Life and death: what readers in Australia are seeing post-bushfires

The Guardian, by Phoebe Weston and Guardian readers, Friday 31 July 2020

After last summer’s deadly bushfires, Guardian readers have found tentative signs of renewal in the charred landscape. From the eerie absence of birdsong to green shoots sprouting from burnt-out trees, Guardian readers in Australia have shared their stories and pictures of nature in the aftermath of the country’s devastating bushfires.

‘The utter silence left a deep impression’. I went for a drive out to Tallowa Dam as I heard the fires had been bad there. Bad doesn’t even begin to describe the utter devastation. Melted road signs, split rocks and skeletons told me that for a few days this was literally hell on Earth. However, the speed and force with which the regrowth had commenced was breathtaking and the way that some shoots burst through scorched trunks reminded me of childbirth. There were shoots emanating from everywhere – and quickly. The deepest impression I was left with, though, was the utter silence. Australian bush is usually a riot of noise. I could just hear the trickle of water and the odd insect, and I saw no marsupial life at all.

In late February, we came back to camp at our “special place” at Lake Conjola. It was shocking and I was conflicted in my response to the devastation – the sight of all the dead, lifeless trees was tragic and yet hauntingly beautiful. l will never forget the smell – it was like burnt toast, only worse. There are signs of life around the lake. The undergrowth is starting to shoot and most of the trees look a bit dishevelled and not their best – as if they are still in their pyjamas, with frilly green shoots sprouting up and down their bodies. Read the full article here...