Surviving a Natural Disaster: Alone in the Australian Rainforest

Spread The Viralist



This week, we survived the largest flood disaster in recorded history here in the Australian rainforest. It has been tough, and in our life off grid, we have never been so scared. But, in this time completely cut off from the world – we have learnt the power of community and the strength of humans coming together.

Direct and local organisations needing donations now:

Brunswick Valley Landcare:
https://brunswickvalleylandcare.org.au/donate/
Local landcare groups come together through community to regenerate the land. They collect waste, protect native trees and plant trees alongside banks to work against erosion and degradation.

Koori Mail:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bundjalung-community-flood-relief
The Koori Mail are an indigenous owned and run organisation. Their flood relief donations will go directly and wholly to the community and will be used for temporary accomodation, medical supplies, baby supplies, food vouchers, access to clean drinking water, clothing and dry linen, camping gear and sanitary items.

Wires Rescue:
https://donations.wires.org.au/
A not for profit that provide rescue and care for injured wildlife.

Broader Australian wide organisations working for climate action:

Seed Mob:
https://www.seedmob.org.au/donate
Seed Mob is a movement of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander young people for climate justice with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Their vision is for a just and sustainable future with string cultures and communities, powered by renewable energy.

Standing our Ground:

Donate


Wangan & Jagalingou Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodians are a group of self determined W&J Traditional Owners who speak for Country and uphold the resolutions of their family council to protect their country from extractive industries. They need support to continue asserting their human rights as Wangan and Jagalingou People to practice culture opposite Adani’s mine.

Firesticks Alliance:
https://www.firesticks.org.au/donate/
Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corpotaion is an Indigenous led network that aims to re-invigorate the use of cultural burning by facilitating cultural learning pathways to fire and land management.

Young Farmers Connect:
https://www.youngfarmersconnect.com/donate
Young Farmers Connect are a national not for profit organisation committed to cultivating networks, resources and community for young farmers, supporting the use of regenerative, holistic & sustainable agriculture practices.

https://www.patreon.com/motherthemountain
https://www.instagram.com/motherthemountain/
Anastasia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anast.asia/
Julia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliavanderbyl/

We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia — caring for a regenerative farm on Bundjalung Country on the East Coast of Australia. We have a dream to build a self sustainable future and regenerate the land for generations to come. Join us as we learn to build, farm, garden, and care for the animals and land.

We live and farm on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal people of the Bundjalung Nation and these practices of regenerative living, agriculture and permaculture owe their roots and theories to Indigenous knowledge — they have been practiced by Indigenous People around the world for so many years. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on, and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.

Music:
Amarante: “Dancing in the Dying Light (Instrumental)” and “Alone (Instrumental)”
Georgina Grimshaw: “Nothing To Hide (Instrumental)”
Land of Trees: “From These Ashes (Instrumental)”

A big thank you to all of the incredible artists who share their music in each episode! All of the music included can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7AX7Cbpn6IiMIg8QhGOGLX?si=58686c1aa39f4605

Chapters:
0:00 Surviving a flood disaster and landslides
3:42 Off grid and alone, caring for our community
9:14 Caring for lost animals
13:31 Hiking food through landslides and finding hope

source

Recommended For You

About the Author: Mother The Mountain Farm

35 Comments

  1. I'm so glad you guys made it out okay! I don't know when people will start taking the climate crisis seriously, how many people have to die or lives be turned completely upside down. Our societies are wrapped up in so many things that just don't matter its crazy and makes me angry all the time.

  2. I was wondering how Mother the Mountain and your wee kin-dom were coping with the floods. Glad to hear you are alive and well. Your brave footage and stroying of this amazing event and its ramifications is inspiring many of us to change our thinking and ways of being. Wishing you and your plce/kin a good recovery.

  3. Tough times. You're never prepared when it happens but just do your best when it does. We had our worse flood a couple of years ago ourselves and to top it off, later we had one of the wheat fields catch on fire. Both of the times a portion of the town had to be evacuated, but the blessing is to know your neighbors and how community and coming together is important with those of a caring heart.

