Weeding changes the world
On the weekend I went to the You Yangs with my parents to weed Koala habitat. We were looking for a plant called Bone Seed (what a great name!) that essentially koalas do not like. We're not sure why, but it seems to prevent them from moving between trees (for those playing at home koalas climb down one tree then wander to the next one).
While weeding I also learned that one of the larger issues facing koalas (whose numbers are falling precipitously) is that the strands of trees they have left are often isolated from creeks and rivers, and the koalas die of thirst, heat exhaustion and exposure. In warmer months, koalas move towards shady creeks and rivers, in colder months to more exposed trees. We've cleared trees near creeks and rivers, often for the purpose of farming, and the koalas have little left. In the You Yangs, koala populations have dropped 46% in the last 10 years.
Bone seed is a weird little plant and it's something I wouldn't have noticed before this event and now I can't stop seeing it. I think it's interesting that these little tweaks totally transform my world view. I remember, when I was like 14, my Mum took me to a weeding day where the group we worked with was trying to remove agapanthus from an area. An introduced species, agapanthus chokes many native species. Since that day I abhor agapanthus and if you have some planted you should bloody get rid of it! Now bone seed is a plant I'll see and probably just rip up. Willows too, something I used to love but now see as this monstrosity.
Of course it's a bit weird to imbue plants with human intention, but that helps me understand the processes that are going on.
I don't think my 2 hours of weeding saved any koalas, maybe that there were 15 of us and people go regularly, maybe that there's a dedicated charity working to re-establish koala habitat in Victoria, maybe it all adds up to something. But, regardless, next time I'm bushwalking and looking around, I'll see a few plants completely differently.