Storm Boy country
By Kristen Dinsdale, Get Up & Go travel magazine *
You can read the book, watch the movie, then do the real thing. Kristen Dinsdale meets a volunteer who put in some time in the Coorong region, fragile home to a multitude of declining numbers of waterbirds.
The phrase 'art imitates life' has never been more true than in the Coorong region – the 100km long iconic wetland system at the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia – as Jan Prewett, a cattle farmer from Central Queensland, recently found out.
The Coorong is the setting for the AFI award-winning movie Storm Boy, based on the novel by Colin Thiele. Storm Boy has been an Australian favourite for 30 years. The book and film follow the life of a boy named Mick, his recluse father, and the lone Aboriginal who befriends Mick. A central 'character' is also a pelican Mr Percival – who Mick finds as an orphaned chick and helps to raise.
But more important than being a film set is the Coorong's crucial function as a drought refuge for many waterbirds, and home to over 200 bird species that flock there each summer before returning to the northern hemisphere to breed. Recently bird numbers have been declining sharply – there was a 25 per cent drop in pelican numbers recorded in one year alone – and the news is worse for wading birds. This is where Earthwatch and Jan Prewett come in.
Jan, 57, is an Earthwatch volunteer who has taken part in Coorong research expeditions in 2004 and 2005 working alongside prominent conservation scientist, Dr David Paton. "I can honestly say it's one of the best things I have ever done," Jan proclaims.
Dr Paton is a Principal Investigator with Earthwatch and has been conducting research on the birdlife of the Coorong for over 20 years.
Volunteers have joined Dr Paton every summer for the last seven years, gathering data to help protect the delicate ecology of the area.
No experience required
The Coorong is a long way from Jan's home on a cattle farm near Emerald, in the gem fields of Central Queensland. But the keen birdwatcher and nature lover enjoyed every minute of the expedition. "Being part of Earthwatch lets you do things that you just wouldn't get to do any other way," says Jan.
Anyone can be a volunteer – no previous experience is required.
Jan and the other volunteers were taught everything they needed to know to collect data and do the research, including the technique of 'mist netting' which Jan considers a highlight of her week-long research expedition.
"We used fine-gauge mist nets to catch the birds so we could band them, which allows researchers to know who's been where, how many there are, how much they are eating and that kind of thing," she explains.
"Because of the mist netting, I've held wrens, red-rumped parrots, silver eyes and New Holland honeyeaters in
my bare hands," says Jan, with obvious excitement.
Even jobs like mud sampling are made interesting – so much so that children as young as six are encouraged to volunteer too.
Volunteers balance the research work with fun afternoon activities back at the Gemini Downs campground.
Participants have the choice of bringing their own tent or caravan, or staying in the shared bunkhouse or private cabin accommodation. Afternoon swims and impromptu cricket games are followed by a group dinner where everyone pitches in and helps with preparation and clean-up.
Despite these efforts, the birds of the Coorong need more help. Pelican numbers have dropped from over 4,000 in 2004 to 3,000 in 2005, and several species of wading birds have also shown a dramatic drop in numbers. Species like the Curlew Sandpiper have declined by 95 per cent – from 40,000 birds to under 2,000 – since the late 1980s, while numbers of Red-necked Stints have halved since January 2003.
The reason appears to be a lack of food, caused by increased salinity of the water, caused by reduced environmental flows. At best, only 21 per cent of the Murray's water actually reaches the mouth of the river, due to intensive use in upstream irrigation.
Dr Paton's research was instrumental in the South Australian State Government's decision to dredge the Murray mouth in 2002, which provided a temporary lifeline to the Coorong. Hopefully with ongoing support from Earthwatch volunteers such as Jan Prewett, the Coorong will once again be a thriving sanctuary and breeding ground for water birds.
Travel tips
Earthwatch is an international not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to promote the understanding and
action necessary for a sustainable environment by enabling paying volunteers to work alongside research scientists on conservation expeditions. Since its founding in 1971, the organisation has
supported more than 1,322 projects in 119 countries. More than 81,000 volunteers have contributed over $81 million and 10.8 million hours to essential fieldwork.
More information
Contact Earthwatch on 03 9682 6828 or visit www.earthwatch.org.au
* Reprinted courtesy of Get Up & Go travel magazine. Visit www.getupandgo.com.au
The Centre for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au