and elsewhere. Watershed is also a term used metaphorically or figuratively to indicate a dividing line - a watershed issue - a line of division.The word watershed came into use around the beginning of the 19th century. Then it represented the boundary between two river systems. It also referred to the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-44588909314312362612008-02-12T13:30:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:52.236-08:00

At the big international river event in 2007, a highly significant declaration was made to protect waterway flows along global river systems to ensure freshwater ecosystem health and human well-being. The initial statement from the Riversymposium and International Environmental Flows Conference, acknowledges that 'freshwater ecosystems are the foundation of our social, cultural, and economic

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-20839453393382790632008-02-04T12:38:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:52.661-08:00

The rain continues to tumble. Sleeting down. Heavy. Fast. Thick. So much water has fallen in the past few weeks that the once much sought-after rain has also delivered floods, anxieties and severe loss to places that a such a short time ago were parched. The dams in SE Queensland that supply water to homes and industries are filling slowly, but even after all this rain, one of the major dams is

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-48979719228922045422008-01-19T15:43:00.001-08:002008-11-13T06:45:53.306-08:00

The river trail was filled today with the glorious song of the Eastern Whipbird, the hooping of the pheasant-like Coucal and the chattering of flycatchers, wrens and other LBBs (Litte Brown Birds). The Whipbird's sonorous whistle echoes across the valley. Mostly, says the birdbook, they are heard but not seen so it was a special moment watching a pair of these smalll birds hop through the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-12868061395828786522008-01-14T04:16:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:53.705-08:00

I heard a kind of bark from up in the eucalypt trees. There it is again. I look up bewildered; can't see anything by leaves. Then suddenly, from the canopy, an Ibis lifts off and flies down the river. An Ibis is no small bird but this bird was invisible in the tree as if its black and white feathers merged into the leafy cover.So I began to think about all the black and white birds along the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-80677490691208346802008-01-10T17:42:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:54.114-08:00

David Groenfeldt is the Executive Director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Santa Fe River he cares for has recently been declared the most endangered river in the US.When I first spoke to David Groenfelt he told me something amazing. It was a different way of seeing a river system and the relationship between humans and the water.Humans believe they have rights

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-58079386862243901832008-01-08T14:48:00.001-08:002008-11-13T06:45:54.230-08:00

Rivers for Life is a very insightful book covering the need for global care of water and river systems for both people and nature. Written by Sandra Postel and Brian Richter (2003) from the Global Water Policy Project, Rivers of Life's first chapter is titled: Where Have All the Rivers Gone? It documents the impact wrought by human development through changing infrastructure (such as dams,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-72983051601638474192008-01-05T21:49:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:54.485-08:00

Just a couple of weeks ago the whole area was in the midst of a long-term drought. Now there is severe flooding throughout SE Queensland and northern NSW. Today the rain pelted down in thick sheets; visibility was almost non-existent, and although the river level here is slightly higher that it has been recently, the Brisbane River has not experienced the widespread damage and disruption felt in

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-39581945945735345122008-01-03T14:03:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:54.714-08:00

The bird book says the Blue-faced Honeyeater is pugnacious, especially when it is caught stealing twigs from other birds' nests (Frith, 1976:468). It was raining lightly as I walked towards the river. It has been raining on and off for a few days now which has brought life-giving moisture to this very dry region in SE Queensland. Out of the corner of my eye I felt a presence in the bush beside me

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-84796973143494265112007-12-29T18:07:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:54.970-08:00

The river valley is filled with sparkling jewels and precious metals. The trail is awash with emerald, peridot and jade scattered above the the thick brown mud along the mangrove-hugging creek and interwoven within the steep and rocky embankment. Over the past few weeks the tall Eucalypts have been shedding their bark. It falls to the ground in thin strands, sometimes hanging down in long strips

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-89485367169772288792007-12-27T16:01:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:55.183-08:00

