Miyuki Jokiranta

Natural temperate grasslands once spread from the Melbourne to the South Australian border, thriving on the fertile volcanic soils of Victoria’s Western plains. But they’ve been in decline from the moment settlers landed and are now critically endangered. The impacts of livestock grazing, cropping and urban sprawl mean about 1% are left. These grassland remnants, found in rail reserves, cemeteries, on rural roadsides and rocky escarpments, are little environmental hotspots not because we’ve cared for them, but the opposite, because they’ve been overlooked. So how can we learn to see the landscape anew and protect the remaining grasslands?