In Mosman
Sydney
Joan and Eileen Bradley
spend their lives
refining the art
of Bush Regeneration
It's the sixties
and the women
gently cut and
tease out roots
of tangled weeds
one by one
slow work
working out
the angles
with short handled
knives
not everyone is
pleased
It takes
patience to
wait for native
plants to grow
reclaim the earth
at the same rate
it takes Eileen
and Joan to
drive their
point home
For some
it's more inviting
to clear large
spaces of land
all in on go
an approach
both women know
accelerates
invasives best
saved for
underdeveloped
housing lots
median strips
and open paddocks
In following years
the sisters
are more outspoken
with their peers
'Never never never
overclear'
It's a mantra
that takes
a while for
experts to hear
Eileen and Joan
remain focused
on their terrain
They are scientists
conducting an
experiment
not hobbyist
mucking about
removing plants
for clout
or poking
around willy nilly
til the ground
looks tidy
No
it's tool kits out
only where the
strongest bits
of Bush meet
the weakest
weeds
Through a system of
trial and replication
their technique
is a success in
other places
rainforests
sandstone
bushlands
shale-derived
soils
and by the late
seventies
slowly but surely
a chorus of
conservationists
take notice
The
Bradley Method
goes on
More than 500
miles away
in a creek near
Port Phillip Bay
many hands
clear away invasives
in minute stages
The plants are
different
but the process
the same
little islands form
they connect
seeds are given
room to germinate
then the
process is
replicated
Over time
Dichondra is
coaxed along
the Brighton Slope
Blackberry brambles
become Bidgee Widgee
burrs
Spokes of Greenhoods
poke their nodding heads
Now
there's hope
this bush
will flourish
alive with
Blackwood
filled with
Drooping She-oak
expand beyond
the New Millennium
The Bradley
Method
forgotten