I combine an interest in historical narratives and native flora and am exploring the work of the early naturalists in Victoria’s Mallee. The region has numerous species of flora and fauna at risk due to the destruction of the natural environment through land clearing, the use of pesticides, irrigation and salination of the soil.

In Victoria the Major Mitchell Cockatoo is listed as a threatened species. Their populations have declined because of man-made changes to their environment. The hollows in the slow growing native conifer, the White Cypress Pine, Callitris glaucophylla are the breeding habitat for the Major Mitchell Cockatoo. Though present and naturally occurring, populations of mature trees are sparse in the region.

This image of the seedpod of the nesting tree for the Major Mitchell cockatoo is emblematic of the regenerative potential in nature and of our role as protectors of the natural environment.