Sarah Konoski

Why not?

What are the drawbacks of these magic trees, as you put them?

And what about the fire risk that eucalypts can play in other countries?

A quarter of a year, and was that to grow wood for use of, to harvest for wood, or why was there such a commitment to planting eucalypt?

So Steve, we've talked about, you know, eucalypts in terms of Western science and I guess economic benefit, environmental management.

You've also increasingly been interested in First Nation understandings of these trees and their place in the landscape and their role culturally.

In what ways is the dreaming of Aboriginal people a different framework to think about eucalypts than, say, the way you were taught at university?

So when you personally decided that you wanted to get a sense of this incredible depth of knowledge and moved to Albany to try to do that, where did you start?

Did you just turn up at people's doors or how did you go about making connections with the local Noongar people?

How did you answer that?

So when, with that generosity of Lynette, you were invited in and you knew to listen, what kind of things did you hear?

What understanding of eucalypt and gum trees were held within that culture?

No shade on your theory, Steve, but there's something differently beautiful and poetic about the head and the breast milk.

Not there's anything wrong with your acronyms, but Lynette's carries a certain force.

She shared another beautiful story with you about some kauri trees in Denmark, in WA.

Could you share that one?

So there's this amazingly rich cultural connection with eucalypt and then also a practical medicinal kind of understanding of these trees and the benefits that flow from them.

What are some of the uses and ways that Aboriginal people used gum trees in terms of physical healing and medicine?

You've mentioned the fire risk that eucalypts play wherever they're grown.

What have you learnt from your Aboriginal friends and teachers around traditional approaches to the fire management part of these trees?