Wildlife Conservation or Survival Site?

Wildlife Conservation is a topic widely bandied about, but how much does the average person relate to nature including Wildlife in their backyard, their "Ngartji", and how much do people see themselves as being part of the solution?

This topic came up recently in a dynamic conversation between myself and Chris Daniels, Presiding Member of the Green Adelaide Landscape Board, and CEO of the International Koala Centre of Excellence. Adjunct Professor at The University of South Australia, Chris is a passionate advocate for Wildlife and has written over 250 scientific and community articles and published 9 books including Adelaide Nature of a City (2005), Adelaide Water of a City (2010), Possum-tail Tree, The Fearsome Flute players, and Guide to Urban Wildlife.

The simplicity of the solution struck me once again as Chris stated "It is going to be 40 degrees on Friday. Every household in Adelaide needs to be putting out water for Wildlife over the next few days during this current heat wave".

"Your backyard is a survival site. Not just for koalas, but for lizards, geckos, birds, and other marsupials". Talking about Wildlife Conservation somehow distances us from the problem and our absolute need to be a vital part of the solution.

Wildlife language really matters as does the stories we tell ourselves. Changing the nomenclature to "Survival Sites" dislocates us from our previous and somewhat fixed neurotag and directs our attention to the urgency of the problem and the proximity of the solution. In doing so, Wildlife experts and Conservationists convey direct hope to people of all backgrounds that empowers them to take immediate action.

"Teaspoons of Change" is the second term that directly applies to everyone and describes personal choices, decisions and actions that have a positive impact on people and the planet. This term has direct application to the global Wildlife crisis we face today.

D'Arcy Lunn coined this term and has applied it in his work with UNICEF, WHO, and in helping eradicate polio and cholera outbreaks. D'Arcy is an ambassador for Jump! Foundation, Global Citizen and The World's largest lesson amongst other global organisations. He has given hundreds of Teaspoons of Change presentations and workshops in South Sudan, Uganda, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan and other donor countries and spends his time, energy and passion working towards a world without extreme poverty.

Through our own individual "teaspoons of change" we make a significant difference to Wildlife and Environmental outcomes. It can be as simple as putting out water in the morning and before dusk and bringing your cat inside before evening sets in, or saying no to that plastic bag and simply putting your shopping in the trolley if you leave your bags at home.

Our own positive individual actions combined add up to large scale social and collective change, which in itself acts as another catalyst to repeat and scale this phenomenon on a wider and deeper level again.

In a heat wave and without access to water when it is over 35 degrees, birds and other wildlife will die. Koalas and other native wildlife in your garden - just like your own pets - really struggle in the heat and absolutely need access to water at all times. If you find them at the base of a tree they may be suffering from heat distress and need medical attention.

We can all do our part to help these defenceless and vulnerable creatures by making sure they have access to water and calling local Wildlife Rescue Networks when they need our help. Your local Wildlife Rescue Organisation can talk you through what action needs to be taken and guide you as to how you can best help whilst you wait for assistance to arrive.

Whilst you may not usually see koalas in your area during cooler months, many incoming rescue calls are from many suburban areas during summer months as they are so desperate for water they leave national park and bushland areas.

Koalas move fast. One of our largest problems is finding the koala once we get to the household or individual that called us. Keeping an eye on its whereabouts is one of the best things you can do to help koala rescuers.

Whilst giving koalas a drink from a bottle has regrettably been perpetuated via photos in the media, they must not be bottle fed as it can cause aspiration pneumonia. Even a few drops of water going down the wrong way can cause this fatal condition. 

Koalas who are weakened, stressed, and dehydrated by the heat are at double risk for fatal sequelae from being given water from a bottle, which put another way is water being forced down their throat, some of which goes straight into their lungs. Koalas cannot suckle, swallow and control fluid flow like humans can. They do not have the oral motor integration. 

Instead, use anything you have on you - your helmet, a bowl, an angled bucket. The container can be quite deep. The main thing is that they can lap from it, akin to the manner in which a cat or a dog laps from a bowl.

"Ngartiji" is the Indigenous term for Wildlife and environment proximal to an individual or group that they have a custodian and caretaker relationship with and responsibility towards.

Mark Koolmatrie, recently appointed as Chairperson of the State Aboriginal Heritage Council advocates that we all embrace our own "Ngartji. Mark grew up on the Coorong in South Eastern Australia and his Ngartji included the heron, which he looked after by making sure they had clean, running water and salmon, which he had a responsibility to care for by making sure no one was fishing when they were spawning.

Mark encourages people to think and reflect on what their "Ngartji" is and believes most people already know what Wildlife they are attracted to, whether it be the butterfly or a Magpie or gecko. He acknowledges that different people like different Wildlife and that this choice is vital to an ongoing and meaningful relationship with this local fauna. "People know what they like. If they learn about them (their Ngartji) and nourish, nurture, and to protect them, and if everyone does their piece, all Wildlife will be looked after".

A robust model of new and empowering Wildlife terms in our everyday language that includes survival sites, teaspoons of change, and our Ngartji imparts the urgency, individual action and custodian mindset necessary for real change, the application of which has the potential to significantly change the arc of this Wildlife and Environmental crisis.

Photo by Jacquie Pohl of "Matumani" (Hope in Swahili) who would repeatedly be rescued from inopportune sites by local Wildlife Rescue Organisations and then perpetually convalesce on my property.