blank

Making friends with the wildlife

Yesterday I overheard my daughter chatting with her friend on the phone. They were discussing what pets they had. Her friend had origami frogs. As well as her new brood of origami frogs, Maia proudly listed the number of guinea pigs, chickens and fish she cares for, but then also added that she has wild pets – the kangaroos that live in our garden, and the king parrots that visit every day too. She has names for them all. We don’t keep the wild animals of course, we co-exist here in the land and have come to know each other.

Our home is in an ecovillage that has Land For Wildlife status. Ever since the beginning of the village in the late 1980’s there have been no cats or dogs living here. Without predators, you can imagine how friendly and unafraid the wildlife has become.

blank
Maia chats to one of the regular female kangaroo visitors to our garden.
The ear markings are usually the easiest way to tell the difference.

The kangaroos range through our garden helping to keep the grass down. You often have to step over their tails going down the path to the house.

The king parrots call out to us early every morning and visit many times through the day. They are such characters – very cheeky.

blank
The king parrot dropping by to say g’day.

Being so close to nature and interacting daily with the wildlife and incredible birdlife makes living here just wonderful. I try in my permaculture designs to think through how the design with support or impact on all species dwelling in the land, not just meet the human needs.

3 Responses

  1. Wendy Manson
    Wendy Manson at |

    That is so adorable. I love to see the wildlife as part of the family. I have enjoyed browsing your lovely blog Moray and will return. Merry Christmas!

  2. Morag Gamble
    Morag Gamble at |

    Merry Christmas Wendy. One of the most amazing and delightful things about living here at Crystal Waters is the close connection with nature. Actually the shared feeling around this is one of the key aspects of our community glue.

  3. Judi B
    Judi B at |

    nothing quite like being woken at the crack of dawn by king parrots hanging off the guttering calling for a feed………… but I love it