Stepping onto the Mother’s Backbone

踏上未知之地

After driving twenty-four kilometres north of Melbourne, I arrive at the Craigieburn Grassland Nature Conservation Reserve. I pull into Oherns Road, entering the reserve at the south-west corner, and climb out of my car.

從墨爾本市中心開車二十四公里後，我來到了克萊基伯恩草原。我轉進了奧肯路，在草原的西南邊進入園地，然後下車。

As I walk, I notice a steel manufacturing plant to my left, which emits an incessant drone. I reach the end of the road, where I’m met with a tall, buckled gate. To my right, I spot a sign which reads ‘NO UNAUTHORISED ACCESS. NO DUMPING. PENALTIES APPLY’. A large collection of rubbish is dumped beneath it. Torn garbage bags and damp cardboard boxes sit slumped, their muddy insides spilling forwards. Strewn across the grass are worn jackets, weathered shoes and frayed blankets. 

當我一路走時，我注意到一個鋼鐵生產廠在我的左邊，它不斷發出嗡嗡聲。我繼續走，到達了的路盡頭，在那裡我見到一個很高，而且鎖了的閘。在我的右邊，我看到了一個寫著「請勿亂拋垃圾」的牌子，後面放著大量垃圾。被撕裂的垃圾袋，濕漉漉的紙箱呆呆坐著，內裡的垃圾向前傾，散落一地。草地上有破舊的夾克，被遺棄的鞋子和磨損毛毯。

I can’t see anyone, but I feel an undeniable, invasive human presence.

我看不到任何人，但無可否認，我感覺到一種，人類入侵性的存在。

The grasslands rest along the bank of Merri Creek in Wollert, Victoria, and were named Galgi Ngarrk by the Wurundjeri people. The name means ‘Mother’s Backbone’, which conjures an image of its largeness, sturdiness, and simultaneous fragility. Covering 344 hectares of land, it’s one of the largest protected sites of critically endangered grasslands in Victoria. It’s also part of the only 2% of Victoria’s original volcanic plains grassland that remains, and is home to many endangered indigenous species of flora and fauna.

這個草原位於維州Wollert區一條叫瑪利溪的旁邊，並且被澳洲土著民族稱為「高爾基納克」，有「母親的骨幹」的意思。當中大概比喻這片草原的廣博性和堅固性，同時又像人的脊椎 一樣擔任重要的角色，卻十分脆弱。草原佔地三百四十公頃，是維州其中一個面積最大的極度瀕危草原，同樣是維州原始火山平地草原的一部分和各種動植物的棲息地。

Eager to move on, I enter the reserve. Five padlocks assert their obstinacy on the latch of the gate, which comes to an abrupt end a few metres either side.

無視了這裡像廢墟的畫面，我進入了這片草原。雖然在我面前有五個掛鎖把閘口鎖上，閘的兩旁竟然有很小的空位令我可以擠進去。

I take my first steps onto the Mother’s Backbone knowing I won’t be able to fully comprehend its natural significance – but I’m determined to try.

當我踏入這片廣博的草原時，我明白到自己未必能完全領悟到當中的重要性，不過我願意去嘗試。 

An Empty Exhibit                    

 空洞的展品

I continue along the gravel path beyond the gate. I imagine discovering bizarre plants, or detecting even a whisper of a rare animal.

通過閘之後我沿著碎石路一路走，雖然我對找到野生動物沒有什麼寄望，但我仍然想像在這裡可以看到奇珍異獸，或者聽到稀有動物的叫聲。

I approach the Merri Creek and stop to absorb its quaint charm. My fixed gaze at the rippling stream breaks when I spot two azure blue birds landing in a nearby tree. Delighted at seeing an unfamiliar animal, I continue towards the grasslands’ opening with a quickening pace.

我走近瑪利溪，並停止吸收其古樸的韻味。當我在凝視著小溪時，我看到兩個蔚藍色的鳥降落在我附近的一棵樹。看到這些陌生的動物我欣喜若狂，我步伐加快地繼續朝向草原去。

A wooden sign that reads ‘CRAIGIEBURN GRASSLANDS’ stands in front of what seems to be, at first glance, nothing. It looks naked and incomplete, like an exhibit at a museum that has been emptied for refurbishing.

我看到一個用木製的牌，上面寫著克萊基伯恩草原。但是木牌後面不應就是廣博浩瀚的草原嗎？但是這裡是一片空白，根本就什麼都沒有，就好像在博物館裡的展品一樣被清空和整修。

It’s very...flat, is all I can think. I’m hoping to feel something stronger, for more poetic thoughts to emerge. This space pales in comparison to nature’s lush forests and cascading waterfalls. It’s not the rich sunburnt colour I’ve become familiar with in clichéd Australian landscape photography.