The Bioneers radio program on the ABC this week broadcast a series of thought-provoking talks from a host of social and environmental change activists. Some use poetry to promote change, others run salons in cafes across the globe, others practise deep listening. Drew Dillinger is the founder of Poets for Global Justice and his poem 'hieroglyphic stairway' is a masterful and moving display of

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-4452088768669447222007-12-24T16:04:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:56.102-08:00

The Brisbane River is home to the Turrbal and Yugarbul-Jagarra peoples who created pathways along the river valley linking ceremonial sites known as 'bora'. According to Kerkhove (1985:4) these pathways ran the length of the river and 'early settlers remembered seeing Brisbane Aboriginals marching in hundreds along these, or saw them tracking along them in South Brisbane at night with a blazing

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-24404374251038738672007-12-23T15:20:00.001-08:002008-11-13T06:45:56.390-08:00

Aspects of nature are so beautiful they take your breath away. But what does beauty mean in a consumer-driven busily-growing city that spreads its development footprint across the city's natural beauty. Natural capital is defined as the resources humans need to live, the quality of the land, of the water, of the health-giving natural resources that are seen to support capital, or the economic

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-15009190106750804422007-12-18T14:17:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:57.101-08:00

River of Words is an annual event that gathers poetry and art inspired by rivers from children across the globe. This year the group chose a deeply insightful poem 'Rivers' written by seven year old José Perez from Florida as the winning riverpoem for 2007. 'Rivers splatter,hitting rocks below.But don’t be afraid,there is poetrydeep inside each crevice.'River of Words (ROW) has developed

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-80962854254105149792007-12-17T13:28:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:57.309-08:00

Sandra Postel is a global water activist. She has developed the Global Water Policy Project aimed at promoting the care, protection and management of fresh waters. In particular, her program implores us to change the way we think about and use fresh water. Postel comments:'Water is the basis of life and the blue arteries of the earth! Everything in the non-marine environment depends on freshwater

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-1445851918836960472007-12-08T16:57:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:57.660-08:00

The famous Watergate journalist Bob Woodward was speaking on the BBC today about his working life being an investigative journalist. He said that one of the most important things he and other journalists needed to do consistently is to be tough, to demand answers. Over 30 years ago the hard questions he and his colleague Carl Bernstein asked about corruption in the Whitehouse landed an American

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-52268474187511918932007-12-05T14:14:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:58.135-08:00

On BBC news this morning there was a marvellous news item about the cleverness of Amazon River Dolphins. Some males carry objects in their mouths such as weeds, sticks and clay as symbols of courtship and sexual display. After a three year study of over 6000 dolphins, scientists found that there is a relationship between object carrying dolphins and aggression. They explained that such aggression

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-6877647316856898732007-11-30T20:49:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:58.413-08:00

In the last couple of months globally, report after report has been published heralding severe ecological devastation, rapid extinction of plants and animal species and the irreversible effects of global warming.Yet another report was released this week. The Human Development Report of the UN Development program points the finger at wealthy countries and climate change with this supremely urgent

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-91763752686086823412007-11-28T15:24:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:45:58.702-08:00

The river valley is awash with myriad greens - bright greens, gloomy greens, shiney leafed greens, olivey blue greens. The tumbling rain these past few days has led to the flourishing of new growth and all along the river bank the plants are glowing. This once lush verduous valley is fast being de-greened to make way for new housing.Right opposit the river yet another house and several tall

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-13273613224435606522007-11-24T15:58:00.002-08:002008-11-13T06:45:59.774-08:00

Contemplat-ive practices such as prayer and meditation can encourage greater care for others, including the natural world. Projects such as Faith in Action link deep theological reflection with awareness and knowledge practices embedded within a mainstream religious framework. Such projects hearten thoughts on oneness, impress 'seeing in a sacred manner' and enliven spiritual effervescence with

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-69642384228844627062007-11-23T22:43:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:00.066-08:00

