With the end of the highly successful ‘Walking Together’ project which focused on bringing together Elders, their families and conservation scientists to share and document ecological knowledge, we understand that is more important than ever for Aboriginal communities to share their knowledge and to step into this shared space. We need to develop methods of recording and mapping their knowledge to ensure that it is there for future generations. Developing methods that ensure they understand who they are and where they come from. We must ensure we are building a resilient future for our children and our cultural practices.
This led me to taking the next steps to undertake my PhD at UWA within the western hub of the NESP Program as a mature age student in a small (well maybe not so small) town on the south coast of Western Australia. As a Merningar yorga with a Mother that is very involved in the academic world, I braved the perceived notions that it is not really something Aboriginal people do and if they do have a go they struggle. This presentation will explore this process and the first part of my PhD undertaking a comprehensive literature review and sharing what my findings are to date, including what has worked and what has not.

Mound springs of the GAB threatened ecological community (TEC) and the spring endemic perennial forb Salt Pipewort (Eriocaulon carsonii) are both listed under the EPBC Act as nationally endangered. Finniss Spring Aboriginal Land contains one of the largest population of Eriocaulon carsonii subsp. carsonii occuring anywhere. Due to the relative proximity of these springs to the water extraction borefields for the Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs, mound spring flora has been monitored since 1983, starting before the commencement of mining and associated water extraction, and about the time when domestic stock was permanently removed from what was Finniss Springs Station. Every mound springs on Finniss Springs Aboriginal Land was monitored annually up until 2014.

Fatchen & Fatchen (1993, 1999) found the mound springs to be very dynamic due to the Phragmites blocking spring vents. This resulted in E.carsonii disappearing from eleven spring units and decreased in ten, while appearing in only four new springs and increasing in another two. They consequently recommended the burning of springs to reduce Phragmites competition. Subsequently three springs were burnt in winter 2002 by Arabana elders working in partnership with then PhD student Rick Davies, who monitored the effect of the burns (Davies 2005). He found that these burns did not have the desired effect due to them being in winter when reeds are dormant.

This talk describes the baseline monitoring undertaken by the Threatened Plant Action Group and Friends of Mound Spring, in partnership with Arabana Aboriginal rangers,who plan to undertake trial burns in summer 2025-6. This will be followed by monthly slashing of reemerging reed shoots while they are still fragile. Trial burning and slashing during summer is recommended on the basis of research (Hocking 1989) that showed significant translocation of carbohydrate and nutrients from underground rhizomes into above-ground shoots in spring.

Following habitat loss, through factors such as fire, storms and other events, fauna can become vulnerable due to lack of macro- and micro-habitat. This can leave them exposed to introduced predators, such as cats and foxes, and to extreme climatic events such as heat-waves. In addition, some plants can similarly benefit from protection during the early stages of their growth.

Yedabila habitat pods are designed to be temporary homes where animals can hide and stay safe from predators following habitat degradation. They are created using designed using traditional Indigenous weaving techniques (“Yedabila” means animal in Yorta Yorta), from natural fibres. As the vegetation grows back the pods naturally break down, leaving no trace behind. Yedabila habitat pods are environmentally friendly, fully biodegradable.

We are currently at the trial stage for our pods and hope they will provide temporary shelter and protection for a variety of flora and fauna. We will also be working with schools and youth groups to show young people how to construct our Yedabila habitat pods using while teaching them about our amazing wildlife and celebrating Aboriginal culture and heritage.
Current trials include within turtle nesting areas, cultural burn areas for small mammals, and for plants we are trialing the pods in newly planted shoreline areas, and in wetland habitats to determine how the pods can can be used in water ways to create different structures in the water collum, to provide protection for species such as eel grass, certain milfoil’s, reeds and cumbungi.
I will present the methodology for the creation of the pods, and the results of our current trials.

Ecological function is at times overlooked in contemporary land management, in part due to a lack of accessible methods or metrics to interpret or measure function on-ground. However, protecting and restoring function can support a wide range of species interactions and ecological processes, letting benefits flow across the system and helping Country be self-sustaining and resilient to disturbance. Ecosystems which have been disturbed by urbanisation or industry may be more likely to lack a complete set of ecological functions to be self-sustaining. They are often simpler in structure and interactions, with less diversity and more likely to be impacted by exotic pests. Therefore, supporting these areas of intense modification is a priority of this research. Djandak, the Country of Djaara, First Peoples of Central Victoria, has experienced intense disturbance since colonisation but continues to retain important ecological and cultural values.

Together with DJANDAK, a land management organisation representing Djaara, I aimed to establish a series of indicators for interpreting key ecological functions in highly modified systems, using 6 urban waterway sites as case studies. Djaara hold a knowledge base of Country both historical and contemporary. Through a questionnaire and on-Country conversations, we asked 10 Djaara participants what indicators are used to determine if an ecological function is present, or alternatively, what are the signs that a function is missing? When considering the impact of post-colonial modification, we asked how the ecological function at a highly modified site compares to one that is less disturbed or has been more appropriately managed. Finally, this provided insight to the larger question of what the key, or minimum composition of roles that are needed to create a functional ecosystem. Through responses given we were able to establish a broad scope of indicators to perceive 10 priority ecological functions on-ground.