我所聯想到的就是這片草原真的很平坦。我以為這裡會是一個很有詩意的地方，但這裡對比起我去過的其他地方十分空虛。這裡既沒有茂密的森林和美麗的瀑布，四周也沒有豐富的色彩，好像在景觀攝影中看到的照片一樣。

Everything looks the same; the plants blend into a blur of green next to my worn shoes. I’m curious to know how this place looked in years gone by — has it always been like this? I search for something of interest to catch my attention, but find nothing.

周邊的環境對我來說根本一模一樣，在我腳邊的植物已經混成一堆綠色。我很好奇這個地方以前是怎麼樣的呢－－而現在為什麼會淪落至此？我希望可以在這個地方尋找一些蛛絲馬跡，但是這裡什麼都沒有。

I consider turning on my heel and heading back towards the creek I had crossed earlier.

我有想過走回頭路，經過那條小溪，然後離開這個地方。

And yet, I don’t.

不過我沒有。

Unwavering Flora                                  

無堅不催的植物

Within its nothingness, within my apprehension, something else arises. It’s a loneliness, but a pleasant one. The land feels hauntingly—beautifully—untouched. I’m missing something; my mocking of the land’s shortcomings is a grave misconception.

除了這裡的空洞和忐忑，我還透過這個地方發現了一種淒美的孤寂感。這片土地是是絕美的，是原封不動的。我感覺到好像失去了一些東西－正當我在嘲諷這個地方的缺失時，我好像錯過了這裡另一些優美的地方。

I know the land has been like this for a longer time than I can imagine, and so I stand here willing some form of ancient aura to unveil itself.

我知道這片土地在過去很多年裡面都是這樣子的。所以我站在原地，靜候著古代的氣息降臨在地上。

Craigieburn Site, 1973 (National Archives of Australia) & the Craigieburn Site Today

The plants begin to emerge and take shape against their former blur. Despite my intentions to sight the endangered Matted Flax Lily (Dianella Amoena), or the equally elusive River Swamp Wallaby Grass (Amphibromus Fluitans), I see nothing of the former, and suspect I’m confusing the latter with a weed. But the Artichoke Thistle (Cynara Cardunculus), particularly obtrusive, catches my attention as one of its thorns pierces the side of my foot. They’re everywhere on the ground, making it hard for me to move around.

地上的植物開始從模糊變成清淅。儘管我的意圖是去找那些瀕危絕種的亞麻莉莉（山菅山野），或同樣難以捉摸河黑尾袋鼠草，我什麼也找不著，並被那些遍地的雜草混淆。唯一不同的是一種有刺，叫做洋薊的草。他們遍佈草原每一個角落，並很容易刺到我的鞋子，令我寸步難行。

Disorientated, I allow myself to be lost in the grasslands. I’m not satisfied with the thistle plants being the only notable flora, and continue to move deeper into the open field. As I do, I feel the wind increasing in ferocity.

忘記了所有方向，我容許自己在這裡迷路。單單能發現那些有刺的野草並不能滿足我。我決定繼續走下去，因為我相信這裡一定會有一些值得我欣賞的事。當我再次行走時，我聽見了樹在搖擺的聲音。

I hear the diffused sound of rustling leaves, and beyond that, traffic. I’m beginning to notice the polarity of this place. In one direction, a flat field climbs to a peak where a lone tree stands. In the other, a line of factory buildings rests, seeming deflated and grimy against their natural foreground.

經過了嘈吵的風聲後，我還聽見了落葉和交通的雜音。這時，我察覺了這個地方的兩極性。從一個方向看來，這裡是一個平地，然後那種孤寂感就隨著樹的方向一路上升。在另一邊的遠處，有一排工廠大廈，然後他們就隨著這片草地緩媛漸遠，然後消失在我的眼前。

An Evanescent Habitat                

逝去的家

My mind turns to the fauna that wandered this land before me. They materialise before my eyes, the spectrum of time forgotten, the animals of the past and present existing in a single instant.

我的頭腦轉到了那些比我早來的動物身上。我嘗試把牠們具體化，想像牠們是怎麼樣的。我再想像，回到以前的時候，所有過去的居民都一同出現。

How long ago were they all here? How many hundreds, or thousands, of years had it been? I think particularly about the Plains-wanderer, which I had discovered in my research before coming here.

在這裡生活的土著、飛鳥、袋鼠、昆蟲－－甚至以前的入侵者。他們在造裡生活了多久？有多百、甚至數千年？我想起了在我做資料搜集時看到的領鶉，牠們又去哪呢？

The Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus Torquatus) is a critically endangered, small ground-dwelling bird. It’s been recorded at the Craigieburn Grasslands before, but is now considered to have been long since absent from the reserve. It’s believed to be an ancient member of Australia’s avifauna, with its origins tracing back to 300 million years ago.

