Ordering a coffee at The Boat Shed at Mossy Point, the sun finally gleaming after a long La Nina summer, a design by local artist Maria Tate caught WOOEE’s eye.
In a season that was such a stark contrast to the summer of 2019-2020 – where Fire-Near-Me maps and mobile phone notifications became the leif motifs of our lives – it’s a bit of a brain flip to recall that locals like Maria were forced to seek safety at places like the Tomaga River.
During that summer the advancing and receding contours of fire fronts, captured in real-time and and internet balled by satellites high above our smoky atmosphere, were synthesized into digital RFS maps right across NSW. They determined where we went. And where we sought safety.
There’s something incredibly beautiful about Maria’s remapping of a place that she knows and loves so well, and the philosophy that’s filled her life since that time. Maria’s designs are printed on tea towels and T-shirts. Re-finding her place in the world, and feeling that the preciousness of Mossy Point was even more amplified after the fires, she plunged herself into research.
Maria Tate’s Mossy Point design
“An extensive process went into this design, and when I create, I consider every detail. ” Maria explains.
“I wanted to represent the coastline and waterways, the marine life, the land of the Walbunga people of the Djuwin (Yuin) nation.”
“I borrowed a book – a field guide to NSW marine life. I identified the Mossy Boat Ramp Rays at the smooth stingray. I began this design by outlining this specific stingray onto blank paper. “
“It was important to me to ensure the contour lines accurately represented the elevation of the land around us, so I found a rugged paper map of the local area and drew over the contour lines with a dark pen. I built a makeshift lightbox to trace those now dark contour lines onto the same piece of paper where I had previously outlined the smooth stingray. ” Maria says.
“Now that I had the contour lines mapped out, I took a photo and uploaded it to photoshop. (I knew nothing about raster and vector back then) I traced the contours added the dotted outline. The text, coordinates, and compass are custom-made with shapes and lines.”
Tomaga River was my refuge during the bushfire; I remember sitting alone by the river mouth, looking in the direction of my house and seeing thick smoke, wondering what I would find upon return.
Designer, Maria Tate
“Tomaga River was my refuge during the bushfire; I remember sitting alone by the river mouth, looking in the direction of my house and seeing thick smoke, wondering what I would find upon return.” she says.
” Accepting that my life’s possessions could well be narrowed down to the bits and pieces I managed to shove into my car before leaving. Of course, I was running over in my head, why did I bring this? why did I leave that? This feeling that I experienced in that moment shifted my entire perspective on materialism. I want everything I own to have purpose or meaning, and this value flows over into everything I create. ”
“I want to thank Josh Waterson for coming to me with the comprehensive brief – ‘a stingray design to be printed onto a Tea-Towel’. What’s cool is that this was the first piece of art I’ve ever been asked to create. Isn’t it a remarkable skill to identify somebody’s talent before they even know it exists? Since this piece, I’ve re-focused my career from a watersports instructor to a freelance designer.”
Maria says that when she does guide school groups kayaking or stand up paddleboarding on the river, it’s a sense of awareness that she wants to pass on.
“I’m passionate about educating the younger generation on the damaging effects caused by the actions of humans. For example, there is a 4-knot speed limit on this waterway; when boats come roaring past, my blood boils, knowing that the wake created by speeding contributes to the erosion of the sand spit. However, we can see the desperate attempts to protect this area, such as barriers, signage, sandbags and coconut coir retainers to prevent soil erosion on the slopes of the spit. It will inevitably break, meaning the waves coming in from Tomakin Beach – known as Riv’o by local surfers – will soon break straight into the mangroves and seagrass beds. This will be detrimental to the marine life that uses this habitat for shelter and reproduction. “
“Mapping this waterway cut deep, realising the fragility of this environment, and if things continue that way they are, my design will no longer be accurate.” Maria reflects.
” I hope my design can help us realise the interconnections between land and marine environments and their inhabitants and how we, as custodians, have a responsibility to take action. “
Click here to visit Maria Tate’s website
Seagrasses, also known as ‘the lungs of the sea’ generate very large amounts of oxygen. As well as providing vital habitats for plant and animal species, they play an important role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, and offer protection from wave action and storm surges.
Read more here about the role of sea grasses here –
And this awesome discovery of what is believed to be the world’s LARGEST plant!
Blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes lock away high quantities of organic carbon and support food security and livelihoods.
image – CSIRO
A joint research project initiated in 2021 between Australian universities, CSIRO, and industry is quantifying the potential of Australia’s mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes to help reduce emissions.
You can read more about the program’s research into solutions addressing our biodiversity and climate crisis, here :
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/News-releases/2021/Estimating-Australias-blue-carbon-potential
Mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes, also known as ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems, lock up carbon at faster rates than most land ecosystems.
CSIRO research scientist and project co-leader Dr Andy Steven said the conservation and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems could deliver substantial emissions reductions, while also delivering other important benefits to the environment and local communities.
“Along with their ability to absorb high amounts of carbon dioxide, blue carbon ecosystems can reduce the impact from waves and storm surges and provide important habitat for many species of plants and animals, including some that support important recreational and commercial fisheries,” Dr Steven said.
“They are natural solutions to some of the most pressing problems the world faces.”
CSIRO
Words – Magella Blinksell
WOOEE 2022