Re: blackface

Andrew 

Fair enough.  I guess it all comes down to what you define "connection to nature" as.  I was picking up this phrase from someone earlier in the thread.  Perhaps it's not the most appropriate term to use.

What I may have been trying to get across (as much as the functioning 30% of my currently flu-infested brain will allow) is that the increased urbanisation of our country (we do, however, need to acknowledge that Australia has always been a substantially urbanised country - it's just that the proportion of suburbanites is increasing) means that fewer people are now in regular contact with anything other than a few common (pest?) bird species.  

You will find that people in small country towns are much more likely to know what birds are visiting their gardens.  Farmers will know what birds they have on their properties.  Oh, yes, some won't but proportionally the degree of knowledge is infinitely greater than their urban cousins.  As people move from rural areas to cities this knowledge is lost as their children grow up not knowing the "bush" and what it contains.

Cheers

David Geering
Regent Honeyeater Recovery Coordinator
Department of Environment & Conservation
P.O. Box 2111
Dubbo  NSW  2830
Ph: 02 6883 5335 or Freecall 1800 621 056
Fax: 02 6884 9382



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