I work in the outdoors industry and am firmly committed to minimising the impact that I and the groups I work with have on the environment. Several years ago I had an experience that made me reconsider this impact, beyond what my common sense and basic understanding had previously served me.
At the time I was working for outward Bound with an all male Watch
of students from Work and Income on a three day tramp in the Mt Stokes area.
They were a mixed bunch of drug users, ex cons and general delinquents but as
happens on many an OB course there had been some positive behavioural changes
and they were beginning to shows signs of trust and co-operation. A few hours
into the tramps one of the students remarked with curiosity about finding the
remains of a large snail shell and with my limited knowledge of the Powelliphanta
species I explained what I knew about them and added that it was extremely rare
to find a complete shell, never mind a live one.
Their interest must have been aroused as throughout the day
the group stopped and marvelled at shells that were nearly complete and
different colours and patterns. I was certainly pleased that they were looking
beyond themselves and showing an appreciation of nature. On the second day we
ascended to an area that has regular pest control and is the site of a study on
the local Powelliphanta population. At
this point the students were showing an interest in the shells that were
spotted that were almost complete, and some competition had formed between them
to try to find the most complete shell. At about lunchtime, to my surprise, one
of the students discovered a live snail and the whole group gathered around in reverence
of this unusual and interesting find. It was a wonderful sight to see young
men, some with gang associated tattoos, demonstrating such gentleness and
appreciation. Their attitude demonstrated a high level of respect for something
that is threatened and needs to be protected.
On the third and final day of the tramp, the task of
navigation became more demanding and resulting focus from the students meant
the interest in the snails was suspended. We had also descended to an altitude
which was not a suitable habitat for them anyway so we didn’t see any more
shells. Towards the end of this day it was beginning to look like they may not
finish and be forced to spend an extra night out. We finally emerged from the
bush as darkness was falling and the students were in high spirits at
completing this challenging tramp. As we waited for the Outward Bound Truck to
pick us up the students began to compare the collections of shells they had
found, and I began to realise the extent of their “collections”. I was not
particularly happy with the amount of shells that they had and were taking away
but at this point believing there to be no discernible negative impact I
considered the benefits to their attitude and learning to outweigh any loss due
to the removal of the shells.
The following day I discussed this experience at the staff
briefing, seeking some affirmation that this was an acceptable outcome. I
contacted the local DOC office later in the morning and was surprised to
discover that Powelliphanta use the empty shells to incubate their eggs and
these almost complete shells are fundamental to their reproductive cycle. Eggs would only survive for a short time
outside the specific environmental conditions found at that altitude such as
temperature, humidity etc. I went back to the Watch and shared my discovery
with the students. Each student looked through their shells more thoroughly and
not only did we find eggs but also live baby snails in some of the shells. We
declared an amnesty on shells and collected over thirty from the students. The
students were genuinely concerned that their actions could have such an impact on
the very thing that they had found so wonderful and interesting. They wanted to
know if they could take the shells back but it couldn’t be organised before the
end of their course on the following day. I assured them that I would return
the shells and in the mean time we would endeavour to keep them in the best
possible conditions, which we found to be, covering them and placing them under
the buildings.
I tramped back to the area that the shells had been found
during my days off and relocated the shells. I had lots of time to reflect on
this experience and was reminded of the role of guardianship that we must
assume whenever we take others into the natural environment. Needless to say
there was some great learning during group discussions with students and for me
personally.
Contributed by Darren Rooney
No comments:
Post a Comment