Caspar Brace, Mullumbimby
I have not lived here too long, maybe 15 years, but as I work at the back of Wilsons Creek every week I have been well positioned to notice a very profound change in the general driving speed of cars in this area; which also reflects my experience of traffic in the shire as a whole.
In this year alone I have seen wildlife run over in front of me, and the roadkill toll has very noticeably increased.
Always stop to remove roadkill out of respect for Country and to help prevent further deaths.
A few weeks ago I helped two courageous and caring souls who had stopped and put themselves in harm’s way to help move an echidna that had been hit and left on the main Goonengerry Road near the golf course.
Luckily, together, we did relocate the bashed but not bleeding animal, and whilst we were doing this it occurred to me how this individual animal was a representative of a species that has been here for possibly over 50 million years.
My fear is that echidnas might not adapt in time to coexist with human made vehicular traffic, and that they will not be as resilient as our local Mobs have proved themselves to be with the continued flood of economic refugees.
It also struck me that I have an opportunity to respect all Indigenous people and their wisdom traditions, and all the other very real endemic members of our local Shire, just by slowing down enough to Care For Country.
I implore you all to acknowledge this opportunity to cease rushing towards further disconnection, and to stop and allow a connection between you and this ancient wilderness that still co-exists with us today, in our backyards and streets… despite our best efforts to completely conquer it!
We have the power – you and I. Please allow yourself to be blessed by our local biosphere. We are so very, very rich here… what a profound shame to ignore our country’s most obvious rights and needs.
If you aspire to becoming a local, if you aspire to being here at all… then SLOW DOWN!