This week’s episode of Back Roads, airing Thursday, February 20 at 8:00 pm on ABC Australia and ABC iview, visits Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Presenter Paul West explores how the island is recovering from the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20.
Here’s the Lowdown: Paul West travels to Kangaroo Island, a place often called “Australia’s Galapagos” due to its unique wildlife. He meets Dr. Peggy Rismiller, an echidna expert who moved to the island in the 1980s. She explains how the island’s short-beaked echidnas, which have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, survived the fires by burrowing underground.
What This Means Now: The episode shows a change in attitude among the island’s residents. Farmers, like Ben Davis, are now actively working with ecologists, such as Heidi Groffen, to protect the wildlife on their land. Groffen uses camera traps to monitor endangered species like the KI dunnart, a small marsupial.
The Bigger Picture: While the physical marks of the fires remain, the episode highlights the resilience of both the island’s ecosystem and its community. From scientists studying echidnas to farmers protecting dunnarts, the people of Kangaroo Island are working together to help the island’s wildlife recover. The program demonstrates the remarkable natural recovery taking place, alongside the human effort to support it.