The Brisbane River has a potent spirit that winds from wild places to tamed urban spaces spreading its story through flow and tide, fish and frog, bird and snake, wind and rain. Listening to the river, being enticed by its spirit and attuned to its changing moods and colours, promotes a heightened sense of wellbeing and delight.Studies into the effects of engagement with natural places,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-63379618687915074812007-11-19T13:48:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:00.252-08:00

The bark is falling in sheathes from the eucalypt trunks releasing a fresh new covering. Like the snake sheds its skin, so too the gum trees lose their bark, sloughing it off in the renewal that is spring. With the coming of new rain over the past few days, there's not only the sight of new skin emerging from the old bark, there's also massive new growth spurting forth in all directions. But

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-84151800975979426642007-11-16T17:10:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:00.684-08:00

The torrential rain plummets heavily spreading its lush thick water across the parched earth. Soaked and soaking, we slosh through the puddles and celebrate the elusive wetness. And the birds do too. Butcher birds, the Magpie family and two shy Ravens come to visit; they're drenched, their feathers damp and droopy. A gang of squwarking parrots jet past as the river valley fills with the sight and

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-36793097211786641732007-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:01.136-08:00

Connecting to the river is part of a daily pilgrimage, a spiritual and sacred practice of homage. Watching the Spoonbiil slurp through the mud along Sandy Creek is a measure of reverence for this place and its extended ecosystem from watershed to ocean. The water flowing on the tidal exchange between fresh and salt is the ritualistic dance of this river religion. The sound and sight of birds,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-26931167874847383802007-11-10T17:30:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:01.278-08:00

There was a flash of red dancing in the branches. Amidst the lush green under-growth, a Red-backed Fairy Wren was displaying his magnificent scarlet cloak. The birdbook tells me that his deep red feathers will fade after a few months of sun and rain and this has led to the suppostition that there are, in fact, two red-backed species - one wearing scarlet, the other a deep crimson. But these

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-74279828150951370432007-11-07T16:19:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:01.463-08:00

It seems death stalks the trail this week. Lying on the side of the path was a bunch of turquoise feathers. I picked up the small Sacred Kingfisher and held it in the palm of my hand admiring the exquisite bright blue green mantle then placed it in the earth. I'd been watching a pair of these birds for weeks. Often they'd sit on the electricity wires, the same spot every day, watching for prey.

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-19784486058604786532007-11-04T14:00:00.000-08:002008-11-13T06:46:01.828-08:00

The metre long dark brown Eel was lying immobile in the middle of the trail. At times I've seen fishers at the creek but until now have not encountered their discards. Perhaps they just forgot to take the Eel with them or perhaps they didn't think to put it back its watery home. I read that Eels can live up to 48 hours out of the water because of their very oily skin; they can also travel short

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-57222581231597159732007-11-03T14:59:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:02.030-08:00

'Arguably, the challenge of the spiritual is the most significant we face in our contempor-ary world, through it may not be seen as such by many.' This sweeping statement by authors Clive and Jane Erricker (2001:xv) headlines their edited volume Contemporary Spiritualities: Social and Religious Contexts.They arrive at this challenging point through the assumption that, 'it is necessary for every

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-33553814767622660542007-11-01T14:40:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:02.326-08:00

Sometimes the whole tree grove along the river is singing. Parrots, Lorikeets, Noisy Mynahs, Little Brown Birds, the trees are filled with movement and the sparkling sound of bird chatter. Shadows flit through the branches, darting from blossom to blossom, chirping, and all the while the trees seem to sway with a choir of bird song. The spirit of this place is heightened by paying attention,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-70570822184671901012007-10-30T18:17:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:03.521-08:00

One in ten (!) of the world's large rivers runs dry every year before it reaches the sea, the magnificent Murray is one such river. The danger to rivers globally was raised this week as part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report: Global Environment Outlook: Environment for Development.At the very time when the planetary crisis was announced by UNEP following a study from 1400

