Welcome to Forest Leaves

“Full many a glorious morning have I seen the sun flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye”. The coming of the light (photo by Ian Kealley). Sunlight has come up in three contexts in my life recently, giving me cause to think about how much I love this wonder of nature, and reminding me of how easily it can be taken for granted, or abused. The first occasion was when I came across an article emanating from some bastion of academia in Britain. “Scientists”, it was repo

A 1920s song sheet, reminding me of one of my favourite bush aromas. It came as no surprise to me the other day, when I read that scientists have confirmed that of all human senses, the sense of smell is most closely linked to the memory banks in the mind. I know what they mean. I not only enjoy the distinctive aromas of the Australian bush (and others) but have found many times in many places that a whiff of something in the air will instantly transport me back to some

A carpet python swallowing a numbat in the Dryandra Forest: one rare species devouring another. (photo by Sean van Alphen). I will never forget an evening many years ago when I was working for the Department of Conservation and Land Management and was on the podium at a public meeting. I can’t now remember what the meeting was about, other than that it was something to do with wildlife conservation, and I was either defending the department or promoting it. There were pre

George Peet: WA’s greatest forest fire fighter I was listening to the old Hank Williams song Settin’ the woods on fire the other day, and this started me thinking about George Peet, a man who played a significant part in my professional life, and one of Western Australia’s greatest sons. He set the woods on fire more times than most, not as an arsonist, but as a champion bushfire fighter. Above all, George understood the concept of fighting fire with fire. He was the man