“that feeling in your heart
that when you are not home
– something is missing”

“Perth has smoke and fumes – Byford still busy – Waroona
I start to smile – Yarloop I am laughing (inside) – Harvey the smell
of oranges, black white cows, not many sheep and lovely pines”

“Taking off my shoes and feeling
the sand between my toes”

Many places are now not accessible as the forestry tracks have been blocked.

Hot burns are killing vegetation and animals. They are often too hot for regeneration and occur at the wrong time – killing birds in their nests.

Balga – grass trees are declining in number.

Dieback is increasing.

Banksia on the coastal dunes are dying.

Red gums have swollen bark from canker.

There are cockatoos in abundance around Roelands Village (black ones with red tails and others), but near Harvey there has been a reduction in the numbers of red tail cockatoos.

Declining areas of habitat mean the animals are suffering.

When people were moved into missions or taken to places such as Roelands Village their native language was lost either because there was no one there who spoke it or more commonly because they were ‘flogged’ if they spoke in native tongue. This loss of language is far greater than just words.

The feeling of rejection was common amongst those interviewed.

Examples given include:

Not being allowed into the town site; Had to receive permission to marry; Forcefully removed from their land to foreign area; Government treated us with contempt; and Fighting for citizenship rights.

Contamination with agricultural and household pesticides and fertilizers and mining activities is a concern for both the short and long term health of the whole landscape. Water is seen to be the link between many components of the system.

There is concern about the quality of water and stability of riverbanks.

There is over-use of recreation and camping areas and unacceptable levels of impacts (rubbish etc).

There is a need for education of recreational users on how to interact with nature.

Weeds in the waterways (nardoo, arum lily, bridal creeper, blackberry) are a concern. They change the habitat for fauna, reduce access for people, and alter the way the water flows. Nardoo is overgrown; there are frequent algal blooms and a reduction in fish numbers.

Reduced water quality resulting in the decreased numbers of marron, and the weeds and turbidity mean it is unsafe to swim in.

The removal of fish traps change water flows leading to additional erosion of the banks of the river. This is result of a lack of awareness in Shire workers. Removal of other debris to clear waterways increases flows, turbidity and river bank erosion.

Due to closures of some bush tracks, access to some water bodies of significance is being denied to Aboriginal people.

Ocean temperatures rising leading to a different range of fish being caught; more Spanish mackerel but less salmon.

Caves need air and water to survive. Caves are being adversely affected because water supplies are being dammed and used for fruit production further up the catchment. This reduces the amount of water which would normally filter through the cave system. This is exacerbated by hotter summers and shorter winters leading to a larger variation in the water level in the caves. Usually the water level varies about a metre a year; lately this variation has been up to four meters leading to exposure of vulnerable areas of the cave.

Yonga (kangaroo)

Reduction in habitat and changing (reducing) rainfall is seeing the big red yonga are coming in and displacing the usual blue kangaroo. An increasing numbers of animals in ill health are being seen, including more blind yonga.

Lizards

Dramatic reduction in the number of Ngininang (racehorse goanna) to the point that they are rarely seen now. However the black yorandies (monitor lizard) is thriving.

Emus

Only a small group remaining around Harvey, where they used to be plentiful

Cockatoos

Increasing numbers of cockatoos

Pigs

A big increase in the number of feral pigs leading to a reduction in native fauna and making it much more dangerous to be in the bush

Fish

When camping by the lakes, rainbow trout and perch were a common meal, there are few if any left in the lakes now. Marron was common in most waterways but their numbers have been greatly reduced probably due to the declining state of the waterways.

Fungi

The fungi on the side of the jarrah has decreased. Usually there were 12 or so but in 2014 there was only one.

Berries

Some years there are no berries and other years they come very late.

Bush potatoes

The availability of bush potatoes has reduced probably due to salinity and dieback.

Honey

The quality and quantity of honey has reduced probably due to dieback and reduction of the area of bush available to the bees.

Bardi grubs

There were none collected on a recent survey (2014). This used to be an important and reliable food source.

Nardoo

Nardoo tubers were harvested from the river bed, now the nardoo is so overgrown that it clogs the rivers and it is too dangerous to swim or dive for tubers.

Bush medicine is disappearing. Increased disturbance in looking for scarcer resources (pushing over balga looking for Bardi grubs)