Canberra road trip day 4 by Colleen Keating

 

 

 

Tuesday 30th March 2021

Walk among trees

There is a sense of energy
when one walks amongst trees
that are grown to be there

We love to hear their music
and today we will walk amongst and picnic near trees
that are welcome and growing with affirmation.
for we are visiting the Aboretum
and the tree is the  humans  best friends on earth
says the poet
physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Firstly we pop back to the National Library
for a new exhibition
Rivers: Lifeblood of Australia .
Hardly worth the trip, very disappointing.
It is based on a book about
ten main rivers.

Australia the driest inhabited continent
covered in evidence of water,
rivers, creeks washes and wetlands.

The paradox is due to the ephemeral nature of the water.
Over the millennia the First peoples survived
in both the driest and wettest of places
living with plenty and scarcity
by living with the environment
moving, adapting listening learning.

Europeans brought with them a different mindset
one formed from the northern hemisphere
They sought to shape the environment
to serve their existing cultural,
social and economic
ideas and support a growing population
dames,reservoirs,tunnels,pumps and more dams
are their answer.

and then to the Arboretum
where we watch the progress each visit.of this project
100 forests of 100 trees each from around the world

 

And home to Sydney.