This website may not work correctly in Internet Explorer. We recommend switching to a more secure modern web browser such as Microsoft Edge which is already installed on your computer.
This project will begin to investigate how Aboriginal systems of knowledge can be understood and meaningfully and respectfully incorporated into local agricultural practices, using applied field research and case studies of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal partnerships.
Project co-leads: Edith Cowan University’s Centre for People, Place & Planet and Maaman Marra Boodjar
This project is supported by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, and the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration.
This project will begin to investigate how Aboriginal systems of knowledge can be understood and meaningfully and respectfully incorporated into local agricultural practices, using applied field research and case studies of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal partnerships.
The research weaves Aboriginal place-based knowledge into local agricultural practices, blending biophysical and cultural perspectives. In collaboration with industry and farmers, the project team is focused on enhancing environmental health through interventions.
The project aims to develop a protocol and learning framework built around Aboriginal knowledge to understand practical ways to retain water in place and adapt to changing seasonal influences, climatic conditions, and rainfall. It will also provide baseline data on soil health parameters to illustrate the effectiveness of such an approach.
Protocols will be established to evaluate the effectiveness of Aboriginal-designed landscape rehydration practices on broadacre farms in Western Australia’s Mid West region. This evaluation will enhance climate resilience by addressing salinisation, floodplain erosion, and water management on Country.
By examining knowledge transfer mechanisms, the project seeks to drive best practices for intercultural and intergenerational learning in agricultural settings, providing the foundations of a transformational system that can be applied across other growing regions of WA.
Project work will address questions such as:
By merging traditional knowledge with Western scientific methodologies, the project aims to create innovative metrics for assessing natural system health and resilience. It is expected this work will contribute to a broader shift towards adaptive and productive future agricultural systems.
The Transformative Aboriginal Agricultural Methods project team has mapped sites on Gimlet Ridge and Weelhamby farms, where landscape interventions such as leaky weirs will be installed to slow water flow and improve the landscape’s hydrology.
The team has also been collecting important baseline data by conducting unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone surveys, and rapid biomass assessments.
The installation of a sensor network is producing interesting insights into soil moisture and subsurface water flows. Additionally, soil carbon gas flux measurements are helping to assess soil health including the role of soil microbiome.
Yarning sessions are continuing on Country, centred on the integration of traditional and contemporary Aboriginal agricultural practices and their connection to the six seasons. These sessions have also been an opportunity to build meaningful collaboration, trust, and shared understanding between farmers and Aboriginal Traditional Owners.
If you’d like more information about this, or any of our other projects, please contact the team.
Send us a message