About Wild BNE

Exploring Springbrook National Park; photo by Leah Mahoney

Who is behind Wild BNE?
Wild BNE is the nature journal of myself, Christian Perrin. I am a Brisbane-born and based naturalist with an insatiable curiosity for the natural world, especially as it pertains to South-east Queensland. 

What is Wild BNE? 
Wild BNE is a wildlife blog with linked social media pages, established in 2013 after I returned to Brisbane from living overseas and
elsewhere for most of my twenties. Coming back to my hometown following such an extended absence allowed me to see South-east Queensland from a fresh perspective, and I realised there is an incredible natural beauty that is often under-appreciated by both residents and visitors alike. 

What does BNE stand for?
BNE stands for Brisbane. If you visit London or New York City, you’ll see souvenirs and slogans saying "I ❤ LDN" and "I ❤ NYC" respectively. I thought Brisbane could use a similar kind of pride!

What’s so special about South-east Queensland’s natural heritage?
South-east Queensland is a subtropical region that captures a mix of Australia’s northern tropical plants and creatures, and their southern, more temperate counterparts. If you look at the distribution maps for all kinds of different animal and plant groups, you’ll find a lot of species are at the limit of their range just to the north or south of Brisbane, usually encompassing the area either way.

Baby birdwatcher, 1984.

Bughuntin' with my Dad at Dowse Lagoon,
circa 1993.

What is my background, as Wild BNE founder?
I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t obsessed with wildlife. When I was a baby, my family lived on Lunn Street in Sandgate, a stone’s throw from the glorious Dowse Lagoon. Even though it’s a frowned-upon activity now, my parents and I would feed the waterbirds that lived there, and one of my earliest memories is of being surrounded by a menagerie of geese, ducks and rails that captured my full attention. My parents encouraged my interests further with a decent book collection and weekend bushwalks, and in my early teens, I joined the IBIS Bird Observers, a Sandgate-based birdwatching club led by Mrs Pat Barry. In my twenties, a lot of other life experiences began to compete for my time—travel, nightlife, the demands of work and more—and my life felt a little unbalanced to some extent. Looking back now, I can say with certainty that it was because my love of nature had been pushed to the periphery of my life, instead of being where it belongs as a central focus. I made up for lost time when I returned to Brisbane in 2012, and expanded my enthusiasm from just birds initially, to absolutely everything you might find in the bush, sea or backyard. 

Where is Wild BNE headed?
When I started Wild BNE, my original goal was for it to be something that helps people grow their own personal connection to the incredible wilderness we all share in South-east Queensland. I wanted people to suddenly look twice at the water dragon at Southbank, to wonder about the mysterious private life of the tiny spider on their garden plant, and to feel the same amount of enthusiasm for our corner of the planet that is so easy to muster up elsewhere when on holiday. 

Over the years, my ambition for my blog has waxed and waned. I had an idea to eventually turn it into some kind of ecotourism business, but my thirties have seen a shift in my personal values, and I don’t think income and money is the only way to validate oneself and life's passions.

I am increasingly critical of social media’s role in my life and the world at large. Keeping my blog has allowed me to make new friends, learn new things, support great organisations and more, but there is a negative side to it as well, especially for someone prone to anxiety. 

Moving forward, I envision Wild BNE as a public nature journal in which I share excerpts of my private nature journals. Some of the posts may be on Facebook, some of them here on the blog website, and if I am ever slow to reply to questions or comments, please understand that I try to limit how much time I spend online and sometimes schedule posts to publish automatically.

 

To every lovely person I have met along the way of keeping this blog, thank you for your wonderful company online and in person, your good will and your interest.

Best wishes and kind regards,

Christian

Whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus), Bribie Island.