It’s Time! No, I am not referring to the 1972 Gough Whitlam Federal election campaign song, but rather to Time being the thing that differentiates Bush Regenerators to almost all others that are involved in on-ground ecological restoration and rehabilitation.
I think that an understanding of the importance of time is fundamental to being a good regenerator. We need time to observe the resilience of a site. Natural regeneration doesn’t happen overnight and it takes some time after disturbance is removed to see what is likely to recruit by itself.
It takes time at a site to observe and understand how that degraded ecosystem responds to interventions, and how long that response takes; it takes time to observe a site over seasons and different weather to understand the dynamics of the site – the interplay between species; the ephemerata and the permanent; the migrant species and those just passing through – what they contribute to the complexity and the recovery of the ecosystem and whether this is desirable.
It takes time for ecosystems to recover, and in some cases they never will. We will sometimes have to be content with something functional, sustainable, but new. The timeframe for restoration is often decades or likely centuries. Regenerators know this and rarely talk about ‘finishing’ regeneration. Rather we know how to build positive momentum in a sites’ recovery and more importantly, we know when it is time to ‘let go’ when the site will continue on the trajectory of recovery with minimal ongoing help.
Bush Regenerators understand that it takes time to get sites to that state, and that in many, if not most cases, it would be better not to start bush regeneration unless a decade or more could be committed to the intervention. And time, as in how many times have we been frustrated when land managers or those with the purse, pull the plug on restoration just when the recovery of the site is at its most critical, its most sensitive, its most vulnerable…
There is a deep understanding amongst good regenerators that skills and knowledge build over time…. That learning is a lifelong process and skills, knowledge and wisdom build over time, and that with experience we can always becomes a better bush regenerator. And we also understand that there is never enough opportunity for our younger regenerators to spend the time with the older, often trail blazing regenerators to learn from each other.
These, and other concepts of time are rarely understood by many who plan, resource or undertake ‘restoration’ or rehabilitation projects. There is still a huge practice inertia that leads to planting before site resilience is understood. Plus a feeling that restoration can be achieved by a one-off planting, with a tiny percentage of the species needed and ignoring the power of reinstating successional processes.
There is often little understanding among decision makers and resourcers of restoration that a three-year grant or a yearly internal allocation is not going to achieve any meaningful completion. There has been a culture developed through one off ‘event’ based environmental opportunities where many people now believe that ‘fixing nature’ is akin to fixing something around the house… half a day to do it and don’t have to think about it again. There are whole industries that are geared towards ‘creating’ an ecosystem in one hit, at one time, usually resulting in at best, a garden, and at worst a slow decline back to the original state as these sites are not maintained.
Time is important in restoring ecosystems for the above and so many other reasons. I think it is time for Bush Regenerators to be more active in spending time in helping others who can help reverse ecological decline and understand that.
And yes, it is time for me to say that AABR is one way where you can help do this. Improving understanding and knowledge is central to AABR’s subcommittees, working groups, projects and our activities like responding to government consultation, sitting on external committees, and helping out other NGOs.
If you are passionate about regeneration, take the time to give us a call to discuss how your involvement can give the bush the time it needs. Any ideas and offers of involvement are welcome. Email AABR or feel free to call me on 0478741111.
Peter Dixon
President AABR
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