Oral Presentation Freshwater Sciences 2023

Aligning Traditional Knowledge and Western science to tell the story of environmental water needs of the Mitchell River (#507)

Ben Stewart-Koster 1 , Ruth Link 2 3
  1. Australian Rivers Institute, Nathan, QLD, Australia
  2. Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group, Brisbane
  3. Yilki Guludun Tagai (YGT) Law & Biocultural Knowledge, Brisbane

The Mitchell River, Wawu Budja, in North Queensland Australia is the Traditional lands of the Western Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan, Kokoberra, Yir Yoront (or Kokomnjen) and Kunjen people.  The river is under growing pressure for agricultural development with associated water resources development. Researchers with the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) and the Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group (MRTCAG), which represents the Country and clans of the upper and middle catchment including Western Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan, collaborated to tell the stories of recent scientific research and how the findings fit with the traditional cultural knowledge of Gugu Yalanji seasons. The outcome of the collaboration was the Mitchell River Story Map, a website where Traditional Knowledge of the Gugu Yalanji seasons is shared and aligned with scientific research findings. The story map was built on 15 years of collaboration, truth-telling, and friendship. Learning about different ways of being, knowing and doing and integrating them into the process of sharing knowledge was a key part of the process to produce the story map. The outcome is that researchers and Traditional Custodians have built strong friendships that improve the quality of scientific research and the outcomes for Wawu Budja.