Topic:
Eco-restoration & landcare
A true friend to region’s threatened species
Dr Tony Friend is a dedicated scientist and for more than forty years, he has lived his dream job of restoring populations of threatened mammals - numbats, Gilbert's potoroo, dibbler, woylies and more. In this story, Tony traces some of the ground-breaking research that led to effective fox control. He provides a fascinating account of the numbat's termite diet, and he shows how important it is for the community to have access to this deep knowledge and experience.
Yarning about fire
This story offers so much! It is a heart-warming yet serious yarn that shines more light on a way forward with fire. Here's Uncle Aden: "Kaarl (fire) was always part of our life ... We had a good life in camps and the kaarl made sure we were alright. We had all the comforts thanks to the fire." Join Uncle Aden Eades, Aunty Eliza Woods and PhD student Ursula Rodrigues as they sit and yarn about fire.
Balijup farm: family, people and nature working together
Alan Hordacre and Basil Schur tell the heart-warming story of Balijup farm, near Tenterden. Balijup shows how conservation, farming and forestry can co-exist, boosted since 2012 by the enthusiastic collaboration between conservation group Green Skills and the Hoardacre siblings - Alan, Richard and Anne - who own the farm.
Keith Bradby: Go west young man?
With his enquiring mind, Gondwana Link’s Keith Bradby is always reading and listening, both to learn more and to find effective ways to bring about change. Since the mid-1970s, he has been intensely involved in major efforts to change land use in south-western Australia, including ending land clearing, promoting landcare and launching large-scale ecological restoration plantings. Here’s Keith, tracing the origins of his landcare ethic, Gondwana Link and some of what has been achieved along the Link, so far.
Ezzard Flowers: Power drawn from his reconnection with country
Ezzard’s life began with family, culture and being on country, but he became a member of the Stolen Generation when he was taken from family at age eight and placed in missions for six years. Reconnecting with his family and country and the importance of working together for Mother Boodja are moving and powerful threads in Ezzard's story.
Art, poetry and their place in an ancient landscape
Bill Bunbury OAM speaks to artist NIKKI GREEN and poet RENEÉ PETTITT-SCHIPP about their award-winning imagery and words and how they engage us with both the region’s ancient landscapes and the challenge of managing human impacts. Their works also reflect respect for the land’s Noongar Custodians.
Sayah Drummond: a refreshing perspective on making a difference
"I am a 'people person', so working with the community and working with passionate people is just really energising ... I’ve learned that a lot of environmental recovery is done by volunteers because they care, they make the effort to learn, and they truly make a difference to their little patch."
Giving fire back to Goreng Country
"Uncle Aden Eades articulated the Elders were feeling like their “tyres were going flat” and their presence was token. This conversation centred on the need to properly fund a thorough cultural assessment before any burn."
Long-time landcarer reflects on changing Kojonup environment
Kath Mathwin has lived amongst Kojonup’s environment for over 80 years. She recalls great beauty in nature as well as the processes that have produced major environmental change and loss. Kath’s story is an appeal for a stronger landcare and environmental ethic in farming districts like Kojonup – everywhere really!
Habitat plantings bring the birds
From bare paddocks back to bush full of wildlife. In this story, animal ecologist Dr Nic Dunlop explains the rationale behind undertaking high quality ecological restoration.
Nic Dunlop: The power of citizen science
Meet Dr Nic Dunlop, Coordinator of the Citizen Science Program at the Conservation Council of Western Australia. For decades, Nic has used his scientific knowledge to assist and run citizen science projects, mostly involving birds.
Justin Jonson: Leadership in ecological restoration
Listen to Restoration Ecologist Justin Jonson describe his years of work refining the science of restoring habitats and ecological integrity on cleared land.
Eddy and Donna Wajon: Chingarrup Sanctuary
Meet Eddy and Donna Wajon from Chingarrup Sanctuary, the first private property purchased for conservation in the Gondwana Link.
Ezzard Flowers: Reconnection and collaboration
As a child, Ezzard was taken from family and placed in a mission. Years later he faced the challenge of reconnecting to family and country, and charting his life. Now he’s a Noongar Elder with a powerful story about working together for Mother boodja - country.
Ella Maesepp: Lake Ewlyamartup
Meet Ella Maesepp from Katanning Landcare, who helped to coordinate an enormous community landcare effort to bring Lake Ewlyamartup back from the brink of collapse.
Eugene Eades: Coming back to Country
Eugene Eades is a Goreng - Menang Elder, and since 2006 he has played a pivotal role in creating a powerful healing and cross-cultural gathering place on a former farm, now called Nowanup.
Lynette Knapp and Alison Lullfitz: Connecting on Country
Lynette Knapp is a Merningar Elder and Adjunct Research Fellow and Dr Alison Lullfitz, is a Research Associate, both at the University of Western Australia.
Heather Adams: Leadership in Landcare
Heather Adams is the Chair of the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group and a long-term leader in the landcare movement.
