EPISODE · Jul 5, 2025 · 47 MIN
What The River Taught Us
from If These Trees Could Talk · host Shannon Walters
During our recent trip to Tasmania, we had a surprising highlight. Our hike to The Confluence — the meeting place of two rivers — and what we found was confronting. The Queen River, once flowing clear through the Tasmanian wilderness, is now known as Australia’s most polluted waterway. Decades of mining in Queenstown left more than a scar on the land — they poisoned the water, stripped the hills bare, and rewrote the natural order. In this episode, we explore the legacy of mining, the price of progress, and a personal reflection on what standing in that space stirred.
What this episode covers
During our recent trip to Tasmania, we had a surprising highlight. Our hike to The Confluence — the meeting place of two rivers — and what we found was confronting. The Queen River, once flowing clear through the Tasmanian wilderness, is now known as Australia’s most polluted waterway. Decades of mining in Queenstown left more than a scar on the land — they poisoned the water, stripped the hills bare, and rewrote the natural order. In this episode, we explore the legacy of mining, the price of progress, and a personal reflection on what standing in that space stirred.
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What The River Taught Us
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