Raising Rare Corymbia: A Community Stewardship Approach for Species Conservation.
L. Ngugi, V. Turpin, G. Turpin
Corymbia sp. WAC1 (Myrtaceae) is a medium-sized tree (up to 15 m) endemic to North Queensland, occurring in a few small stands from the Atherton Tablelands to the Windsor Tablelands. It grows in dry sclerophyll forests on steep, shallow, acidic volcanic soils. Listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act 1999 and protected by Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992, the species faces significant threats from mining and destructive wildfires. The November 2023 wildfires raised urgent concerns about the species’ survival, particularly among the Mbabaram Traditional Owners (TOs), who share the Country where this species occurs.
This study was initiated through formal agreements under the ARC-funded project “A Deadly Solution: Towards an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry.” Traditional Owner communities identify culturally and ecologically significant plants, grant written permission for research, and actively participate in the research. Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge and cultural protocols guided all aspects of the research, ensuring respectful and reciprocal engagement. Together, we collected propagation material using Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge of seasonal timing and sustainable harvesting, aligned with government protocols for rare and threatened species.
This TO-led research supports the conservation of a rare native tree by developing seed and stem cutting propagation methods. It aims to strengthen partnerships between TOs and researchers, offering a replicable model for threatened species recovery through collaborative, culturally grounded stewardship. An introduction of the project will be provided in this presentation.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (UKTNP) on Anangu land in Australia’s western desert region is undergoing widespread, but spatially patchy plant death following extreme drought and heatwaves. Anangu are worried about what is happening to their Country. Researchers (piranpa) and Anangu have been working together to understand which plants are dying, where mortality is occurring, and why. Over many trips on Country, we developed a series of research goals and hypotheses associated with plants, heat, and drought. Over the last three years, we’ve been testing our questions on a range of culturally important species by measuring plant traits and environmental variables - everything from seasonal change in leaf water status, to microclimate loggers, xylem vulnerability to embolism, and answering key unknowns about important species including kurkara (desert oak) and pukara (desert heath myrtle). We will highlight our favourite stories and share some interesting results of what we have learnt together about these species and how they differ in their response to their environment, particularly water use strategies. Building shared knowledge of at-risk culturally important species at UKTNP is essential for Anangu and for informing park management in an uncertain climatic future. Our research has provided important insights into how Australian desert plants cope with extreme heat and drought, and we are excited to share those results with you.

In Noongar Boodjar (Country; southwestern Australia), there is growing collaboration between First Peoples and Nydiyung (white) land managers to manage fire regimes with more ecological and cultural sensitivity. For many Noongar people, fire application is guided by reciprocal relationships held with many plant and animal species. As part of our Elder-led eco-cultural fire restoration project in southern Noongar Boodjar (Goreng, Merningar) Boodjar, we yarned up important animals and plants, their uses and stewardship practices, including with fire. We also used scientific monitoring to collect data on the presence and phenology of a subset of these culturally important plant species specific to our study landscape. Bringing these datasets together, we observed clear spatial and temporal patterns in fire application based on stewardship practices for 64 plant species. In our study, optimal timing of fire to care for the plant species observed was March-May, and least potential impact to resources across seasons was in relatively fertile, less species-rich Eucalypt woodlands. Our data and results were collaboratively interpreted and workshopped into applied outputs. These outputs can guide practices of collaborating Noongar ranger teams and facilitate broader education on seasonal knowledge specific to Goreng and Merningar Boodjar. Our work demonstrates a unique combination of Noongar eco-cultural knowledge and scientific methods, and the specific timing and placement of fires inferred provides nuanced insight to inform collaborative fire management that is sensitive to eco-cultural landscape values.

Until now, there has not been an effective way to share sensitive cultural knowledge in an emergency. The Applied Bushfire Science Program at NSW DCCEEW, together with the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS), Crown Lands, and National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), coordinated a 'first of its kind' realistic simulation exercise to bring Aboriginal rangers into the control room to protect cultural values.

Incident Management Exercises (IMX) are commonly undertaken around the world for emergency response staff to practice responding to and supporting emergencies. To our knowledge, Aboriginal rangers have never been included before. Our simulation was staged across parcels of Yuin Country, in southeast NSW, which have highly sensitive areas for Aboriginal people.

By taking participants through a carefully planned, realistic bushfire scenario, the two-way learning exercise demonstrated how cultural knowledge can be incorporated into ‘real-time’ fire planning and emergency response.



Aboriginal participants gained an understanding of the complex dynamic nature of emergency management. Emergency management personnel gained an understanding of the intricacies of cultural knowledge, the value of our cultural landscapes and the intricacies of community and kinship relationships. All participants gained meaningful knowledge, confidence and capacity that will lead to changes within the agencies, but also within the Aboriginal communities represented.

This presentation will highlight the methodology and outcomes behind the Cultural Incident Management exercise. The outcomes show cultural knowledge as critical to control room decision-making. A 5-minuite film showcasing the CIMX will be shown during the presentation. With the full 20-minuite documentary shown during the conference.