  4. humanity tries to balance the climate change with these floodings,,they are watering the earth for the very hot summers are coming next years,,,,,,otherwise the earth will dry at all,,,,this is just my opinion about the floods n extreme weather fenomena.

  5. I am watching this video from Canada where we have experienced many such floods in recent years but I am spellbound by the amount of damage that has occurred there in such a short time. Can you please tell us again how much rain fell there. I have been following you fine ladies for some time now and think it is simply amazing how much good you are doing for the land there. And the friendship with those animals is out of this world, who would have believed they could be so loving of humans.

  6. It seems like these record-breaking hiccups are happening more and more with the worlds weather. Last year during summer many of the western states in the US had relentless fire season, and then there were some peculiar oddities like in Colorado, a state that usually gets buried with snow and frigid cold temperatures, they had an out-of-control wildfire in the middle of winter, and in my native state of Iowa a few weeks ago they had a serious out of season Tornado and it's still winter! These are just the ones I am aware of from the television I am sure there are more. Now Australia with all these unusually heavy rains. What is mother nature doing? Do things like this happen periodically or is this the result of permanent climate change where things are only going to get worse? Australia is two Seasons a head of the US, for us it will soon be spring while for you Fall. Where I live now in Washington State, we had a very mild warm winter but that only means a longer growing season where things will get very dry quickly once it starts warming up towards summer, which means another serious fire season probably. There are many horrors going on where you are, and being buried alive sounds like the ultimate terror. Sorry for the loss of the duck…but at least no one died of in your valley that is a positive. Not all in other valleys made it and there is grieving and suffering but by the way your communities are coming together that will help the healing process. Be safe.

  7. They are saying that this flood in Australia is a once-in-500 year event. Scientists are saying that climate change is making life in Australia more difficult. They have to phase out fossil fuels. Australia is a major producer of fossil fuels.

  8. you are amazing protecting the ducks. im sorry for the disasters happening to your valley and hope everything goes back to normal soon. thank you for sharing

  9. Thank you for showing the world and documenting the very real devastation of climate change. I am glad you and your community are alright. You are so brave for sleeping outside to protect your ducks from the python.

  10. سبحان الله العظيم —–كانو سعداء وكنت احسدهم على نعمة الله التي أنعم بها عليهم—-واليوم استجير باالله من غضب الله—-اللهم الطف بهم وانت ارحم الراحمين😖😔😭😭😖😔😭

  11. As tragic as it seems, it's nature's way of replenishing the Earth. Goodness comes from every disaster if you take the time to look for it. Its God's way of rearranging His creations, and renewing the old. Just look at the way the donkeys were hugging each other. Spring is still in the air, and neighbors are helping neighbors, the way God intended. There is good in every disaster, if you take the time to look for it.

  12. So sorry to see you experiencing this, sending all our love to you and your community and we hope you receive all that you need at this difficult time, Kirsty and Rowan xxx

  13. Thank you for this video. My daughter Magenta was born in Huonbrook back in 1983 and I have only today seen photos of the damage to the road near the Wanganui turnoff.
    Your footage was extremely sobering. So glad the community sprit is still so strong there.
    I am in Lismore and happy to say that we too have benefited from an outstanding community effort.

  14. Terrible to see all these devastation. You really had a lot of rain. Hope you will recover soon from it. It only has nothing to do with climate change!! it's unfortunatly a bad weather system. Research by the IPCC shows that there is NO increase in extreme weather,……… worldwide. In many areas it is even getting less. Extreme weather is from all times.

  15. Im glad you are all ok.
    Nature will change the planet as it has done for millions of years with or without our input.
    They said after an atomic explosion the area would never recover yet it has due to nature.
    Your changed landscape today will be the normal landscape for your children and your childrens children.
    We just don't like change.

  16. You're definitely a climate change believer aren't you? You speak like you're running for school captain so you probably value education and climate change is something you only learn through education because you're definitely not old enough to have much to compare the weather to!

Comments are closed.