Culayska Buufelka ee Alice Springs: Qarsoodi iyo Dhibaatooyinka Dabka
Dhulka gobolka Alice Springs ee dalka Australia ayaa ku dhuuban buufelka, oo aad u faafay, iyadoo xitaa dadka deegaanka ay ka xishoodayaan iney uga baxeen dhulka. Ciyaaraha Barwaaqo-sooranka
Qarsoodiyada Buufelka iyo Dhibaatada Dabka
Waxaa la furay muuqaal qarsoodi ah oo ku saabsan buufelka, kaas oo loo sameeyay qadka buufelka ee Many Hands art centre, oo ku yaalla Olive Pink Botanic Gardens. Carita Coultard, oo ah fannaanka Waqooyi Arrernte, waxay sheegtay in buufelku uu ka dhacay dhulka, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
Steve Eldgridge, oo ka mid ah dadka deegaanka, wuxuu sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka. Dadka deegaanka ayaa sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
Dadka Deegaanka iyo Dhibaatada Dabka
Dadka deegaanka ayaa sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka. Carita Coultard waxay sheegtay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
Steve Eldgridge wuxuu sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka. Dadka deegaanka ayaa sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
Dadka Deegaanka iyo Dhibaatada Dabka
Dadka deegaanka ayaa sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka. Carita Coultard waxay sheegtay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
Steve Eldgridge wuxuu sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka. Dadka deegaanka ayaa sheegay in buufelku uu aad u faafay, isagoo sheegay inuu uga baxay dhulka.
A wet winter has allowed the invasive buffel grass to blanket Central Australia, prompting Indigenous artists to transform the weed into art while volunteers clear hectares near Alice Springs ahead of fire season.
Artists Transform Weed Into Canvas
Western Arrernte artist Carita Coultard and a group of creators have opened an exhibition at the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens in Alice Springs, featuring watercolours painted on buffel paper handmade at the Many Hands art centre studio. The paper is produced by cutting the grass into pieces, boiling it, blending it, and letting it dry on mesh. Coultard said the first batch was rough and they were testing how to bring it smooth, noting they do not have a proper machine and can only do what they can here.
Coultard's work depicts bush tucker she remembers collecting as a child in Hermannsburg, about 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs, including the bush onion (yalka), the bush potato (lutjia) and sultanas (kutjirra ntjirrka). She laments that these foods are no longer visible around the Alice area, saying it is so sad they cannot even see them and that buffel grass is everywhere growing, wiping them from the landscape.
Volunteers Clear Hectares Ahead of Fire Season
Since May, a weekly buffel bust has seen volunteers clock around 150 hours to clear an area of about 5 hectares near the centre of Alice Springs. Landcare volunteer Steve Eldgridge says he has seen change over the past 20 years where buffel grass has really started to take over and what they see now is almost a monoculture. Their aim is to protect huge old red gums that grow along the Todd River, which are at real risk of fire with so much grass growth underneath.
Eldgridge said he has seen so many of these 300, 400-year-old trees burn down and they are left with very few of them now. The rampant run of buffel grass has sparked concerns of a big fire season, where excess fuel loads and predictions of a hot El Nino summer have residents on high alert.
Economic Costs Far Outweigh Benefits
Charles Darwin University professor Kamaljit Sangha co-authored an economic impact assessment commissioned by the NT government that looked at the cost and benefits of the spread of buffel using a model of the grass established in 1,000 hectares. She said they looked more from a societal perspective, thinking of the whole of society including the pastoral sector, conservation, tourism, public and the Indigenous sectors. She noted the costs are about 60 times higher than the benefits that accrue to the pastoral sector.
NT Lands, Planning and Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne has written to the federal government seeking funding to support buffel management. In late July, the National Biosecurity Committee found the invasive grass met the criteria but cited a need to undertake further work. A committee working group has been holding stakeholder meetings in every affected state, but a meeting has not been scheduled in the NT.
Ilaha iyo xuquuqda sawirka
Sawir: ABC Australia Xigasho