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-78448594813758103212007-10-29T14:56:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:03.904-08:00

Could the Brisbane River be considered a deity? And if it were deemed a god or goddess, would it mean the community would be more reverent to this grace-ful waterway? To consider this question I turn to David Haberman's wonderful book River of Love in an Age of Pollution (2006).Haberman spent several years in India conducting ethnographic research about the people who revere the Yamuna River, the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-39611585871603535502007-10-27T17:43:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:04.169-08:00

The weather is getting much warmer. Shade is so welcome on these hot days. But many of the shade trees that create a luxurious green umbrella over the river valley and among the houses are fast disappearing. One day there is a beautiful old weatherboard house waiting for a new owner, perhaps a lick of paint and care of the old garden and tall trees. And the next day everything is razed. It's the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-79261072586994911472007-10-20T21:46:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:04.840-08:00

In his book ReEnchantment (2000), David Tacey writes that: 'We are witnessing the rebirth of an ancient experience of the spirit.' He views this spiritual enflowerment as 'holistic, embodied, mystical and immanental rather than transcendental' (2000:100). It is inspired by indigenous eco-religious cosmologies. In the western quest for the sacred and the outpouring of individualised

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-83131134819486700942007-10-19T23:12:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:05.364-08:00

There are wonderful water-based programs taking place right under our noses and we might not even be aware of them. The Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program of local waterways and the Healthy Waterways project for SE Queensland are looking after the environment and working together across community, industry and science to create purposeful strategies for waterwise development and water

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-88876800641495539352007-10-18T05:03:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:05.682-08:00

Sparkling water doesn't just come in a bottle. This week as Al Gore receives accolades for being inconvenient and telling a truth about global warming, and the British Court system decides that schools can show An Inconvient Truth as long as the other side of the story is also told, another potential eco-problem is piling up as this city warms up - plastic water bottles. In Australia 65 percent

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-74650964376480861122007-10-16T18:50:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:05.966-08:00

Swathed within the river valley I watch as high in the sky the Brahminy Kites circle on the eddies, coming lower and lower over their old nesting site. My heart bleeds with the memory of the day I saw Currawongs and Ravens continually dive-bombing the kites' perfect home site, a messy twiggy nest overlooking the water. As one Kite sat on the nest guarding either eggs or tiny offspring, the other

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-64115521549815512502007-10-14T03:45:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:06.308-08:00

Feral plants can be beautiful despite causing damage to the local ecology. Along the riverbank the weeds are thriving between the tall eucalypts. An abundance of Lantana, Prickly Pear, Boganvillea, Mother-in-Laws Tongues, Asparagus Fern, grasses galore, Morning Glory, Camphor Laurel and many more flourishing even in the midst of drought. Some of these plants are escapees from suburban gardens;

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-10046622924084315222007-10-13T15:47:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:06.543-08:00

Terry Tempest Williams writing about her beloved American South West uses the expression 'poetics of place' to illustrate her relationship to the desertscape and her home state of Utah. 'Poetics of place' can be defined as 'a way of understanding (or seeking to understand) the undefinable, immeasurable qualities of the places we inhabit in everyday life' (Smiley, 2000). Williams incorporates this

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-49136436455174950662007-10-07T04:24:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:06.657-08:00

Are places sacred in their own right or do they become sacred when we (humans) develop an emotional relationship with them?The poet and deep ecologist Gary Snyder quotes a Native American elder as saying, 'if people stay somewhere long enough - even white people - the spirits will begin to speak to them. It's the power of the spirits coming from the land. The spirits and the old powers aren't

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-48798692895694952892007-10-04T23:48:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:07.023-08:00

Walking to the river I catch a sideways glimpse of stripes in the grass. A 1.5 metre Carpet Python is lying slightly curled on the edge of the nature strip. It is dead. A victim of what I imagine is road kill. Last week it was a smallish brown tree snake that lay dead on the roadside verge.Some time ago I read a deeply moving story by the wonderful Barry Lopez about how he was on his way to visit

