24b - Conclusion to ‘What’s in the Word “Conservation”

Our Balance of Behaviour

When it comes to the koala, there's different cultures, environments experiences and information coming from the conservation and the captive sector from a range of different levels. Because even from the zoological institution, the bigger the staff infrastructure, the more distanced they become from the work itself, as they departmentalize the workload, this a form of disconnect. This means that those important micro steps fall away, which is very important when training new recruits. For some reason, this type of behaviour is considered of little relevance as its coming from the higher management. They are discriminating the workload itself, disconnecting the follow of the work, as we become box's workers.

I see disconnect in every set-up, including the government departments, as a very little percentage have ever actually worked with koalas, or have, but many, many years ago, or not in large numbers. When, in fact, the most experienced foot-soldier should guide the white-collar environmentalist because of their strength of current knowledge, but they are discriminated because of their role as a foot-solider working on the front lines of the work, looking like they just come out of night-club at four in the morning.

Over recent years, I have seen the rise of the importance of the tradie, and the best tradie is actually earning as good of an income as any lawyer or doctor, because historically they have been seen as second rate. Because of this perception, NATURALLY our parents wanted the very best for their kids, so they pressure them to go to university and become doctors or lawyers, or politicians. It's always something formal; why? Education comes from a range of experiences, parents want all their kids to get the highest form of education possible, thinking the best way is the formal way. Now I'm not discriminating them, but we all fight our own battles to reach the highest form of education, and like their two forms of conservation industry of the koala, there also two ways to reach that top form of education. But when you're surrounded by academics, and they expect you to volunteer your services, while they get paid, that's when I walk away. People even in my koala culture still don't value the importance of good koala food, and don't understand the work behind the scenes, as these days it's a well-structured when you know the different methods use to collect high-quality food. In a koala hospital, food can make a huge difference to the psychological performance of a sick koala. Why is it that society feels more comfortable with people with a university background? The culture here in Australia is not as bad compared to England or the USA. In America, it's so much worse. The culture there is to expect every child go to college, as they build up their university debt at an age when kids are becoming adults, and going through huge life changes, such as getting their licence, first car, moving out of home, paying rent and so on.

By the time, you finish your college degree, you own so much money to the government, they pretty much own you. It's a system that's built into their culture. So as parents they sometimes don't realize, their own subconscious "as if to say" I went through this pain, so you should too. Well everyone goes through growing pains some highlighted and some not. And this victimisation culture is everywhere, it's even subconsciously coming from your own parents. But again, there is a certain percentage in society who aren't aware of this culture or behaviour, and they have come from different circumstances. This can be successful parents, or parents who overlooked that victim status, and see life completely different, not one based on income. This is just one layer of society's divide. We have become so formal in our approach, with our infrastructure that it is affecting our flora and fauna and increasing the probability of tree die-back and roadkill as there are signs all around us now which doesn't help with the current drought. So, these formal approaches are clashing head on with nature's way. If we don't tackle this head on and change our societal perception that only white-collar individuals who sit behind a desk will save the day, well to me that's a form of disconnect, as its going to take a combination of blue- and white-collar folk, to solve our societies growing pains. But first we need to adjust our way of thinking and look outside the box.

One of Australia's biggest industries which is still growing, is the small business sector. This is due to several factors such as technology, independence, confidence and life's little interruptions, all course people's perspective to change. So, when big businesses and organisations focus on an ongoing problem they end up hiring a smaller firm to find out why something went wrong, and there's always someone with a small business that has foreseen a situation and created a small living out of exactly what, big business has overseen in the past. Small business brings flexibility that large businesses and corporations can easily miss.
Small business brings a combination of old and new school and depending on the task at hand, they have leverage to lean more on old school techniques with new school and invent something outside the conventional box, to solve a task in their given profession. This is a result of society subconsciousness by individuals who in the end believe in themselves to start or at least have a crack at developing a small business. So that value in the small business gradually grows. While the other half of Australia grows in big leaps and bounds, it's the small micro-business that is the glue that binds society together. It's no different in the koala industry as we tackle our two formalised groups; the conservationist and their conservation work and the captive industry. I'm standing alone to show any council or conservation group having trouble managing their koalas they should have a look at the captivity sector. And not any captivity sector, but the ones that make their income on koalas. There is only a handful left, and they have their own techniques, but they won't just hand them out as koalas are time-consuming, so expect to pay. It's like anything in any industry: good information-cost, if you're getting free and it doesn't work, well what did you expect?

This has had in my own backyard, while my advice wasn't taken, but I think my small conservation group, had a hind agenda, to read more log onto; Koala Behaviour in Mulgoa.

Why doesn't the local government acknowledge the work from the captivity sector that's been going on for 150 years or so? The captivity sector already taps into a relationship with the community anyway. Why not build on that? Why separate the work of conservation and paid professionals? This natural relationship between the community and the local wildlife parks and zoos has been happening since the opening of our first zoo in Australia and over the years the community has supported both industries of our wildlife parks and subsequent conservation efforts.

With an ever-increasing Australian population, where our native wildlife is going to impact our way of living, we need more transparency. Everyone across the community needs to be accountable for their actions and to their duty of care. And yes, it's not always going to be perfect, mistakes will happen along the way, but secrecy doesn't help. As these actions tend to repeat themselves. Everything needs to be addressed, especially as warmer winters and extreme weather patterns mean that we, as a society, need to be better prepared.

