** NEW CONSULTATION NEEDED ** Skilled canoe builders are creating watercraft across the country by carefully removing bark from trees, some strips three or four times the height of an average human.
The method ensures the plant lives on and can continue to be used for resources. Trees are also carved for containers (coolamons) and shields, leaving behind smaller scars.
On Dja Dja Wurrung country at what is to become known as Lake Boort a four-metre scar left on a red-gum tree is one of 2000 left behind in the area. Some scars mark ownership of the tree by particular family groups.