In leafy Tasmania with its constant background sound of birdsong it is hard to imagine a world without trees or birds. But the image of a contrasting dystopian world was revealed by a Chinese student last month who had arrived at the banks of the Sandy Bay Rivulet to lend a hand in a conservation project.
The student was not being critical of her country, just agreeing with a talk I had just delivered to the Friends of the Sandy Bay Rivulet and their helpers undertaking weed eradication along the banks of the watercourse.
I had stressed the importance of areas of greenery in a world of increasing suburbia, a notion that resonated with 30 student volunteers from not only China but other south and south-eastern Asian nations.
The female student, sporting a pink, cropped hairstyle as striking as a pink robin’s breast, said that the students had been eager to volunteer for a day of hands-on conservation work to “get among the trees”, as she put it.
She said the city in China where she grew up and which was still home to her parents presented a landscape of tower blocks of concrete and glass in which the natural environment did not get a look in.
“People need somewhere to live, but it would be nice to have some parks with trees closer to our homes,” she said, adding it was not just a problem confined to China. Many European cities were also overcrowded and devoid of trees.
The student, studying a discipline related to agriculture, said she hoped to take “the green message” home to China with her.
The students, from countries which also included Australia, were taking part in a Utas “day of service” initiative to connect students with community organisations across the state.
Some had fanned out to Landcare groups and the members of the Friends of the Sandy Rivulet were also pleased to receive the students’ help in clearing weeds around native shrubs and trees they had planted in recent years. These line a path which the organisation hopes will eventually form the first section of a trail following the course of the rivulet from the Parliament Street in Dynnyrne to the Waterworks Reserve to the south.
As the students learned, the rivulet with its grassy and wooded banks provides a vital wildlife corridor which brings birds, mammals and rare fish right to the edge of the city centre.
The student with the pink dyed hair said it was wonderful to listen to the songs of silvereyes and new holland honeyeaters along the rivulet because she only heard sparrows at home.
And another student from China marvelled at the sight of welcome swallows, birds we take for granted in Tasmania. He said in areas where swallows could still be seen in China they were considered to bring good fortune.