Tangle of Life
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Death of a platypus leaves unanswered questions
We found it dead on the sand near the mouth of the Tallow’ the woman said. The corpse stunk a little but I hardly noticed. I was so astonished. What was this platypus doing here? Who knew there were any around this side of Byron Bay? How did it live? As importantly, how did it die?
October 5, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 0 Byron Echo, Articles & Columns, Tangle of Life -
The trouble with lichen
What lichens truly are is still startling. One apparently global species turns out to be made of one species of fungi with a different species of algae depending which hemisphere it finds itself.
September 11, 2018 | Mary Gardner | % Articles & Columns, Tangle of Life -
Will species synchronicity lead to ecological collapse?
Parrots are often called the primates of the bird world. They are intelligent, playful and determined, grasping and changing their world using their feet and beaks like hands holding scissors.
August 3, 2018 | Mary Gardner | % Tangle of Life -
Batting for bats: their vital role in forestry
Flying foxes live life large across the landscape. They are the chief pollinators and seed carriers for many species of forest trees.
July 13, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 2 Tangle of Life
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Death of a platypus leaves unanswered questions
We found it dead on the sand near the mouth of the Tallow’ the woman said. The corpse stunk a little but I hardly noticed. I was so astonished. What was this platypus doing here? Who knew there were any around this side of Byron Bay? How did it live? As importantly, how did it die?
October 5, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
The trouble with lichen
What lichens truly are is still startling. One apparently global species turns out to be made of one species of fungi with a different species of algae depending which hemisphere it finds itself.
September 11, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Will species synchronicity lead to ecological collapse?
Parrots are often called the primates of the bird world. They are intelligent, playful and determined, grasping and changing their world using their feet and beaks like hands holding scissors.
August 3, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Batting for bats: their vital role in forestry
Flying foxes live life large across the landscape. They are the chief pollinators and seed carriers for many species of forest trees.
July 13, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 2 -
Join the BioBlitz and discover aquatic mysteries
On the 12th of May take a few minutes and help track down the elusive mysterious highly prized wild shellfish reefs and beds somewhere near you.
May 8, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Equinox signs from the bridge: How nature tells the future
I pause on the bridge over the Tallow. My senses are full of the changes with the recent equinox. The signs are all around.
April 6, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 3 -
It’s not over till the big trucks fill
It’s not a done deal. The swamplands that define Byron Bay are crippled but still alive. The NSW Joint Regional Planning Panel is still debating how mega-development of West Byron might harm the Cumbebin Nature Reserve and the Belongil waterway.
February 27, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Ancient anger a potent symbol for modern times
This replica nawi, unlike the bark canoe at the Maritime Museum, is oversized and made of steel. It is moored at a cove at Barangaroo, the inner city place named after a Cammeraygal woman.
February 5, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Explore the waterways and let curiosity lead
Where to go during the holidays? Try following waterways and discovering waterplaces. Start with a ramble down some path or an hour along a shore: curiosity will take over. Where did this water come from? What is it doing now? Where might it go? What does it mean?
January 16, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
It’s time to plan the urban forest: Let’s grow trees
In our town, from December to January, each Royal Poinciana Delonix regia blooms. The magnificent red flowers cascade over the soft green leaves.
January 3, 2018 | Mary Gardner | 5 -
Fly free from toxic chemical use
From the days of the dinosaurs, birds have been an integral part of our world. People have always watched and listened to them and members of a wise culture would also be learning from them. But are we?
December 12, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
What is in a true name?
By night, the nearby ICOLLs are creatures inhabiting my dreams. Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon (ICOLL) is the proper name for the Richmond and the Brunswick, the Belongil and the Tallow waterways.
December 12, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Stop and take a moment to smell the flowers
Though I am on my way to somewhere else, I pause at the mangroves. They are a steadfast shelter as the fierce winds shift. Their roots steady the muddy bank under my feet.
December 12, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Being weather wise in the subtropics is smart
Living in the subtropics – even for a short while as a visitor – means becoming weather wise. Of course there’s a fire ban. No open fires, especially on the beach. No tossing of cigarettes either.
October 6, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
They dance across the the concrete heart of town
These very old trees in the Railway Park, Byron Bay, are a mystery. With camera in hand, I walk around this living sculpture. These native beach hibiscus (Hibiscus tilaceus) are locked in on three sides by the buildings, cars of a busy street and a rough parking lot.
September 8, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 2 -
Doomsday or recovery? Time to heed the whispers in the leaves
Neutinamu is Korean for elm tree. I saw this elder Zelkova in Seoul last month. It’s 1,300 years old, part of the Yonggungsa Temple founded in 650 AD. Around its base are roofing tiles with prayers and pleas written by devout Buddhists. Perhaps the chalk dust of these intentions mingle with the tree’s own perceptions. After all, trees sense through their leaves and roots.
August 25, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Loving Byron to death
Let’s upskill ourselves as citizens, developers and council before we disturb another metre of these beautiful landscapes and wet ecosystems.
July 14, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
From Byron to Paris, history comes alive
From Byron Bay to Notre Dame, Paris! At the entrance, police openly tout heavy machine guns, casually monitoring the swarm of idle visitors and devout churchgoers in the great stone plaza.
June 23, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Business as usual is not the path to sustainability
Sustainability is a powerful way of thinking about the impact of our activities. In spite of attempts to trivialise the idea, it has deep roots which spread into many parts of our lives. We use it to rate tangled interactions... Read More →
June 2, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Tangle of Life: The buzz on repelling mosquitoes
Emergency resilience. My phrase for our knowledge and practices from year to year in response to great ecological cycles. One of these is water, turning from scarcity to deluge and back.
May 2, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 1 -
Fossil-fuel-promoting ‘criminals’ are killing the Reef
In the calm of 29 March, the three of us met at the beach in Byron Bay. As we soaked in the sea at low tide, we talked about preparing our houses and farms for the rainfall expected from the tail end of Cyclone Debbie.
March 31, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
No place for hardy nymphs to sport themselves
The bright metallic blue-green dragonfly zigzags throughout the front garden. For the quarter hour I could track it, this insect never pauses.
March 9, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
Will we welcome our marine climate refugees?
Making sense of small talk is a never-ending task for this particular biologist. I deeply, truly want to hear what people think about the weather, water, fish and all that. Over the years, I’ve been splicing together these sound bites into a detailed collage.
February 6, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0 -
The struggle over the commons continues
The power of a Great Story goes round and round, spiralling outward from its first telling. Such stories become influential but why? Consider one from 1968 called ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’.
January 6, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 7 -
Great stories are doing the rounds
The power of a great story goes round and round, spiralling outward from its first telling. Such stories become influential but why?
January 3, 2017 | Mary Gardner | 0
Tangle of Life – by Mary Gardner
Mary Gardner is a writer, biologist and photographer, contributing articles about local ecology for The Echo since 2007. Since 2012, she is also a PhD student of Southern Cross University. Her research topic is the historical marine ecology of the subtropics, focusing on Byron Shire. Her special interest is the history of marine animals and people in this place over the past three hundred years. She’s always interested to hear from readers who wish to share their sea stories about the region, people and animals. For more of her work, visit her website Tangle of Life – www.tangleoflife.org.