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-18700703918942208932007-10-03T20:10:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:07.354-08:00

Just as I step onto the trail, right there under my feet, is a tiny exquisite feather. Not quite a centimetre long, the feather is lustrous. At the quill end it's a fluffy pale grey which turns into a deep tangerine, pales into a rich orangey-yellow, bleeds into a light olive greeny-yellow and then, in miniature tufts, is transformed into a bright emerald green. A very small and precious gift

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-75507385168395782842007-09-29T16:49:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:07.700-08:00

On the trail we meet one of the regular river walkers with her black and white dog. 'Have you seen anything exciting today?' she asks. And I tell her of the wonderful bird we saw at the mouth of Sandy Creek.The tide is out. Only a little water is flowing in the Creek - but right at its mouth a Royal Spoonbill is working the mud from side to side. It's the first I've seen along this stretch of the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-58243852989071956342007-09-24T15:30:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:07.872-08:00

The river holds a deep and symbolic resonance amongst people who live in this river city. There is something touching about being close the river. In an ABCTV interview with Lance O'Connell, a deckhand on the CityCat river ferry, O'Connell says how much he enjoys being on the river: 'I've always loved the river so I guess I'm lucky to have a job that allows me to spend my days surrounded by it.

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-66820635552100512162007-09-21T19:21:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:08.098-08:00

Wooom, Ooom, Wooom Ooom, Wooom Ooom. The sound echoes back and forth across the trail. Two native pheasants or Coucals are signalling. They seem shy but their song is insistent. When I read the bird book I learn such interesting things about them, especially about how they fly (clumsily) and how construct their nests (painstakingly). 'The male and female climb high in trees, break off small leafy

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-18219626632245413542007-09-21T17:32:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:08.326-08:00

Solastalgia is the concept created by Glenn Albrecht from Newcastle University to explain the feelings of distress associated with loss of place. Solace + Nostalgia = Solastalgia. In his cleverly titled blog (http://healthearth.blogspot.com), Albrecht explains that ‘solastalgia’ describes 'the pain or sickness caused by the loss of, or inability to derive, solace connected to the present state of

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-9211309895228365482007-09-16T05:15:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:08.516-08:00

The giant sniffs the air. 'Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an earthly man,' he chants rubbing his hands together with glee. It was the story of Jack and the Beanstalk that came to mind when the visitor came curling down the bamboo at the bottom of the garden. The 2.5 metre python, glorious in its tiger-like stripes, was on the hunt for something warm to consume. The only trouble was it snaked

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-25336848731732306442007-09-13T15:12:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:08.775-08:00

This is a photo of the river sparkling. What appears to be sky above the trees is actually the river beneath the mangroves, with the sun dazzling up the water under the trees. The sun catches the gentle ripples but the camera can only capture the static image. Imagine, the light is actually dancing on the surface. A feeling of exuberance pervades the river valley. Rainbow lorikeets chatter loudly

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-73933247771265747042007-09-11T19:35:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:09.204-08:00

'Place is what takes me out of myself, out of the limited scope of human activity ... A sense of place is a way of embracing humanity among all of its neighbors. It is an entry into the larger world' (Robert Michael Pyle interviewed in Pearson, 1996).This comment from Robert Michael Pyle underlines the intertwining themes of this blog, that there is something larger, such as the complex

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-4650779835008431902007-09-09T15:39:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:09.419-08:00

How do we get to know place unless we submerge ourselves in it? People's ecological concern is related to their affinity to both nature and places (Kals, Schumacher and Montada, 1999). They immerse themselves in special places, get to know particular beauty-spots in the outdoors environment, sink their hands into the soil while gardening, dive deep into the sea's blueness and find love. Affinity,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-86032528580596186842007-09-06T03:54:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:10.022-08:00

