RESPECT, Reconciliation, Sharing the Land with ALL our Wildlife, Living with the Nature of Australia
Share this page RESPECT, Reconciliation, Sharing the Land with ALL our Wildlife, Living with the Nature of Australia From the AWPC managing committee. We are excited to talk about our new AWPC campaign for 2023 and beyond: Respect, Reconciliation, Sharing the land with ALL our wildlife, Living with the nature of Australia — and versions of that theme. At this first stage we build on some stories that tell how some Australians are practicing respect and sharing with native wildlife, every day on their property, and why that is a good thing, not only for nature but for their businesses and themselves. You’ll find these stories here. The Respect campaign encourages us all to think about sharing our environment, whether on a small or large property, on a boat or on the balcony of a high-rise apartment. To reconcile with Australian nature, we urgently need to leave behind exploitation, persecution and killing of our unique wildlife for profit or prejudice, (see for example Australia’s shameful, world-beating wildlife trade). Similarly we must end habitat destruction for economic gain that since colonial times has overrun the natural environment and its inhabitants. We can’t rest at saving the injured victims of bad Australian practices, our general take-over-the-country lifestyle, or from increasingly challenging weather. Everyone can restore respect and reconciliation, and the pluses of extending our circle of care and compassion far outweigh the pain of letting go of tradition and old ideas. A major plus whether in town or country is to know that remaining native animals have important roles to fill in retaining what remains of our ecosystems and biodiversity. So, starting out we want to gather more stories, either text and photos or video. Australian Wildlife Protection Council has a Youtube channel (best spell out the AWPC name in searching), where you will find a few initial pieces like this below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkD3w7o7x2Y AWPC committee, Frankie, Joanna, Maria. Do you have a story – either text or video? …to share about how you in your backyard and/or in your community are respecting and reconciling with the wildlife while retaining or adding to their habitat – that also includes our native plants – please send a short summary of your story to us via our contact form and we’ll talk about ways and means of grabbing that. Get in touch “It doesn’t matter if an animal can reason. It matters only that it is capable of suffering and that is why I consider it my neighbour.” “Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.” Dr Albert Schweitzer (Dr Schweitzer, early 20th century missionary doctor, philosopher and theological thinker, is a well-known name in western society. An appraisal in a Christian journal said that in Africa his thinking came to revolve around: “The concept of ‘reverence for life’ …. In his day, his refusal to kill unnecessarily any form of life, no matter how minute, was regarded as a quaint eccentricity [by European culture]. Today we are finally beginning to see how our callous disregard of the biosphere may have already caused irreversible damage to the environment…aided by the colossal naivete of the western illusion of ‘conquering Nature’.) “ –– from Reconsidering Albert Schweitzer, by David L. Dungan, The Christian Century 8/10/75 pp 874-877 “The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man [and woman].” Charles Darwin