領鶉是一種極度瀕危、在小地居住的鳥類動物。牠曾經在克萊基伯恩草原有被記錄過活動，但現今在草原上已經找不到牠們了。領鶉被認為是澳大利亞鳥類中其中一個古老的品種，它的起源追溯至三百萬年前－ 一個我腦海裡永遠也想像不到的長時間。

There are an estimated 200 Plains-wanderer birds remaining in the wild.

現今估計還剩下了二百隻領鶉在野外生活。

The main destruction of its habitat has been due to human interference and modification, as well as flooding and over-grazing.

其棲息地的破壞主要是因為人為干擾，以及洪水和過度放牧。

I approach a large tree with a broad, asymmetrical trunk of grey furrowed bark. I imagine the Plains-wanderer ambling by the base of its trunk, its spindly legs supporting the lungs that breathed its melodic coos. I sense their absence as I look out onto the land, which still feels empty.

當我走近這棵廣大的大樹面前，我看到它的表面有皺起了的灰色樹皮和不對稱的樹幹，我在想像領鶉們還在的時候，牠們會在樹幹上閒逛，有氣息的在樹上面唱歌。回到現實中，我感覺到強烈的空虛感，我一邊看周圍的風景，這感覺越來越空洞。

Although I haven’t seen any Golden Sun Moths, an endangered species known as Synemon Plana discovered at Craigieburn Grasslands in 2003, I can see the Wallaby Grasses that provide their main habitat. I imagine the moth warming its metallic golden wings in the sun.

雖然我還沒有看到任何黃金蛾，於2003年在克萊基伯恩草原發現的瀕危物種。我看到了袋鼠草，黃金蛾的主要棲息地。在我腦海中，我在想像黃金蛾的金色翅膀在陽光下閃閃發光的畫面。
 

Drawing near to a large pond, I begin to hear muffled croaking. I guess its source to be the endangered Growling Grass Frog, or Litoria Raniformis, and long to sight its black-flecked, bright green skin. As I approach the source of the sound, careful to quieten my steps as I slip on mud and crunch through broken twigs, the croaking stops.

我隱約聽到有青蛙的叫聲，聲音很小，幾乎要我閉著氣才能聽到。這種叫聲很像咆哮草蛙，我很想上前去找牠們確認我的猜測，可是附近一隻都沒有。我肯定牠們一定是在附近的，不過這種青蛙個子小，也很怕噪音，即使只聽到我們的腳步聲也會到處躲避，我只好失望而回。

In the distance, I spot a white object against the wash of green grass. As I walk closer, its shape becomes more defined. Recognising it, I’ve found the most unsettling evidence of species depletion I’ll see today.

在遠處，我看到了在綠草如茵的地上有一點白色的不知明物體。當我走近時，它的形狀變得更明確。儘管我已經有留意到草原裡面的標誌和路牌，我預料到這將是我今天所看到的最令人不安的發現。

Sprawled across a small area on the grass are the bones of a large animal – a kangaroo or a wallaby, perhaps. I picture the animal’s body decaying, weathering away. I imagine it gradually falling to pieces, and then rolling away in the wind. The empty, barren feeling that weighed in my stomach earlier returns.

穿過草地後，我看到那是一件大型動物的骨頭 － 袋鼠還是小袋鼠，我並不肯定。我立刻想像到牠經歷了腐爛，被雨水、惡劣的陽光和有力的風磨蝕。身體各部分逐漸分離成碎片，然後隨風飄流，彷彿牠仍然以某種方式活著。在我胃入面的荒蕪和空洞感覺回來了。

Uncovering a Human History      

揭開人類歷史

Eager to understand the relationship between the land and its original custodians, I consult the findings of the Merri Creek Management Committee, who have conducted research on the Aboriginal heritage associated with the creek and its surrounds. The traditional owners of the land, whose territory extends from Yarra Bend near Melbourne’s CBD to the Merri Creek, are the Wurundjeri-willam clan. There is strong evidence that shows the area was important for food, shelter, travel and maintaining cultural traditions for Aboriginal people.

想知道更多有關土地和原保管人之間的關係，我諮詢了瑪利溪管理委員會的研究，他們與小溪及其周邊地區相關的土著遺產進行了研究。其領土的傳統所有者，從亞拉本德附近的墨爾本中央商務區延伸到瑪利溪，是威廉姆氏族。有確鑿證據表明該地區有著非常重要的食品、住房、旅遊和維護土著人的文化傳統。

As I read of this, I begin to feel more intrusive than ever, the skin of my feet prickling in discomfort. Looking to abate my unease, I search to know more about those who work to protect the land today. I learn of the muscles that support this backbone, which take shape in the form of community groups such as the Friends of Merri Creek, and the Parks Victoria staff.