Greyness pervades the river corridor, grey sky, grey water, grey-green vegetation. The soft rain greys up the valley and sheds an irridescent greyish glow across the river. There's a chill in the air. I wrap my raincoat tighter around me and shove my hands into its deep pockets. Today, like every day, the river has something new to reveal - a new species of bird noticed only through a different

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-72513299351890712822007-09-04T15:57:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:10.417-08:00

I start with a quote from the River Restoration website of the CRC for Catchment Hydrology 1999 - 2006.'Despite the considerable government and private resources invested in the rehabilitation of damaged environments, little is known about the success of such projects. This CRC for Catchment Hydrology project was been developed in collaboration with the CRC for Freshwater Ecology (CRCFE) and the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-32073996120192636332007-09-04T15:13:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:11.312-08:00

Out of the corner of my eye I catch movement over the river. A raptor is fluttering. Hunting. Watching. Then suddenly it dives - swoosh! - and - splash! The kite rises back into the air clutching a fish in its talons. The kites may have abandoned their nest and been away for the past two weeks but today they are back, gliding along the river valley, swooping back and forth between the high

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-61079689552077161872007-09-01T05:57:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:11.679-08:00

Flash! Boom! Crash! Bright stars explode over the river. The Brisbane River Festival fireworks light up the warm night sky and shed magical light along the river corridor, the watery heart of this place. This annual ritual marks the opening night of the Festival and honours the splendour of the waterway as thousands of people line the riverbank to bask in the shower of multi-coloured sparks. The

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-57867075860948161422007-08-25T17:44:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:11.925-08:00

Randy Haluza-DeLay, an outdoor educator, advises on the need to reclaim a sense of mystery about the cityscape. He says: 'To remystify the city is to reawaken a sense of wonder and to alert ourselves to the marvels in familiar things. It is to blur the mental boundaries between Nature and Civilization so that we have an understanding of ourselves and our human-built environments as part of the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-49963008273183052172007-08-25T15:58:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:12.271-08:00

Riverness. This can be defined as the feelings that emerge out of the process of connecting with the river. Engaging with nature is aimed at getting out of our heads and into our senses. To feel kinship with all life. To heal. To learn. To experience. To recharge. To gain a fresh perspective. To build and cement special relationships with ecosystems and places. ‘To be engulfed by wildness and

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-8956857014674324542007-08-25T04:02:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:12.480-08:00

The ecological value of rivers needs to be protected. This is one of the principles of river care developed for the National Rivers Consortium (Phillips, Bennett & Moulton, 2001). Other principles include: the need to manage rivers in an ecologically sustainable manner to maintain biodiversity, natural stream flow, and to ensure the benefits of rivers for future generations. But what is missing?

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-79587219908934439922007-08-23T03:11:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:12.695-08:00

The river is very showy today. The water is darker, more mysterious; the sky hangs low over the valley and sheds water in thick sheets. It has been a long time coming. The falling water these past few days has sparked life into the bush; birds are chirping, cheeping, tweeting, and chattering in the trees above, in the long grasses and bushes all around. Patrols of brush turkeys are on the prowl,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-59029667448456925572007-08-19T15:39:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:12.963-08:00

Rain. Falling. Thick. Luscious. Wet. A wonderfully welcome and most refreshing change. As I walk the trail I tingle with excitement. The birds are fluffing up their feathers; the trees look renewed; the mud underneath my feet squwelches and I sink into the once (just a day ago) hard earth. Mud. Rain. Water. Glorious.The colours of the river are subdued but luminous. A spectrum of greys. Dark

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-63067322752689442072007-08-15T05:59:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:13.400-08:00

It was a walking dogs' day. People stopped to chat. What birds have you seen today? What do you know about the history of the river? Do you think there are still sharks in the river? Is it safe to swim in? Meeting people along the trail and sharing stories about the river adds to the joy of river connecting.'My dad told me that the river used to be so clear,' says the women in red with the small

