Latest news with #Barkindji
Miami Herald
30-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
‘Pint-sized' predator declared locally extinct in Australia. It's making comeback
Just before sundown in the Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary of Australia, smoke filled the sky. Representatives of the Barkindji people were conducting a smoking ceremony to prepare the sanctuary for the milestone return of a fearsome predator — 93 'pint-sized' phascogales. Red-tailed phascogales, known locally as bulku in the Barkindji language, are tiny carnivorous marsupials that have been considered locally extinct in New South Wales since 2016, according to a May 29 news release from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Driven to extinction in the region by the introduction of invasive species like cats and foxes, the phascogales have been kept alive through captive breeding programs, according to the conservancy. The last phascogale seen in the Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary was recorded in 1866, the organization said, but that just changed. A total of 56 females and 37 males have now been reintroduced into the wild from a breeding program at the Adelaide Zoo, following health checks, the conservancy said. The bulku were packed into cars and driven seven hours from the zoo to the sanctuary, where they were met by local representatives, according to the release. 'According to AWC ecologists and Adelaide zookeepers, most of the phascogales slept soundly throughout the journey,' the conservancy said. Once the animals arrived, they 'were awoken shortly after sundown, and one-by-one they were released into AWC's Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary's (19,768-acre) feral predator-free fenced area — one of the largest feral-free areas on mainland Australia.' About a third of the animals, 26, were collared with tracking transmitters before their release, allowing wildlife officials to track their movements and how well they survive in the first six to eight weeks in the wild. 'Arriving in May, means the Red-tailed phascogales will be settled and ready to start mating during the July breeding season,' AWC ecologist Rachel Ladd said in the release. 'We're expecting to see some juveniles running around in the second half of the year, unfortunately though, as a Dasyuridae species, this also means all of the males will drop off from the stress of breeding activities.' In a unique breeding strategy, males of the species die immediately after the breeding cycle, the conservancy said. Research suggests the die-off, called semelparity, is caused by a combination of stressors from the physiological changes during mating season that leads to gastrointestinal ulcers, immune suppression, infections and death, according to Bush Heritage Australia. If all goes to plan, wildlife officials said there could be as many as 1,400 phascogales living in the wild of the sanctuary in the next decade, according to the release. Bulku are nocturnal and typically live in trees, but can move along the ground during the day when looking for something to eat, according to Bush Heritage Australia. They eat insects, spiders and even small birds. They are incredibly small, measuring about 4 inches long and weighing about the same as a chicken egg, according to Bush Heritage Australia. They are also capable of jumping significant distances from tree to tree, more than 6 feet in a single leap. 'It's incredibly rewarding to see red-tailed phascogales back in the wild in Scotia after more than a century,' Mark Smith, the conservation manager at Zoos South Australia, said in the release. 'This release is the culmination of years of dedicated work by the Zoos SA team to breed this remarkable species for conservation. Working with the AWC has allowed us to take that next vital step — moving animals from behind-the-scenes care into wild landscapes where they belong.' Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary is in western New South Wales in southeastern Australia, about a 330-mile drive northeast from Adelaide.
Perth Now
14-05-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Decolonising health to provide better care for patients
The way forward in health is respecting Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing through a holistic and decolonised approach to care, researchers say. University of Adelaide senior researcher Kim O'Donnell said there's currently an emphasis on a biomedical approach to health care, which treats individual parts rather than a person as a whole. Dr O'Donnell said decolonising health care means a more holistic approach, led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing. "Decolonised healthcare looks like what Aboriginal Community Controlled Health organisations were established for in the first place in the early 70s," the Malyangapa and Barkindji woman told AAP. "That is to provide a suite of healthcare in the one place that's led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. "That makes the journey much better and much safer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and comes from the place of health being delivered in a holistic way." University of Adelaide and Flinders University researchers worked with five Aboriginal primary health care services across Australia, on the seven-year project, funded by the National Health and Medicine Research Council. The resulting report, presents key findings from the project about the effect and limitations of dominant health models for Indigenous people, and makes recommendations to decolonise care. Dr O'Donnell said the dominant system was not developed and structured to include Indigenous people, and continuous poor health outcomes have led to First Nations people losing trust in this system. "There's still the assumptions that people have, that deficit view of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, that we've all got chronic diseases, we can't manage our lives," she said. The report said decolonising practice can only be founded on a strong Aboriginal work force, recommending support for recruitment, retention and professional development of Aboriginal primary health care practitioners. Also among the recommendations are ensuring funding models for Aboriginal primary health care are flexible enough to respond to community needs, respecting Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing in policy, and promoting strengths-based approaches to care. "It's important to ensure primary health care is delivered in decolonising ways, delivered in a way that gives voice to our own organisations and these ways of working are protected and supported by policymakers," Dr O'Donnell said.