Balijup Farm and Fauna Sanctuary
Listen to current co-owner Alan Hordacre and others describe the important work taking place at Balijup Farm, including the fully fenced Fauna Sanctuary.
Ella Maesepp: Landcare in Katanning
Listen to Ella Maesepp from Katanning Landcare, one of Western Australia's most prominent and successful landcare organisations in a prosperous agricultural community in the heart of WA’s southern wheatbelt.
Ranges Link: Caring for the Kalgan Valley
Meet some of the key people behind the Ranges Link initiative in the Kalgan Valley, a productive farming area between the Porongurup and Stirling Ranges.
Sylvia Leighton: A passion for ecologically-based farming
Sylvia Leighton is a farmer, landcarer and scientist with a passion for ecologically-based farming
Wendy Bradshaw: A life in landcare and regenerative farming
Wendy Bradshaw farms near Tambellup, and is also a passionate environmentalist who is constantly learning and experimenting with how we can farm better with nature.
Gen Harvey: Wingedyne Reserve
Listen to Gen Harvey, Landcare Officer at Wagin-Woodanilling Landcare Zone describe what makes Wingedyne Reserve so special.
Twin Creeks Reserve: Community driven conservation
Meet some of the members of Friends of Porongurup Range, an incredibly passionate and dedicated community group who own and manage Twin Creeks Conservation Reserve.
One thousand kilometres of hope
What is Gondwana Link? Sitting under a grand old salmon gum in Ngadju country, Keith Bradby explains how working with local people to tackle habitat loss enabled Gondwana Link to take an intractable problem and turn it into something quite achievable.
Yarraweyah Falls Restoration Project
Yarraweyah Falls is a 100 hectare ecological restoration project that is filling a gap for Gondwana Link, in the highly biodiverse Fitz-Stirling area.
Restoration ecologist is a man with a mission
Tash Kneebone from The Southerly charts the state of the Great Southern’s environment and goes one-and-one with local restoration ecologist Justin Jonson.
Linking modern science with Indigenous knowledge to care for the land
Robyn Williams from The Science Show interviews Stephen Hopper, Professor of Biodiversity about linking modern science with Indigenous knowledge to care for country.
Entangled nature: The Stirling Range National Park
The history of the Stirling Range National Park - one of the largest reserves within the southwestern Australian global biodiversity hotspot. One of the most species-rich places in Australia and valued as a significant but threatened conservation asset.
Balijup Farm and eco-sanctuary from above
Experience flying above a wandoo woodland canopy. This film features drone aerial photography of the Balijup Farm and Eco-Sanctuary in April 2020.
Birds on the edge: Helping threatened shorebirds
The salt lakes around Cranbrook are a highlight in the Great Southern. This short film showcases community and landholder work to fence and rehabilitate the foreshores of their salt lakes to protect threatened shorebirds, like the Hooded Plover.
Balijup: A jewel in the Gondwana Link
From Green Skills, this film introduces Balijup - a special property in the Great Southern region and a vital link in the Gondwana Link.
Heather’s incredible life on the riverbank
Heather Adams has been a constant presence in the Landcare activities in the Upper Kalgan and Ranges Link for three decades.
Nowanup: Healing land, healing people
Under the extraordinary leadership and dedication of Elder Eugene Eades, Nowanup has become a beacon of hope, a force for cross-cultural sharing and a powerful healing place.
Ranges Link: Bringing country back to life
This uplifting story of landholder-led conservation and restoration comes from the farming country between the Porongurup and Stirling Ranges. Farmer and native seed pioneer Peter Luscombe has teamed up with his neighbours the Friends of the Porongurup Range, working from their Twin Creeks Reserve, to build a major habitat link between the ranges.
Nowanup: Healing country, healing people
This case study from the WA Landcare Network tells the story of the collaboration between the Noongar community and environmental groups that has resulted in Nowanup, a genuinely special place where country is being restored to health and people are coming back to the land.
Restoring Oyster Harbour
A Gondwana Link film about an important estuary near Albany which has been restored to health by communities working together in the catchment and under water.
Balancing nature: the south-west of Australia
From the ABC Science archives, this 2008 story focuses on the biodiversity hotspot of south-western Australia and features conservationists, ecologists and scientists to find out how conservation is succeeding both in small pockets of habitats and across extensive areas of landscape.
Giving back to country: Chingarrup Sanctuary
From Green Skills, this film highlights the wonderful environmental restoration and citizen science activities carried at Chingarrup Sanctuary - a 576 hectare bush property near Boxwood Hill, on Western Australia's south coast.
Technology working for wildlife
A Gondwana Link film featuring restoration ecologist Justin Jonson. Justin uses science, technology and heart to direct-seed large areas of cleared land back to bush.
Healing country on the Gondwana Link
From Greening Australia a short film about the restoration of habitat in the shadow of the Stirling Ranges National Park, in partnership with the Nowanup Rangers.