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-21220449764605656092007-08-13T16:42:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:13.672-08:00

Last week came the announce-ment. The Yangtze River Dolphin has gone. Extinct. The first big mammal to disappear in my lifetime. Caused by a range of reasons, all of them human. In the past 30+ years environment organisations globally and locally have been fighting to preserve the ecological integrity of the planet. While at the same time, environmental devastation has continued unabated - and

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-52396874323296422702007-08-11T23:40:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:14.238-08:00

From memory, the wonderful science fiction novelist Ursula Le Guin has an evocative short story told from the perspective of a standing person. The old tree watches the world but finds it increasingly difficult to deal with the modern industrial pace of life. Seeing the world from the tree's point of view sheds a whole new light on society's quickening, quickening, ever quickening lifestyle. Once

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-28845750546077507712007-08-08T18:35:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:14.823-08:00

Over the past week a pall of smokey haze has hung over the river valley. There is continual smell of smoke in the air and the images of the river are also swathed in this haze. This leads me to contemplate issues of pollution, responsibility and something that has become apparent in Brisbane's spectrum of weather, a lack of wind. The river is consistently glassy and so smooth that the river bank

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-29623227177934854382007-08-04T04:26:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:15.059-08:00

The sun shines on the river and lights up the whispers of spider webs intricately woven into the branches. The kite sits high above the river preening then shoots off on a wild adventure, swooping low overhead. Fantails dance in and out of the bushes, ravens caw, while the delicious yet ear-piercing song of the pied butcherbirds rings out over the treetops. The voice of the whipbird lashes the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-52776725541386312732007-08-03T04:35:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:15.259-08:00

Sensing the land. The textures. The colours. The patterns in the mud. The mist rising from the water. The crunch of dry leaves under foot. The haunting sound of the raven. Finding meaning in the symbolic terrain. Nature connecting teaches us to be sensitive to the landscape and responsive to it. To develop a relational way of seeing and being. To remember that the oxygen we breathe in has been

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-81167132708809334912007-07-28T23:09:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:15.562-08:00

It was almost incredible. I couldn't stop smiling. A chase between the Brahminy Kite, Ravens and Currawongs. They swooped low across the river, up and down, then coasted along the river bank, into the treetops, around and back again as if dancing. Close they came. Sometimes it looked as if the Kite was chasing the smaller birds; sometimes it looked the other way around. The currawong sang as it

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-89632694674028153392007-07-26T22:21:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:15.779-08:00

The river is flowing, flowing and growing down to the sea, The river is flowing, flowing and growing down to the sea, Mother carry me, your child I will always be.Mother carry me, your child I will always be.I learnt this chant many years ago. The flow of the song, the flow of the words when sung with others, over and over, is a powerful symbol or metaphor for the flow of life, the flow of

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-36160109467841406282007-07-23T04:48:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:16.024-08:00

The bandicoot lay dead on the middle of the trail. What killed it? I tried to surmise whether it had been knocked by a car, or attacked by a feral cat but it lay peacefully on the path and there seemed to be no visible signs of attack. I buried it in the bushes.The bandicoot is a nocturnal animal and this was the first one I'd seen. I'd been wondering where the small marsupials were. I'd seen the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-51357537089364287302007-07-21T07:15:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:16.256-08:00

Sometimes at early morn and late evening a golden light spreads across the river valley. A shining luxurious glow hangs among the trees, gilding the branches, the leaves, and the watery avenue that is the Brisbane River. The mangrove leaves turn a bright lime green, the dew sparkles up the spiders' webs and the tree trunks gleam. It has hardly rained for months here, yet the sight of the glowing

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-59435313768153682772007-07-16T17:05:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:16.583-08:00

Each day as I wake and look out at the sky and see its bright blueness and its clarity I wonder from whence cometh the rain. While parts of the country are still water-logged after heavy downpours and floods, here we cherish each drop, recycle the grey water onto the garden, bathe in less than a small bucket, and think about and pray for rain. Sometimes there are sights of grey skies, perhaps a

