Trees of Knowledge - the overlooked figs of the Mary Valley

There's a new photo album on about the trees that the government forgot... majestic, ancient fig trees that have been left out of the environmental vegetation mapping for Traveston Crossing Dam on the Mary River. The trees lie in the proposed inundation zone of the dam, so would be lost forever if the dam were to proceed... a loss that is much more significant than 'just a tree'. Older than European settlement in Australia, they would have sheltered Aboriginal tribes, as well as provide homes and a food source for many generations of possums, birds and other creatures.
Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett is currently assessing the environmental aspects of the dam proposal, and his decision is expected any day now. So, is it sinister that the trees were left off the maps? We believe so! The government, in developing their environmental impact statement for the dam proposal, was obliged to map vegetation of a significant nature. The omission of these trees proves that their reporting is not thorough or truly representative of the environmental losses the dam would cause. Some say this lack of transparency has a financial motive... a number of these trees have an estimated worth of over $100,000 each!
We spent half a day out in the Mary Valley collecting these photographs. In those few short hours, we visited over 30 giant fig trees, none of which appear on the government maps. Many of them are visible towering above the treeline as you drive through the valley or canoe down the Mary River... many are located on land already acquired by the government for their proposed dam project - there are no excuses for denying their existence.
Now we wish to tell their story... meet the trees that the government forgot!
activism in pictures... and now in words! Check out our online letter generator to save the Mary River.