The past few days have been so action-packed I haven’t had time for updates. For now, I’ll just leave this “little” hint here #GhostNets #ALDFG #EsperanceTjaltjraak #IndigenousRangers #BeachCleanup #MarineDebris #ArtFromTrash @AdriftLab

Another day bashing through extremely dense Melaleuca in search of #malleefowl with #EsperanceTjaltjraak #IndigenousRangers. After getting whipped in the face by branches for 5 hrs, Im not able to include any quotes from the team because they all included curse words 🤬 (and a lot of grunting!). Good thing no one needed to record the “sounds of the bush” 🤣🤣🤣 And no, we didn’t see any birds 🙄 Thankfully, these hard-earned data are part of a new MSc #student #research project in collaboration with #RMIT University - stay tuned for exciting updates!
#CaringForCountry #ProtectWhatYouLove #ThreatenedSpecies #TeamWork #collaboration #AdriftLab #drones #SateliteImagery @AdriftLab

BIG SCIENCE NEWS: #NewSpecies of adorable #insect 🪳 found in #WudjariCountry. The pea-sized stink bug resembles the spiky leaves of its host plant (Hakea sp.). The discovery was made by entomologists from #UNSW and WA #Museum with the help of #EsperanceTjaltjraak #IndigenousRangers at a place of cultural significance to the Wudjari people of the region. #wudjariboodja #speciesdiscovery #BushBlitz #taxonomy

Photo 1 - my first attempt at #DirectSeeding using some of the seeds I collected from the bush (#FieldWork with #IndigenousRangers) over the past 3 months. Mixture of about 10 #NativeSpecies. Photo 2 - saplings I planted a month ago, growing strong #revegetation #LandForWildlife #restoration

Huge day collecting tissue samples for a traditional #bushfoods project on #microplastics in #fish: a #collaboration between #AdriftLab, DPIRD & #EsperanceTjaljtraak #IndigenousRangers. Our dedicated team started at 6am and volunteered for another early start tomorrow! 🐟♻️💙 #BlackBream #mullet #TraditionalFoods #TeamWork #IndigenousInSTEM @SeabirdSentinel

This week our ETNTAC #IndigenousRangers are supporting the 2023 #BushBlitz event in #Esperance. I was fortunate to spend the day with this epic human ⬇️ totally in awe of his #dreamtime stories & the ID skills of the trapdoor #spider expert #AdriftLab #NewSpecies #CaringForCountry @adriftlab

Today’s #FieldWork was…exhausting but also great fun (and my shins are once again black and blue). We bush-bashed (in the rain) through dense Melaleuca in search of #malleefowl nests (we found one!) 🪺 This project is led by one of our female #IndigenousRangers and it was a privilege to help make HER project happen 😍 #WomenInSTEM

Yesterday was spent with the Traltjraak #IndigenousRangers amongst the beautiful salmon gums (Eucalyptus salmonophloia) collecting 2kg of seed from native trees as part of a large-scale #ZeroCarbon #revegetation project to restore paddocks to bush land. Exhausted but also rejuvenated 💙🌳 (📸 of native Eremophila) #CaringForCountry #LandForWildlife

First week working outside academia complete! Over the past few days, I was fortunate to be invited on a #CulturalHeritage (field) survey with Elders and Rangers to document an ancient stone fish trap and beach-washed plastics. Driving to the site was equally spell-binding as we passed through pristine kwongkan bushlands (Noongar name for sand), a threatened ecological plant community (banksia and cycads galore!). For lunch, the #IndigenousRangers caught abalone which we smoked and ate on the beach, overlooking the archipelago. We met with project partners (oh so many!) who were enthusiastic about collaboration and offered up ideas and resources. Over the next few weeks, we’ll work together to prepare a funding bid to support knowledge exchange and nature conservation in this region. Regardless of who I spoke with, the topic of conversation was how to best support one another to do meaningful and rewarding actions that protect Country and create opportunities for community to thrive.

All of this was in complete contrast to, and would have been virtually impossible within, current academic systems. The mountains of approvals that would have been required to undertake just this one survey, or even express interest in applying for such a grant, would have tied me up in paperwork, meetings, and phone calls for weeks. Ultimately, because most of the deliverables focus on habitat restoration, community education, and empowering Indigenous people these projects are unlikely to have been valued within academia and so wouldn’t have been supported going forward (because they probably won’t lead to research articles, published in journals behind paywalls).

While there’s an incredible amount of learning ahead as I grapple with new people, languages, and places, I'm better supported than I have been in years. Not for a moment have I missed the ultra-competitive and intolerant world I left behind (or endless discussions of metrics - good riddance!).

When systems are broken, people are broken #LeavingAcademia

Thousands of tiny (1 mm) Acacia seeds, collected and processed with love by #IndigenousRangers to support #revegetation projects in #WesternAustralia 🧡

Researchers & #IndigenousRangers are producing peer-reviewed science that shows #Indigenous fire management practices can prevent greenhouse gas emission

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-12/hot-science-making-flights-carbon-neutral-reduce-gas-emissions/101734794

Managed to finally log back into this account. Exciting Mastodon ‘toot’ to kick things off: last week #AdriftLab sailed across the #Recherche Archipelago to #SalisburyIsland. We didn’t find any #seabirds, but were rewarded with spectacular views of a remote, untouched paradise. We documented #CulturalArtefacts dating back 15,000 years from when the island was still connected to mainland Australia! Grateful to our INCREDIBLE team of #IndigenousRangers, UWA, the National Environmental Science Program & Our Marine Parks Grant for funding this expedition.