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-59278301738467091102007-07-13T23:13:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:17.037-08:00

The river speaks ... ssshhhrrrrr .... ssshhrrrrr ... ssshhhrrrrr ... One day's rain a couple of weeks ago, plus the slightly warmer weather and the sometimes biting wind, and the trees are awash with new growth and flitting birds. Silver-eyes dance from branch to branch while the Willie Wagtail chatters on the ground below. Mudlarks graze, a Cormorant waits on the dead tree just above the

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-65829246291533410932007-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:17.213-08:00

Carbon dioxide, and its impact on the global ecosystem, has been the topic of media debate in Australia this week as the ABC airs the anti-'Inconvenient Truth'-global warming documentary. It's simply the sun's fault, the doco. says, not the fault of humans. This falls happily into the lap of those who seem unaware of the interconnected land, sea and sky ecosystem problems, or turn their backs on

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-53607066737645464482007-07-09T03:30:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:17.677-08:00

I walked in a different place. My former home place on the Bay. In the brisk morning not long after dawn the cold infected my fingers and toes. But the feel of cold was quickly displaced by the colour-changing sky which spread from mauve to mystic pink. And as I gazed towards the horizon watching for whales in the water, a pelican flew by above the small waves. Whales had visited the Port Phillip

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-73332286756887293882007-07-02T16:22:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:17.888-08:00

Today, as I walked with my friend Kumi, chatting to people and dogs along the trail, communing with the water and watching the treetops twittering with birds, it seemed to me that the river was working its magic. With the full moon still shining, the day's golden light flowed through the branches; the river glowed; the sky was radiant. In this place the twin concepts of communitas and liminality

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-42110225376476136582007-06-30T16:01:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:18.265-08:00

High in the leafless branches of an old eucalypt tree overlooking the river are birds which initially I could not identify. As I walked past I would hear a persistent 'engh engh engh engh' and occasionally a loud 'waaaa' which echoes across the river. Peering closer I realise these birds are ducks. Tree ducks. The bird book tells me they are the nomadic Grey teal which can nest in a wide range of

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-16769756461109696172007-06-27T18:33:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:18.618-08:00

There are signs. Signs along the trail from the past, fishing spots along the river, rock steps hidden among the now overgrown bush covering the riverbank. Here you can imagine the time when indigenous people lived on this land and cared for this place. When I've looked at the records (diaries and letter excerpts) of the early settlers to the Brisbane River valley I found much comment,

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-63782347351676964092007-06-25T17:46:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:19.233-08:00

This post is inspired by the video that goes with the Sarah Blasko's magical song 'explain' from the album 'What the Sea wants, the Sea will have'. It shows nature in trouble while the animals and birds watch on. Sometimes I think that writing a blog in the midst of such an ecological imperative adds to my sense of bewilderment at why, as Blasko sings, 'there is a heavy cloud hanging over us'. It

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-37382098181253599422007-06-24T07:39:00.000-07:002008-11-13T06:46:19.471-08:00

Nature talks to you when you sit and listen in stillness and solitude. Being quiet and open you hear things that you might swear were never there, thoughts you never could have had, ideas for new directions, inspirations, intuitions. We live in a noisy life but in wild nature, even patches of reclaimed bush in the midst of the city, the voices of earth are speaking.In his article The Healing

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7178086444807885372.post-91584607302033986702007-06-24T07:09:00.001-07:002008-11-13T06:46:19.702-08:00

On the Water Conserve portal I found this highly disturbing post from Dr Glenn Barry. He cites the United Nations' Millennium Project as saying the world's water is running out as there are 'no more rivers to take water from'. This is also the outcome as displayed by the hydrological cycle, flowing from sea to sky, from fresh to salt. The water is held within this cycle; it moves from rain to

Sylvie Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535574303498415083noreply@blogger.com