>Some thoughts from a young birder:
>
>I've found birding to be a very wholistic process to learn about the
>environment, environmental issues, and how subtle and volatile
>eco-systems can be. Before i began birding, i knew very little about
>native vegitation, with most trees simply being labeled as gums or
>wattles. I had trouble distinguising between a wetland and a dam,
>often thinking "there's water.... why isn't there any ducks?"
> Happily, i'm slowly learning about the subtlies that support
>wildlife and its diversity. But i think its up to the elders in
>society to lead the way, and pave the way to the path of
>environmental wisdom.
>
>I believe that if some type of birding course was administered into
>the australian education system, the whole of Australia would
>experience widespread benefits from it. This extends from
>environmental awareness and conservation, to a greater feeling of
>belonging and harmony within our surrounding environment.
>
>You can definently see the damage that the 'longing' for mother
>europe and other continents, has caused to the Australian
>environment. There was a need to sit under an old pine with the
>sounds of starlings and sparrows echoing around, with a clear view
>of open rolling green hills. This has decimated the Australian
>environment, thereby reducing the wildlife that lived with in it.
>And i think that longing is still widespread, and most of the
>Australian population still can't percieve the benefits of native
>species. I've talked to people that think that no Australian native
>plant can provide a nice shady tree to sit under on a hot sunny day,
>others that think there are no good Australian native wind breaks!
>
>We need education! But to be really educated, we need emersion in
>the environment, and personal experiences of nature....not just
>facts!
>
>This is why i think birding is so great. It gets you out and about
>and within the real Australia. Its starts with birds, but then you
>start seeing what birds eat and you learn about the plants and
>insects and fish, and how these food sources are sustained and the
>cycles they go through. ....Maybe we will even learn something about
>ourselves in the process?
>
>Peter
>
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