Thursday, July 25, 2013

My Overgrown Garden, by Ruby Jay


In my overgrown garden,
There are bugs and slugs,
There are worms that squirm,
Beetles that speetle
And birds that have heard
The coming of Autumn

In the tangled garden,
There are chives that thrive,
There are vines that twine,
Beans that lean
And flowers that shower
As Summer ends.

             

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Home Thoughts from Abroad


Everyone who migrates to Australia from the UK has a different story. People often say they made the move for 'lifestyle' reasons but, when you think about it, what does that really mean?  What makes life in one of these politically stable, affluent countries, with access to free healthcare, education and social security, better or more meaningful than another? 


We've just returned from a wonderful trip back to England, which caused me to reflect on this question. We really enjoyed spending time with family and old friends, travelling around the lovely countryside and visiting truly amazing museums and historical places.  Do I feel homesick? Not really, as we've made a new home here in Australia. But there are things about England, its people and culture that I miss. I also feel guilty about denying our children the opportunity to grow up with their cousins.



Our reasons for moving to Australia in 2007 are complex and individual.  After many years of hard work, my husband had completed advanced training as an emergency doctor and was ready to apply for his first consultant post in a UK hospital.  We'd spent our 20's and 30's studying, working, travelling and generally not thinking about the future.  With two very young children and without even a toehold on the property ladder, our most sensible option was to move close to my family in North West England.  In many ways, that would have been a good choice and was something we seriously considered... but I think we wanted one more adventure before finally entering the grown up world of mortgages and school runs.



We'd spent a working holiday in Melbourne ten years previously and had loved everything about it. The glorious feeling of independence; living among the birds and towering gum trees in Dandenong Ranges National Park; weekends spent bushwalking and camping in Wilsons Promontory National Park and other spectacular wilderness areas around Victoria; the Great Ocean Road;  metropolitan Melbourne's museums, cafes and independent cinemas. 



We couldn't have stayed at that time, as Australia wasn't recruiting doctors.  Fast forward ten years, however, the situation had changed. Health workers, along with plumbers and hairdressers, were in demand. We decided to move to Brisbane, where it was possible to live in a city but still work in an area of need.  After three years, a job opportunity arose to work alongside the brilliant emergency team at Gold Coast Hospital. The time had come for us to decide between making a life for ourselves in Australia and returning to the UK.

 

On reflection, our time in Brisbane had been quite difficult.  When you have young children, it's good to be surrounded by family and close friends.  Independence can start to feel like isolation and adventures - particularly those involving camping - can quickly turn into nightmares. If our families, particularly my parents, hadn't made the effort to visit us in Australia for extended periods, it probably would have been too hard to stay. 



Once you've decided to call a place home, however, I think your attitude towards it changes. We now live on a one acre bushland property in the Gold Coast Hinterland, where we 
enjoy the wildlife and subtropical climate. In our free time, we love spending time at the beach, walking in the rainforest and visiting the Museum and art galleries in Brisbane.  The children are happily settled into school and we've all made solid, lasting friendships. 



Making a new life in another country can be hard going, though, and we still spend a lot of time doing things on our own.  I think it's made our nuclear family very close but it does sometimes feel lonely.  Visits from family members and trips back to England are always significant events for our children; times to reconnect, have adventures together and, unfortunately, experience the pain of separation.



So, how do you decide whether Australia or England offers the better lifestyle? The answer is that it all depends on individual preferences and personal circumstances.  They're both wonderful countries - but so different.  If you have the choice, just make a decision and appreciate how incredibly lucky you are.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

England - still green and pleasant...

The 'green and pleasant land' of William Blake's poem describes an England 200 years ago, before industrialisation transformed a predominantly rural, agricultural economy into the urbanised, global marketplace of today. With over 53 million people and a population density of almost 400 per sq km, much of the landscape, especially in towns and cities, is no longer green. And the seismic social and economic upheavals of the last two centuries have resulted in aspects of contemporary society that are not particularly pleasant.



Almost everything you read about British wildlife confirms that it's in trouble.  Changing weather patterns, habitat destruction, persecution of native mammals, introduction of exotic species, air pollution and contamination of the waterways have all disrupted the ecological balance and contributed to the decline in bees, frogs, newts and many bird species.  During a three week visit to my home country, however, I found wonderful and inspiring things that gave me reason to hope for the future.




Important work is being done all around the country to preserve and restore habitats for wildlife. The once biologically dead River Thames is now one of the cleanest metropolitan waterways in the world, home to around 120 species of fish and, with them, waterbirds.  At Canary Wharf, for example, we saw a family of Great Crested Grebes, a species that was once hunted almost to extinction for its elaborate head plumage.



At Brockholes, in Lancashire, a disused sand and gravel quarry is being transformed into wetlands that will provide an important sanctuary for resident and migratory birds.  One of the priorities is to recreate some of the area's old landscapes, in particular reedbeds.  The hope is that these will provide habitat for spectacular - but threatened - plants and animals, including marsh orchids, Reed and Sedge Warblers, Bittern, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harriers and Water Voles.



I spent my childhood and adolescence in Preston, in North West England, where the decline of the textile industry from the mid-20th century brought hardship and the dilapidation of housing and commercial buildings. As the city struggled to reassert itself in the post-industrial era, large areas of rural land were used to replace the high density Victorian terraced housing and crumbling concrete housing blocks that once dominated the city centre.  The good news is that with sensitive city planning, involving preservation of ancient woodlands and extensive tree planting, wildlife continues to thrive, even in this most urban of environments. 


Adjacent to our family home, for example, there's an ecologically significant ancient woodland, that's now protected as a Biological Heritage Site. In the past, much of England was covered with these 'wildwoods' which, according to legend, provided refuge for Robin Hood and his band of merry outlaws. With urbanisation and population growth, however, they now only account for around 1.5% of the country's land surface.



Because of their long, continuous history, ancient woodlands support many native plants and animals, some of which are only found in these habitats.  I went walking in the woods many times during my visit and was struck by the variety of mature trees - oak, sycamore, beech, wych elm, ash, wild cherry and lime - that provide a dense, complex canopy for the understorey and groundcover species.  On the dark, damp forest floor, it feels like you're in the rainforest.  And there were so many birds - nuthatches, robins, woodpeckers, blue-tits, jays, blackbirds - busily occupied in the race to give their families the stamina to survive the bitterly cold, hard winter months.


In response to a challenge by the Independent Panel on Forestry, the UK Government recently asserted that: "Protection of our trees, woods and forests, especially our ancient woodland, is our top priority."  Considering how rare and precious these forests are, and their ecological importance, let's hope the Government fulfils its promise.