Wild Lands

Header: Image taken in Noosa National Park overlooking Lake Weyba, Kabi Kabi Country

I’ve always felt a deep love for and connection with the natural world around me, and for my entire life I’ve craved to be in wild places. Places un-touched by industrial development, urban sprawl, overcrowding, and environmental damage, and to return to a more balanced and respectful relationship with nature.

This was one of the things that drew me to the Sunshine Coast along with its unparalleled beauty. It wasn’t just the breath-taking beaches that line the coast, the spectacular forested mountains that roll into the distance, the pristine waterfalls, rivers and creeks, or the beautiful warm climate, but the diversity of life that exists in the variety of ecosystems that span across the region. 

It’s not to say that these places have escaped human impact or do not face further threats. They do. They require ongoing care and tending to by Traditional Custodians, local and state government organisations, volunteer groups and the broader community to address degradation, fragmentation, vandalism, overuse pressure and the impacts of a changing climate. And then there’s the pressure to further expand development across the region. I feel anxious for its future.

It’s because of these ongoing pressures that I think it’s so important that we pause to appreciate the immense beauty and diversity that is here, and fiercely protect what’s left.

This place is special.

So special that both local government areas (Noosa and Sunshine Coast) have now been awarded UNESCO Biosphere Reserve statuses because of their beauty and diversity, indicating there is a commitment to conserving biodiversity and ensuring responsible development and sustainable living. There are 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries around the world. It feels promising to have this layer of meaning to the region in the midst of a climate crisis, ongoing environmental destruction globally, and an ever-present pressure to house an expanding population. 

Will it be enough to guide us into a healthier relationship with nature? Only time will tell, along with our level of integrous decision-making and action.

One of the places I visit regularly on Kabi Kabi Country is Noosa National Park, particularly amongst the Wallum Heathland that overlooks Lake Weyba. There is something about this place that still feels wild, peaceful and sacred. 

Surrounded by development, Noosa National Park is an important wildlife refuge (and human refuge from the stresses of these times), that protects beautiful stands of Eucalypt Forest, Woodland, Melaleuca Wetland, gorgeous Wallum Heathland, and pockets of dense Vine Rainforest. It is home to a range of vulnerable and threatened species including the Glossy Black-Cockatoo.

Images I’ve taken around Noosa National Park and across the Sunshine Coast.

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo and Glossy Black-Cockatoo images supplied by Eric Anderson, Glossy Black Conservancy (I wanted to reference images that were taken locally - thank you Eric)

Wild Lands

My linocut ‘Wild Lands’ is a reflection of the beauty of this landscape.

My intention with this piece was to reflect the delicate balance of the ecosystem and some of the stunning species that call this place home. I also wanted to capture a sense of awe around this landscape, which is known to contribute to our personal and collective mental health and wellbeing.

‘Wild Lands’ lino print by Megan Ruby Lee, 2024

The foreground captures the strength and beauty of a female Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii). She watches, a gentle guardian of the landscape. A Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami lathami) safely feeds on an Allocasuarina, an important feed tree for this species.

A diversity of banksias and grass trees make up the detail of the heath vegetation, which merges with the forests in the distance down to Lake Weyba. A flock of black cockatoos fly peacefully overhead.

Mountains distinct to the Noosa Hinterland form the silhouette in the background, drifting into the burnt sienna sunset.

It is still and serene.

The importance of our wild places

Glossy Black-Cockatoo habitat has come under threat due to land clearing for development along most of coastal Australia, and is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. 

Around 38% of the South-eastern Glossy Black-Cockatoo’s range was impacted by the 2019–20 bushfires*. Because of the loss of this key habitat and declining populations, the Glossy Black-Cockatoo was federally listed as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ in 2022, making remaining ecosystems such as this even more critical for its survival.

‘Wild Lands’ is a reminder that these places provide an important haven for species not only to simply be, but to survive.

In a world where our presence encroaches on the natural world rather than being a symbiotic dance (as it has been in the past), ‘Wild Lands’ invites contemplation on what it takes to protect and coexist with our remaining wild spaces.

Artwork details

This lino print is 83 cm high x 124 cm wide (artwork size). 

Illustration took 29.5 hours and carving took 53.5 hours. 

Each print takes 1 - 1.5 hours to ink and hand press onto 36gsm Japanese Awagami Kitakata paper using quality oil-based inks.

This series is a limited edition of 15 prints.

Produced in January 2024.

Where you can see this artwork

No current exhibitions

For sales enquiries you can also contact me at megan@wilderessdesigns.com.au

I will be donating a portion of any sales to Black Cockatoo Conservation initiatives.

More about black cockatoo conservation

Watch the Black Cockatoo Crisis to learn more about the key threatening processes to Black Cockatoo populations and their habitat, and how you can be part of the solution.

Follow the Glossy Black Conservancy and get involved in citizen science initiatives such as the Great Glossy Count to help keep an eye on the health of local populations of Glossy Black Cockatoos.

Visit Birdlife Australia for a range of educational resources and activities related to various Black Cockatoo conservation projects.

Follow the inspiring advocacy, education and awareness-raising work of Spencer Hitchen from Save Sunrise Glossies to stay up to date with the latest critical campaigns and key messages being amplified by a younger generation for the conservation of Black Cockatoos and their habitat.

*Source: Birdlife Australia