The book of departments

Six ways into the country

Every essay belongs to a hub. Start with the ground under you, or with the room you sleep in.

Soil, pasture and paddock

The Land

How Australian soils fail, recover and feed us — from cracking clays to suburban compost heaps.

Rivers, tanks and aquifers

Murray–Darling politics at kitchen-table scale, tanks that do not breed mosquitoes, and creeks that still remember rain.

Heat, flame and the long summer

Bushfire ecology after Black Summer, cool fire, urban heat islands and houses that do not cook their occupants.

Habitat in a settled country

Koalas, native bees, urban possums and the weeds that quietly rewrite a remnant overnight.

Air, chemicals and the backyard

Indoor air, PFAS, lead paint, food gardens and the products that linger in Australian bathrooms.

Landcare, law and habit

How Landcare actually works, how to read an impact statement, and the circular habits that survive January.