Indigenous caring for Country: working and learning together for species and places

Taking care of Country is a cornerstone of the lives of Indigenous people of Australia. The deep understanding Traditional Owners have of Country, seasonality, fire, water, plants and animals is critical to managing Australia’s biodiverse ecosystems. Traditional knowledge continues to shape how Traditional Owners live, care for, and protect the varied landscapes of Australia.

Join our series as Indigenous leaders and partners of the TSR Hub discuss the work they are doing caring for species and places, and together with their research partners, highlight the lessons learned in building effective two-way research collaborations.

Scroll down for past events and recordings

Developing biodiversity, social and cultural credit schemes for managing Country, fire and species

This webinar has been cancelled.

Across Australia’s savannas and deserts, Indigenous-led management of Country is increasing from reviving traditional fire practices that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires to managing and monitoring cultural sites and species. To sustain this work Indigenous organisations are investigating innovative and alternative revenue streams that are derived from their management of Country.

This webinar will discuss new developments in the emerging markets of biodiversity, social and cultural credit schemes, and the outcomes these are delivering for communities, people, places and species. Registrations will re-open in December.

SPEAKERS

		Braedan Taylor (Karajarri Head Ranger, Karajarri Rangers) works for the Karajarri Rangers who are directed by the Karajarri Traditional Lands Association. The rangers care for the Karajarri Indigenous Protected Area which covers more than 32,000 square kilometres of jurarr (coastal areas) and pirrar (inland areas). Their work is directed by their cultural leaders and Traditional Owners.
		Euan Noakes (Karajarri Ranger Coordinator, Karajarri Traditional Lands Association)
		Peter See (Manager Sustainability and Strategy, 10 Deserts Project) has been involved for over 11 years in the development of Indigenous land management programs in the Australian deserts. In 2017 he was instrumental in development of the 10 Deserts Project – www.10deserts.org – and subsequently filled the role as general manager until June 2020. Prior to working with Indigenous organisations, Peter had a wide-ranging background including consulting and business development in the information technology sector, management of government and social housing programs and the development of housing and community legal services in Queensland.
		Sarah Legge (Deputy Director, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub) is a wildlife ecologist, who works on adaptive management and monitoring, particularly of fire, feral cats and other threats, to support species recovery. Much of her work is carried out collaboratively with Indigenous groups.

PAST EVENTS

Research partnerships for management of Country and species

10 November 3.30-5pm AEDT

This webinar event for NAIDOC week will launch the TSR Hub’s Indigenous Engagement Protocols for Threatened Species Researchers, a resource for researchers looking to build appropriate, meaningful and effective partnerships with Indigenous communities. Speakers will showcase their collaborations and how they have worked together to deliver benefits for species, places and communities.

Supplementary resources: Available in Dropbox.

SPEAKERS

		Speaker: Bradley Moggridge (Indigenous Liaison Officer, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub) a proud Murri from the Kamilaroi Nation (North-West NSW) who grew up in Western Sydney and now lives in Canberra. His career and university qualifications have been focused around Aboriginal people and water. Brad is always keen to make an impact where or whatever he puts his energy into. With the TSR Hub as the Indigenous Liaison Officer (ILO) this is no different as threatened species may well be water dependent and culturally significant. Brad finds himself in a unique position of being trained in western science with a cultural background. His role with the hub has provided opportunities to link Western Science with Traditional Knowledge, for better management of those threatened species.
		Speaker: Willie Rioli (Tiwi Land Ranger Supervisor and Mentor, Tiwi Land Council) is the supervisor and mentor of the Tiwi Land Rangers. Willie coordinates and leads a range of land management and liaison activities to look after Tiwi Country, including biological surveys, providing support for ecological research, heritage and sacred site assessments, fire management for carbon abatement, weed management, pest monitoring, quarantine surveillance and biosecurity.
		Speaker: Hugh Davies (Postdoctoral Researcher, Charles Darwin University) conducts ecological research on the Tiwi Islands with a focus on improving our understanding of how fire and feral animals influence native mammal populations. His research aims to provide information to support land-management decisions on the Tiwi Islands.
		Facilitator: Teagan Goolmeer (Indigenous Reference Group, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub) is a proud Arabana descendant. Teagan has worked in the community engagement and environmental sector for 15 years including in NSW, QLD and WA as well as at an international level. She believes the answers to the conservation issues facing Australia lie in the Indigenous-led use of Traditional Knowledge. She is currently undertaking a PhD with the University of Melbourne.

Growing respect for culture and significant species in schools

17 November 4.30-6pm AEDT

Governments across Australia have committed to integrating Indigenous knowledge as a core component of curriculum in schools. Placing Indigenous knowledge at the centre of education systems provides an important pathway to centre respect for Indigenous values and culture in the lives and actions of young people. Yet the extent to which this goal has been achieved is limited.

This webinar will discuss the importance of opportunities for Indigenous-led learning about nature in schools, and showcase an exciting new project bringing culturally significant species into school grounds, and knowledge about those species into the classroom. By integrating cultural values, traditional knowledge and hands-on learning about nature, this collaboration between Wurundjeri community, Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, researchers and governments highlights the opportunities available through creative collaborations for engaging students with science, creating new habitat for species, and growing respect for culture in our schools.

Supplementary resources: Available in Dropbox.

SPEAKERS

		Speaker: Natasha Ward (Research Officer, RMIT University) is a research officer and educator with an interest in Indigenous science education. For her honours project she investigated the implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge into secondary science curriculum. She is currently working on developing holistic curriculums for primary schools which explore traditional knowledges by working with local Aboriginal groups, creating a connection between the school and the local Aboriginal peoples.
		Speaker: Sarah Bekessy (Professor, RMIT University) leads the ICON Science research group at RMIT University which uses interdisciplinary approaches to solve complex biodiversity conservation problems. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of human behaviour in conservation and in designing cities to encourage ‘every day nature’ experiences. She co-developed the Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design protocol that has now been used by numerous developers, governments and non-government organisations to design innovative urban biodiversity strategies. She is a project leader in the National Environmental Science Program’s Threatened Species Recovery and Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hubs.
		Panellist: Marnie Pascoe (Parent, Carlton North Primary School) is a paediatric nurse and a woman of mixed heritage, one of which is Yuin. She is passionate about the opportunity for children to learn about traditional culture and the importance of bringing this into schools.
		Panellist: Ben May (Teacher, Carlton North Primary School). In 2019, I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to work with researchers from RMIT to help coordinate the planting of an indigenous garden at our school. During this project, our students were able to learn about sustainability, indigenous culture and connection to the land, as well as care and cultivation of a range of native Australian plant species.
		Panellist: Anne Buchan (Manager Biodiversity Knowledge, Victorian Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning)
		Facilitator: Bradley Moggridge (Indigenous Liaison Officer, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub) a proud Murri from the Kamilaroi Nation (North-West NSW) who grew up in Western Sydney and now lives in Canberra. His career and university qualifications have been focused around Aboriginal people and water. Brad is always keen to make an impact where or whatever he puts his energy into. With the TSR Hub as the Indigenous Liaison Officer (ILO) this is no different as threatened species may well be water dependent and culturally significant. Brad finds himself in a unique position of being trained in western science with a cultural background. His role with the hub has provided opportunities to link Western Science with Traditional Knowledge, for better management of those threatened species.