Koalas don't lie about their health. When they get sick, they tend to die quickly. Veterinarians who have written papers in the past can predict to the hour when a koala will die. They work in a way where things go wrong most of the time, yet, there is no outcry. Why? Maybe because of their good work and their credentials and the way they bring their information and good service to the community. And yet, they are more than willing to share their experiences as human interaction occurs in a manner that needs to be managed with transparency and openness. Because the biggest loser is always the koala, and by sharing these types of scary events to light, this type of behaviour is a positive step forward, and an incremental step towards the reversal of the demise of the koala. Their great work and written papers should be openly shared, and transform into a platform, such as websites to allow the common person, to understand a language that's suitable for everyone, especially new volunteers who's earning for the first time.

In my own backyard in the microcosm, this behaviour is missing, as the inexperience in the local level does not foster openness. An example is the two koalas who entered Mulgoa. No matter how they got there, this event is shrouded in secrecy. The relocated male koala is now under the control of the local conservationist and the information is now also under their control. They can hide any of their mistakes, as they have control of one male koala. They decided to keep his location a secret, which seems more of a political decision rather than one for the betterment of the koala. 

To read more, and find out his location go to: Koala Acceptance in Mulgoa.

Acceptance

This last element is being accepted into the process by the current authorities who aren't willing now to see another perspective and would see these articles as confronting and challenging. Most of them who never really deal with koalas! For example, even me, who deals with koalas constantly, must adjust if I go on holiday because even that small absence forms a small disconnect because of the rapid ways in which the landscape changes and the dietary preference of the koala.

The Sydney area has changed so fast and this, combined with warming winters changes the decisions of today, which are based on past cultures' experiences and not current situations and facts. So, to hear someone like myself giving another viewpoint in today's current climate will be unsettling for them! I express my concerns in this matter because of what happened in Cape Otway. I wonder if the positioning of those koalas was for tourism and whether that constitutes a captive environment, not a conservation structure. This is mainly since the Victorian Government openly mentioned that they were first put there for tourism, which is very much like ANY OTHER CAPTIVITY SET-UP. So why hasn't the question been raised?

When koalas are placed in an environment with a natural form of fencing around them, isn't this considered a form of captivity? How's that any different from Wildlife Wonderland in Gippsland, where in 2013 (a year before the culling of Cape Otway had started), they were forced to close because their animals were being mistreated, and their operating licence wasn't renewed? Why are there two sets of rules? NSW has had the same situation here with the old Skippy show in Terry Hill which was closed for the same reason around the 2002-2003. And recently, Pennant Hills Koala Park were fined and convicted in 2015 for animal mistreatment. These are all enclosure environments that had boundaries and fencing. What's the difference between a natural form of fencing and a physically built one?

What is the future for our koalas? How will the future look if we don't ask the hard question NOW?

These are all valuable pieces of information just waiting to be connected in what I call "Balancing the Dots". Each incremental development is a "dot" and each one requires a balance of behaviour, and to join each "dot" is followed by layers of behaviour and knowledge, which is represented by "lines" and with each "line" creates a link of communication and action! Going from one dot to another, the "layers of lines linking each dot" form a holistic approach to coordinate a better future of ideals to strive for answers and consider the future in a completely different way. To inspire such action, we need to understand the micro steps in order for the macro steps to come into play, which then brings the big picture and vision, displaying koalas in a different light. I could easily see koalas eating a non-eucalyptus diet surrounded by a different environment and living happily. All the pieces are already there for someone to take a closer look, then members of my koala community who work extensively with koalas (like me) will be able to see a different path of the future! 

To move forward with a different vision for the koala we must dissect the two major parties, (CONSERVATION AND THE CAPTIVE SECTORS) and their actions, to constantly improve ourselves and our behaviour, to envision a different future. For this last article of this theme, it's all about connecting the dots and seeing the layers that are lines of the future! Because the answers we are searching for already exist. Koala Retreat is finishing this theme in an artistic way by celebrating Aboriginal paintings, as they already see how the micro fits with the macro, by the expression they perform in their art! Their simplistic approach to art using dots and lines, easily typifies human behaviour, which in the end is part of survival mechanism to the land in which we live in and allows us to enjoy the presence of other living creators such as our native fauna and flora. Look at the micro - every dot is an entity on their own, and yet still connected to one another. If you look from a distance you will see a pattern that gives you another layer - if not many layers - of a story.

Or maybe a better explanation is another level of understanding, and another dimension that can't be fully understood or measured today, but it's there waiting, as society slowly reveals itself and its fallings and achievements. Because as a society we are still looking for answers, but we so disconnected in some aspects and connect in others. Some of us see it clearly and some don't, and some are trying. Australia's indigenous culture helps us look closer because the answers are already there!  

Indigenous art shows us that we are moving in the right direction. Sometimes we all have trouble explaining ourselves in a verbal language- not knowing how to say things. Our brains and knowledge are still limited today, but art and especially indigenous art of Australia can cut right through all barriers, explaining in a far more advanced way. To me, it's like another dimension of time! 

Cleland Conservation Park in South Australia acknowledge their traditional custodians with this beautiful picture on their website, and so do we at Koala Retreat Consultancy. Acknowledging them at http://www.clelandwildlifepark.sa.gov.au/Home

I wish to highlight this form of art because the more you see the more it speaks to you. I personally like all forms of indigenous art, it's simple yet dynamic because this practice allows your brain to visualize the future with a feeling of freedom if done with the backdrop of goodwill.

Below is an attachment. I was trying to pick one artist out of many, but in the end, how can you when all these artists practice their art as a form of meditation, allowing themselves to let go. I am acknowledging my appreciation of every and each artist on this website. To see more, visit this website @ https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/artists/

Article 25, "Big or Best", is the start of the third theme, "the question is" can we do both?
52 Articles, 4 themes 1 story
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