Savana Carroll is a graduate research student originally from Juneau, Alaska, USA. After completing her undergraduate degree in Environmental Biology at Fort Lewis College in Colorado, USA, she moved to Sydney in 2024. She has since completed a Master of Conservation Biology at Macquarie University and is currently pursuing a Master of Research. She is primarily interested in work which integrates Indigenous knowledge and Western Science.

Rick Davies has worked as a botanist for 45 years with government, industry and NGOs. He obtained his PhD from Flinders University studying the conservation biology of an endangered mound spring plant species, including its fire ecology. Subsequently, his Post Doctoral research included studying the fire ecology of the soil seedbank of an endangered mallee community on Kangaroo Island. While working as Threatened Flora Ecologist with the SA Government he initiated the successful ecological burning of swamps to recover endangered orchid species. More recently, Dr Davies co-supervised two PhD students working on fire ecology, one studying the burning of swamps to regenerate an endangered Hibbertia, the other the effect of season of burn on various orchid genera. In 1993, Dr Davies helped form the Threatened Plant Action Group, of which he is Deputy Chairperson. He and other experience botanists in TPAG have been concentrating on providing technical support to regionally-based NGOs in the recovery of threatened flora and TECs. Most recently, he has been working with the Friends of Mound Springs and Arabana Aboriginal Rangers to set up quantitative monitoring sites for trial Summer burns and slashing of mound springs, aimed at recovering endangered Salt Pipewort by reducing Phragmites competition.

Dr Gregory Summerell. He has worked for many years with Aboriginal colleagues and friends who have generously shared their knowledge and understanding to enable them to see and understand a more holistic and relational way of being on, with and for Country. Dr Summerell has been within NSW government agencies for 27 years undertaking roles as a researcher, Director and now Manager of the Fire and Culture Science team in Science and Insights Division of DCCEEW. Dr Summerell’s professional achievements include co-creating since 2005 what is now the DCCEEW Cultural Science team, and since 2015 building the fire research capability of DCCEEW with the Establishment of the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub in 2018, to the now NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre and the Applied Bushfire Science Program.

Sherie is an Arrernte and Yolngu ethnomycologist and PhD Candidate. Heidi is an ecologist and botanist at the Australian National Herbarium.

Challis Pulotu is an Early Career Researcher (ECR), Ethnobiologist and PhD candidate with close to a decade in environmental science education and project leadership. He is resilient and recognizes the need to make Pacific Islanders and Aboriginal People alike work together using Indigenous-led approaches. He hopes to inspire changemakers in his community and at large New South Wales by spreading awareness of their natural environment by helping communities become conscious providing practical, tangible benefits that empower them to boldly champion environmental stewardship.