The trees have names

Whether you scrunch or fold, traditional toilet paper is a bit crap. Why? Over 1 million trees are flushed down the drain every day just to provide the world with enough dunny roll, according to research by environmental impact consultancy Edge, commissioned by toilet paper producer Who Gives A Crap.

In this episode of Changing the Bog Standard, host Dan Ilic seeks the counsel of Professor Jakelin Troy about Indigenous perspectives on caring for and benefiting from trees, and why using the Aboriginal names for trees can change the way we relate to them for the better.

Featuring:

• Dan Ilic – host and investigative humorist

• Professor Jakelin Troy – member of the Ngarigo community, an executive of Ngarigo Nation Indigenous Corporation and director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research at The University of Sydney

Australia is rich with unique plants and animals that rely on trees as the scaffolding for their ecosystems. Some of these trees, such as the Wollemi and Huon pines, are among the oldest species in the world. Yet global commerce tends to frame trees as commodities to be turned into kitchen benches, notebooks and toilet paper. How do we reframe the narrative to see them as living, breathing and valued members of our community?

Professor Jakelin Troy, a member of the Ngarigo community of the Snowy Mountains, has a thing or two to say about this. They have written for the Guardian about the importance of learning Indigenous names for trees to establish our understanding of them as community members and renew our respect for them.

“I used to walk around the mountain behind my house in Canberra, in Ngunnawal Country, and it has many snow gums on it,” Professor Troy says, “and that’s a connection with my own high country, the snow country. And there was a waraganj that I would go and stand in front of and put my hands on. It has this beautiful, smooth, cool bark.”

Waraganj (pronounced Wu-ru-gung) is the Ngarigo word for snow gum, a tree that is particularly important to Professor Troy. Waraganj have been threatened in recent years by drought, fires and pests. Professor Troy speaks about being brought to tears at the sight of trees being cut down in the Snowy Mountains and feeling like they were losing family members. The idea of cutting down a tree is antithetical to Indigenous philosophies, Professor Troy says.

“When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney and started chopping down trees in the Sydney area to build structures, Aboriginal people in Sydney … threw themselves around the trees and tried to stop this happening because they couldn’t believe anyone would actually cut down a whole tree.”

Professor Troy serves on the executive of the Ngarigo Nation Indigenous Corporation, set up to preserve cultural heritage and protect pristine alpine landscapes. Professor Troy hopes Indigenous perspectives on trees and land management can help stem the tide of species loss in Australia’s rich and ancient ecosystems.

Professor Troy also knows that this deep relationship with trees is not exclusive to First Nations people in Australia. They are the director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research at The University of Sydney and have lived and studied with Indigenous communities around the world.

“I work in north-west Pakistan, in Swat, and there was a tree that was recently destroyed. It fell into the river with the latest floods in that area. They’ve been catastrophic with climate change … and people are mourning it as the loss of a community member.”

For Professor Troy and many Indigenous communities around the world, trees symbolise something bigger than us, and a reason to look outside our individual narratives.

“Trees outlive us and they tell our stories for a long time … ” Professor Troy says. “They live in our family memories.”