Cirrus@Austlit

"In 1997 the Special Forever project celebrates links with the land, the rivers and the people of the Murray-Darling Basin. Links with the Land is the fifth anthology to be published as part of Special Forever, a joint project of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the Primary English Teaching Association. Children from schools throughout the Basin draw our attention to the region's wildlife, seasons, landscapes and communities, urging us to treasure what we have and preserve it for future generations. Sometimes funny, sometimes concerned, always these children's words and pictures are full of life, honesty and a determination to look after the land and its inhabitants." (Source: back cover)

Our Places, Our Future is the sixth collection of children's words and pictures to be published as part of Special Forever, a joint project of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the Primary English Teaching Association. In 1998 children from schools all over the Murray-Darling Basin have contributed their thoughts and visions of farm and town life; landscapes changed or left untouched by humans; animal and plant life; the influence of the past on life today, and of our present actions on the future. Their work touches on all aspects of life, from the humourous to the tragic. It shows a strong sense of place and a deep concern to preserve the best features of the Murray-Darling region for future generations. Whether purely imaginative or clear-eyed and anchored to the earth, these paintings, models, drawings, poems, stories and information pieces are full of freshness, energy and insights into a special region.

"Where We Live is the seventh collection of children's art and writing published as part of Special Forever, a joint project of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the Primary English Teaching Association. Schoolchildren from Queensland to South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have contributed in many different ways to this collection, producing poems, stories, reports, models, paintings, drawings and collages, all related to some aspect of life in the Murray-Darling Basin region. In 1999 there has been a particular emphasis on history, memories and a sense of community. The contributors also show their fascination with plant and animal life, awareness of seasonal change, love of exploring in the bush and concern for the natural environment. Sometimes lyrical, sometimes strong-minded and serious, sometimes bubbling over with sheer fun, the pieces in this book reflect the variety and vitality of life in the Murray-Darling Basin." (Source: back cover)

"Where I belong is the ninth collection of children's writing and art published as part of 'Special forever: an environmental communications project', a joint project of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and the Primary English Teaching Association.

Within this anthology the voices of children from schools all over the million square kilometres of the Murray-Darling Basin come together to celebrate the physical, social and spiritual landscapes which they inhabit and know so well. Their contributions draw upon their experiences, knowledge and understandings of the land and the challenges faced by them and their communities as they work toward a sustainable future for this region of Australia. The vitality and freshness of their words and picture communicate a deep and abiding sense of belonging to the land and a shared responsibility for its future." (Source: back cover)

"Spirit of Place is the eleventh collection of children's writing and art published as part of Special Forever: An Environmental Communications Project, a partnership between the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and Primary English Teaching Association.

The words and pictures in this collection describe what it means to be growing up with, and within the unique million square kilometres of the Australian landscape known as the Murray-Darling Basin.

From drought to flood, from history to the future, from reconciliation to sustainable natural resource management - there appears to be no topic too large or challenging for these children to tackle. Each individual piece, whether describing a favourite place, a beloved person, an animal, a plant or a way to fix environmental damage, evokes a sense of place and a desire for understanding. As a collection, these words and images capture a strong spirit of a special place." (Source: back cover)

"Footprints by the River is the twelfth collection of children's writing and art published as part of 'Special Forever: An Environmental Communications Project', a partnership between the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and Primary English Teaching Association.

In a period of severe drought the resilience of nature, and of human communities, is highlighted in the work of these children, themselves residents of the Murray-Darling Basin.

They respond to hardships and isolation with a determination that is truly inspiring. They depict a landscape that is their own and about the mutual dependence of land and people. They recognise the finite nature of the Basin's natural resources and the need to work together for a sustainable future. Best of all, they celebrate life and the land and riverine environments that sustain it.

We set down their words and pictures in this collection so that they will remain, like footprints beside the many rivers that flow in the Murray-Darling Basin, to mark these children's hopeful journey through land and time." (Source: back cover)

Living Landscapes is the thirteenth collection of children's writing and art published as part of Special Forever: An Environmental Communications Project, a partnership between the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and Primary English Teaching Association.

