New life bursts from the charred trunk of a tree in Kulnara, NSW. (Murray Lowe, Facebook)
Heartening Photos Show How the Aussie Bush is Already Regrowing
Emily McPherson, January 8, 2020, 9news.com.au
https://tinyurl.com/yjteelqz
Beautiful photographs of the bush regrowing on the NSW Central Coast a month after fires devastated the region have been picked up as a symbol of hope online.
Local photographer Murray Lowe snapped the shots in the Kulnara area on Monday and posted them on Facebook, where they have been shared more 37,000 times in less than 48 hours.
“Ventured out into the fire grounds today to capture some images of how the Aussie bush responds to fire, and the way it regenerates itself and comes back to life,” Mr Lowe wrote in his post.
“Even without any rain, life bursts through the burnt bark from the heart of the trees and the life cycle begins again.”
Black Boys, or Grass Trees, spring to life. The plants can only reproduce with the help of fire. Heat from the fire cracks the plant’s hard seed. (Murray Lowe, Facebook)
New growth in abundance, even in drought. (Murray Lowe, Facebook)
Mr Lowe urged as many people as possible to share the photos.
“It’s so heartening to see the bush coming back to life again,” he wrote.
Other Facebook users also shared their photos of the bush regenerating near their homes in the comments section of Mr Lowe’s post.
A burst of green in the charred bush. Photo by Illuka resident Nikayla Rae Austin, on the NSW north coast. (Facebook)
“New shoots from the trunks of koala food trees, and the sprouting undergrowth brought a smile to our faces,” the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital said of this photo. (Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, Instagram)
In an update to the post, Mr Lowe said he had been blown away by the response to his photos. “I did not, in my wildest dreams, anticipate the overwhelming response to my photos that I’ve seen. It’s both humbling, and heart-warming,” he wrote.
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, which has been faced with the desperate task of saving our decimated koala population, also recently shared an image showing regrowth on the “trunks of koala food” in the Bril Bril state forest.