Adrian Wells speaks on new book, The Rivers and Wetlands of the Murray Darling Basin

So when the Jane Goodall Institute asked Leneva resident Mr Wells and Burrumbuttock Public School principal, Owen Dunlop, to write a book for primary school students about the rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin, they jumped at the opportunity.

"There's a living classroom out there," Mr Wells said.

"When I was at school in Melbourne, I learnt about industrial development along the Mississippi in America. I learnt about irrigation and farming on the Nile.

"No one ever talked about the Murray, the Murrumbidgee or the Darling, but they do now."

For nearly 25 years, Mr Wells and Mr Dunlop, co-founders of Petaurus Education Group in Albury, worked and travelled together across the Murray-Darling Basin, running workshops, excursions and developing curriculum for schools on understanding the basin and its natural resources.

"It's one of the largest basins in the world, but it's also one of the driest," Mr Wells said. "More water goes down the Amazon River in a day than goes down all of the rivers in the basin in a year.

"So it relies on a very limited and often not permanent water supply. We have droughts and floods, but we've been able to manage them in a way that allows us to produce the nation's food.

"The basin provides clean drinking water for about 2 million people, and the plants, animals, native fish and birds all rely on the water.

"So it's essential that we preserve the river and the Aboriginal cultural heritage that comes with it."

The book, The Rivers and Wetlands of the Murray Darling Basin, is currently being sent to 4000 schools across Australia. It weaves together stories, paintings, poetry and photographs to show how communities, students, and various organisations work together to protect the basin's environment and culture.

"We focused on the basin's beauty, interesting facts and the wealth of community, Aboriginal and agency knowledge about rivers and landscapes," Mr Wells said.

"We also ensured that students understood that everyone, including young people, is responsible for caring for the Murray-Darling Basin."

Mr Wells also wanted to highlight the wisdom of farmers and Aboriginal elders who have lived by and studied the river for generations.

"In recent years, the management of the basin has been, in some ways, clouded over by the basin plan," he said.

"But there is a passion in the community. There are a lot of skills and knowledge in the community, particularly from older people who have been here for four or five generations.

"Farmers who farm the land, who've lived in the towns, know a heck of a lot about the way the rivers run, and they've seen it all.

"And we need to somehow harness all that because governments aren't going to fix the problem."

Mr Wells said one inspiration for the book was the Aboriginal dreamtime story about Tiddalick the frog, who greedily drank up all the water in the basin.

"There's a lot in the book from Aboriginal people, from elders who've written dreamtime stories for me," he said.

"They provided artworks, and they did it because they, too, want to see the basin become sustainable."

Mr Wells sees the book as a testament to, and celebration of, people and communities along the rivers who contribute their skills, ideas and knowledge to the life of the basin.

"The book shows that people working together and sharing skills will make things happen in the basin, such as recognising culture, making better use of water, growing new crops, conserving animals and plants, undertaking research and developing strong and resilient communities."

Although all books will go to primary schools, Mr Wells is confident he can secure additional copies to be distributed to libraries along the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Darling rivers.

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