Powerful Adelaide exhibition reveals devastating impact of invasive weed on Country

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Buffel Grass. Image credit Green Adelaide

An Adelaide exhibition will use art and food to reveal how one of Australia’s worst environmental weeds is transforming landscapes and fuelling more intense fires.

Silent Country will take over Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute from September 25 to 27 as part of this year’s Nature Festival, placing the growing threat of buffel grass firmly in the spotlight.

Through creative works and food experiences, the exhibition will explore what happens when the invasive grass spreads across Country, replacing diverse native vegetation and threatening native plants, animals, cultural heritage and important landscapes.

Buffel grass creates dense, highly flammable growth, which can fuel hotter and more destructive fires. These fires can then help the weed spread further, creating an ongoing cycle that makes it increasingly difficult for native vegetation to recover.

The exhibition connects closely with this year’s Nature Festival theme, Seed, demonstrating how something as small as a seed can dramatically change an entire landscape.

Invasive Species Council Voice of Country Lead Taigen Ryan said the exhibition would bring the realities of buffel grass to Adelaide audiences.

“Silent Country brings that story to Adelaide and gives people an opportunity to see what buffel grass means for the people, wildlife and Country already living with its impacts,” Taigen said.

“Buffel grass is transforming some of Australia’s most extraordinary landscapes, replacing diverse native vegetation with a highly flammable monoculture and fundamentally changing the way fire moves through Country.”

The exhibition arrives as the South Australian Parliament’s Natural Resources Committee begins an inquiry into buffel grass and the effectiveness of measures being used to manage it. Public submissions to the inquiry are open until October 9.

South Australia became the first Australian jurisdiction to declare buffel grass a weed in 2015. The State Government has since committed ongoing funding for a dedicated State Buffel Grass Coordinator, while Landscape Boards, land managers and communities continue working to improve mapping, control its spread and prevent it moving further south.

However, conservation advocates say national coordination is needed, with a decision on whether buffel grass will be recognised as a Weed of National Significance expected before the end of 2026.

“Buffel grass does not respect state borders,” Taigen said.

“Without strong national coordination, the hard work being done in South Australia will always be undermined by inadequate action elsewhere.”

Silent Country forms part of the 2026 Nature Festival, which runs from September 25 to October 11 and features more than 350 experiences across South Australia.