當我讀到這裡，我開始感覺比以往更具侵略性，比我腳刺痛更強烈的感覺。我想更了解現今仍在為這片土地進行保育工作的志願者。在這過程中，我很快就發現有份支持這個「母親的骨幹」的組織，包括維州公園管理組織和志願團體瑪利溪之友。

Intruders and Protectors                  

入侵者與保護者

The Friends of Merri Creek’s involvement with the grasslands goes back to before the early 1990s, and they played a crucial role in lobbying to have land reserved. Secretary of the Friends of Merri Creek for the last twenty-two years is Ray Radford. Ray has worked extensively within many of the grasslands that surround the area, including the Craigieburn Grasslands.

瑪利溪之友早在九十年代初的時候已經有參與保育草原的工作，他們在遊說政府保育土地的議題上擔當至關重要的角色。我很快就找到瑞・雷德福。他是瑪利溪之友當了二十二年秘書，瑞在許多周圍的區域都有進行保育的工作，包括克萊基伯恩草原自然保護區。

His interest in this work was sparked in the early 1980s when he would go for runs along the Merri Creek. Having always had an interest in conservation, and after seeing others working along the creek, he decided to get involved.

瑞在自然保育工作早在八十年代初開始關注瑪利溪的時候已經開始。他一直對保育有興趣，當看到別人在小溪工作後，他決定加入。

When asking him about the main threats that are posed to the flora and fauna in the Craigieburn Grasslands, he says;

當我們問到在克萊基伯恩的草原動植物養護的主要威脅時，他說：

“Well, I suppose the biggest threat by far is, you know, humans”

「嗯，我認為最大威脅是我們人類。」

He gives a knowing chuckle, before continuing. “Besides humans, I guess the main things now are weeds and feral animals”.

他輕笑了一下，再繼續說： 「除了人類之外，我認為主要的成因是雜草和野生動物。」

But, in his opinion, humans and the grasslands are not incapable of peaceful coexistence.

但在瑞眼中看來，人類和草原是可以和平共存的。

“The reason why those grasslands are there is because of human involvement. Humans are too often seen as something separate to the environment, but we’re part of it”.

他說：「這些草原存在的原因是因為人類的參與。人類是生態系統的一部分，但我們往往視環境與我們無關，就好像互不相干一樣。」

After twenty-two years of being involved with the grasslands, I want to know what it is that continues to pull him towards them. His reply is moving:

經過二十二年的參與，我想知道是什麼原因令他們堅持下去。

“I’ve become aware that humans have always been part of the grasslands, and that we’re the current humans who need to look after them. It’s just that awareness that makes me want to do as much as I can to help them survive”.

「我意識到人類一直是草原的一部分，而我們需要照顧他們。這個信念讓我想要做的是盡我所能去幫助他們生存。」

I also learn of Parks Victoria, who have been formally managing the grasslands since they were established in 1999. I speak to Tristan Factor, who has been working with Parks Victoria for over ten years and has recently taken over as local Ranger Team Leader of the Craigieburn Grasslands.

我也留意到從1999年開始經營草原的維州公園管理組織。我們與維州公園管理組織的崔斯坦・費達進行了一個訪問。他一直在維州公園管理組織工作了十多年，而且最近接管了當地巡林園的組長一職。

Asking him about his work, he tells me; “it’s an endangered community here of Ecological Vegetation Class, so I feel privileged to be managing that and the values that it contains. It’s only 344 hectares but it contains some pretty significant plants and animals”.

當問到關於他個人的工作志願，他說這份工作給了他一種榮幸感。他說：「這裡的生態環境被列為瀕危社區，所以在這裡工作讓我感到非常榮幸。雖然這裡只有344公頃，但它包含了一些非常顯著的植物和動物。」

I find solace in my newfound knowledge of the people who do so much to protect this land, working with similar objectives as, and in collaboration with, its traditional indigenous owners. I had carried an image of human visitors on this land as playing a primarily invasive role, but now I walk through the space no longer feeling an intruder. 

Although we may be the land’s largest current threat, I now know that humans were once, and still are, its greatest protectors.

當我得悉原來有那麼多人致力保護草原時，我感到很安慰。一路走著，我從幻想中醒過來，意識到我不再是一個入侵者。曾經，我在這片土地上擔任了侵入者的角色，一個不被需要的角色。

雖然我們人類可能是陸地上當前最大的威脅，但欣慰的是人類曾經是，現在仍然是，這片土地的最大保護者。