Above the Snow Line: A Photographic Response Generating Hope

In February 2025, I had the pleasure of presenting Above the Snow Line: A Photographic Response Generating Hope at the Snow Gum Summit, hosted by Friends of the Earth. They had a stellar lineup of scientists, filmmakers, artists, and indigenous groups from the Australian Alps presenting across two days at the magnificent location of the Dinner Plain, just past Mt Hotham. Each presenter was talking about the plight of the snow gums and the dual threats they are facing, such as increased extreme fire events, which the snow gums cannot recover from and beetle infestations that are causing a major dieback event. What the snow gums are facing is equivalent to the bleaching of the coral reefs, but it still isn’t a mainstream issue. I learned so much across the two days and I got to meet all the scientists I had been researching during my Above the Snow Line project that I completed at Bogong Centre for Sound Culture Residency in 2021 and 2022. I couldn’t believe the summit was coinciding with my solo exhibition Above the Snow Line at the B—CSC Gallery in February 2025. After my presentation, I had many interested participants come up to me, sparking lively conversations and stories of their relationships to the snow gums, from backcountry skiing or snow hiking experiences or getting in the field taking photographs. It was truly inspiring meeting so many scientists and lovers of the Alpine Region.

Soft Meadow also travelled to the summit and we got to go on a mountain hike with ecologist Dean Heinze where we learned about the boulder fields of the pygmy possum habitat. We even got to see we got to see a pygmy possum that was trapped and weighed for scientific data.

It was an unforgettable trip and I am so thankful to the professional staff at Friends of the Earth who made the summit such a successful and informative event. I hope it can make people more aware and instil a greater sense of care for the snow gums. We can save our snow gums.

Link to the Snow Gum Summit Report from Mountain Journal by Cam Walker and Alana Mountain.