These young authors and artists are growing up in the many environments that make up the Murray-Darling Basin. From southern Queensland to the Murray's mouth and all across New South Wales and Victoria, their communities are united and given their unique character by the vast river system.

Rivers and creeks do not always flow smoothly. Sometimes they dry into a chain of muddy ponds, or disappear completely; sometimes floods come, and cause a different kind of devastation from droughts. In the same way, times of prosperity and hardship follow each other unpredictably across towns, farms and families. Often there is not a lot that children can do to tackle the forces that control their lives. 

But children can think and watch, and respond to what goes on around them. They can appreciate the intricacy of a passing insect, or the brightness of a bird on a branch; they can enjoy a swing-rope that drops them into a swimming hole; they can play sport, paint murals, ride horses and tractors and quad bikes, scramble up hills and explore ferny forests, perform in concerts and work alongside the grown-ups in keeping the landscape alive.

These poems, stories and pictures record them doing these things and many more. Produced by perhaps the liveliest creatures in the Basin, they give us a panoramic view of its many living landscapes. (Source: back cover)

River Dreams is the fourteenth collection of children's writing and art published as part of Special forever: an environmental communications project, a partnership between the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and Primary English Teaching Association.

This collection is as alive with birds, lizards, livestock and people as are the million square kilometres of the Basin itself. The children of this part of Australia are full participants in their communities and ecosystems. They drive the tractors, round up the cattle, help with shearing and watching the weather with the same hopeful, clear gaze as their parents. They listen to their elders, the Aboriginal custodians of dreamings and the nannas and grandpas who remember the floods and the fun times of their own childhood.

And they explore the natural worlds - wetlands and dry - that are united and defined by this great river system. Not a frog, a damselfly, a wren or a tiny bush flower is ignored; all these and more are seen, scented, drawn and described in these pages.

This collection of poems, stories and pictures show that the children of the Murray-Darling Basin strongly appreciate their natural and cultural heritage. Browse through the pages and be refreshed by their energy and humour, by their thoughtfulness, and by their sharp observations about their world and its future. (Source: back cover)

Rivers of Wonder is the seventeenth collection of children's writing and art published as part of Special Forever: An Environmental Communications Project, a partnership between the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and e:lit - the Primary English Teaching Association. The people who live in the Murray-Darling Basin are directly affected by Australia's 'droughts and flooding rains', in fact by every weather event that passes across our vast continent. This year has been no different, with drought still having a deep impact on lives and livelihoods throughout the many regions of this river system, and the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria rounding off the seasonal cycle with a disastrous flourish. As the grown-ups defend their property and try to anticipate the weather's next move, the children are looking on.

And what they see, they draw and write about. With only a nudge from their teachers, poetry pours out of them, and stories, and historical research, and predictions for the future both fearful and hopeful. Hand them a paintbrush and they'll show you the birds they see, the lizards, the landscapes, the small furry animals, the farm machinery, their smiling families, their mates mucking about on the riverbank. They make models, too, and they take photographs. They're fully engaged, and this anthology, like the others before it, is just one offshoot of that engagement.

Another product is a strong consciousness, not only of the beauty, danger and outright fun of their environment, but of their own and their communities' obligations. They feel a strong need to preserve the good things about the Basin and reduce the ongoing impact of poor environmental decisions made in the past. There are many cries of woe in this book, about the damage that's been done by humans to these magnificent rivers and their surroundings. But there are also expressions of determination, to fix things up, to the change the way we live, to take responsibility for improving biodiversity, valuing water resources and limiting the spread and dominance of invasive species.

With all their concerns for their way of life on the land, kids in the Murray-Darling find time and space to enjoy themselves. They float leaf-sailboats down the Loddon, imagine themselves into a blacksmith's skin, eat a sausage (some people eat two!) at lunch on a farm excursion; they sit with their Nan watching frogs and pelicans in the river, they go mustering on a motorbike. The energy and curiosity they bring to each day's activities and observations comes through in their contributions to this collection of writing and artworks. It's a life-enhancing read - enjoy! (Source: back cover)