And I think the thing we need to do is get more people on Country, get more people out there, understanding eucalypts are a big family, and they have different fire relationships. And a lot of eucalypts will bounce back, you know. When you're asking them to keep bouncing back for a couple hundred years and you have a compounding pressure that you're burning the wrong way, you're clearing the land, you're displacing the kinship of the species and not just the eucalypts, all the things that they relate to 'cos they are vulnerable and not just gonna keep bouncing back.
They are super resilient, they're survivors and they've been demonstrating that for millennia, but they're under threat. Seeing huge diebacks of eucalypt gum forests on the ranges. And that's being exacerbated by fire and climate change, trees, carbon levels, creating more shrubbery. And there's a lot we can learn. We've just gotta, yeah, spend more time sitting on Country with ancestor trees and learning from them and teaching other people that connection.
AG-S For many Australians, the eucalypt is embedded in our sense of self and place. And no matter where they are in the world, seeing or smelling a gum tree is a potent reminder of home.
DN Cause eucalypts are often used by people as a connection to Country, without even realising it by a lot of people. They might live in Australia their whole lives and take eucalypts for granted almost. But if they ever travel overseas where they're not exposed to eucalypts, they may come into an area where eucalypts have been planted - because they are commonly used as a plantation species in a lot of overseas countries - and suddenly they can smell the eucalyptus, the eucalyptic soil in the air. They can smell it and immediately makes 'em think back to Australia and think, Oh, that reminds me of home. So even just that subconscious connection to Country through eucalypts like that is really good.
People aren't gonna value the natural landscape unless they're exposed to it, unless they're in it at times. And more and more, it seems that people, you know, are moving into the cities and not exposed to natural landscape. And therefore, they don't have any understanding of them or feel for 'em. Particularly children, I think they should be spending more time in these natural landscapes. The more they're almost living in that environment or interacting with it, the more they'll value it in their adulthood. Obviously, it'll take time to change that. And we don't seem to be moving in the right direction there, but it has to change if we wanna value these natural landscapes more.
AG-S Dean's work at the arboretum is one massive experiment. And there are constant surprises, especially when it comes to why, how and where certain species of eucalypt will grow.
DN Every minute I spend at the arboretum, I'll see new things. And I'm surprised by what I see. Some of the things that really surprise me are species that will actually grow quite well on that site that are a very long way from home. And I wouldn't have predicted to grow well there. So, something from, you know, North Queensland that grows really well. This site is south of Adelaide, you know, so quite a different rainfall temperature, probably different soils as well. So, then you've gotta ask the question, well, why wasn't this thing growing here anyway, why is it only restricted up to there? Is it about the way it can't spread through the landscape? Is it because, although it will grow here, it won't reproduce on the site because the, whatever it might be, doesn't allow seedlings to establish? So, it's hard to say, you know, if there's one thing that I found more surprising than anything else, but it's all these little things that all go together that sort of add to the story.
AG-S Both Dean and Oliver experience the eucalypt’s strengths and limitations through their work. Eucalypts are a diverse and complex genus, a keystone species that is vital to the health of this continent's ecosystems. Through observing the vulnerabilities of gum trees, we can better support them to be resilient in a changing climate and understand that our survival is dependent on theirs.