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
A New ‘Fishheart' Project Is Combining Science, Community & Indigenous Art To Restore Life In The Baaka-Darling River
Article – The Conversation The rivers health has been suffering, with a number of harrowing mass fish deaths events taking place in recent years. A new state-of-the-art tube fishway technology called the 'Fishheart' has been launched at Menindee Lakes, located on the Baaka-Darling River, New South Wales. The technology – part of the NSW government's Restoring the Darling-Baaka program – will allow native fish to move past large barriers, such as dams, weirs and regulators, when they need to. It's hoped this will help the fish reproduce and survive, and reduce the risk of mass fish deaths in the Baaka. At the same time, meaningful policy reform and implementation can't be achieved without input from First Nations communities. So how do we do this? One creative collaboration on the Fishheart project suggests art may have a big role to play. Distressing images Several deeply distressing mass fish death events have occurred in the river since 2018, with millions of native fish, including golden perch, silver perch and Murray cod, dying due to insufficient oxygen in the water. These events are the outcome of compounding challenges in managing the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia's largest inland river system. The basin, which stretches from Southern Queensland to South Australia, is a water source for some three million people. But the construction of infrastructure such as dams, weirs and regulators has profoundly disrupted the natural processes that once sustained healthy river systems. This disruption has been made worse by ineffective and conflict-ridden governance. The Baaka is a source of life and wellbeing for numerous communities. It should be cared for with the same urgency and coordination as a critically ill patient. If too many doctors or nurses are involved without a clear shared treatment plan, the patient suffers. Likewise, when multiple agencies attempt to manage a sick river, the system can break down. So how can better care be achieved? For Barkindji Elder David Doyle the answer lies in doing it together. Seeking and listening to Aboriginal community Aboriginal peoples have been explaining the importance of Australia's inland rivers for generations. The Aboriginal community at Menindee held protests about the health of the Baaka two years before the first mass fish deaths. Yet their voices and cultural knowledges have not reconfigured river policy. A report by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer into the March 2023 mass fish deaths on the Lower Baaka identified the importance of including Aboriginal cultural knowledges in strategies for fish species regeneration and management. However, according to Barkindji Ngnukuu elder Barbara Quayle, the community's experience of 'consultation' has been a tick-box activity. She says there is no trust that cultural knowledges or community perspectives will actually be listened to. The power of the arts Traditional cultural knowledges are often held and expressed through various artforms, from story, to dance, to gallery arts. Within rural and remote communities, the arts and art-making create conditions that can help people work together to address complex issues. In fact, there's a long history of the arts being used to address social conflict. Can the Fishheart help prevent fish kills? We don't know. But the Barkindji community's artistic input in the project is enabling a more integrated approach to finding out. Elders and community members have come together with regional arts organisation, The Cad Factory, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's Fisheries branch, to design traditional knowledge-inspired art for the Fishheart pipes. The project has brough together Barkindji Elders and community members, regional arts workers, state department employees and members of the team behind the Fishheart technology. Vic McEwan, Author provided (no reuse) This art was painted onto the pipes by members of Barkindji community over the past month. Other community art, including collaborations with the local school, was also placed around the site. Making the art gave everyone involved the time, space and tools to consider and discuss the project. We learned how the Fishheart technology is inspired by the human heart, with tubes resembling 'veins' and 'arteries' that can take fish in and 'pump' them over barriers through a siphon effect, letting them circulate throughout the river. We discussed important details on how this technology works, which includes using artificial intelligence used to detect fish in the pipes and collect real-time data and photos of the migration. We also considered how we might further care for the river, by potentially allowing the removal of invasive species, or monitoring for diseases. The project also provided fisheries managers with the opportunity to hear community concerns, such as whether the installation of fishways might be perceived in ways associated with colonisation, or eventually lead to fish removal from the waterways. Most importantly, seeing the pipes visually transformed by Barkindji art connected the Fishheart to place and Country. The art provides a tangible expression of uninterrupted Barkindji custodianship for the river and the species that depend on it. With art, there is hope for creating policy together – policy that might promote the health of the river as a whole, rather than treating the symptoms of the problem. Disclosure statement Claire Hooker receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF, ARC, and University of Sydney. She is affiliated with Arts Health Network NSW/ACT. Barbara Quayle is the Vice-president of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council, sits on the Barkindji Native Title Board and NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy Board and is a founding guide of Barkindji cultural immersion tour group, Wontanella Tours. Dave Doyle is a member of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council, a previous member of the Barkindji Native Title Board, sits on the NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy Board and is a founding guide of Barkindji cultural immersion tour group, Wontanella Tours.
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
A New ‘Fishheart' Project Is Combining Science, Community & Indigenous Art To Restore Life In The Baaka-Darling River
A new state-of-the-art tube fishway technology called the 'Fishheart' has been launched at Menindee Lakes, located on the Baaka-Darling River, New South Wales. The technology – part of the NSW government's Restoring the Darling-Baaka program – will allow native fish to move past large barriers, such as dams, weirs and regulators, when they need to. It's hoped this will help the fish reproduce and survive, and reduce the risk of mass fish deaths in the Baaka. At the same time, meaningful policy reform and implementation can't be achieved without input from First Nations communities. So how do we do this? One creative collaboration on the Fishheart project suggests art may have a big role to play. Distressing images Several deeply distressing mass fish death events have occurred in the river since 2018, with millions of native fish, including golden perch, silver perch and Murray cod, dying due to insufficient oxygen in the water. These events are the outcome of compounding challenges in managing the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia's largest inland river system. The basin, which stretches from Southern Queensland to South Australia, is a water source for some three million people. But the construction of infrastructure such as dams, weirs and regulators has profoundly disrupted the natural processes that once sustained healthy river systems. This disruption has been made worse by ineffective and conflict-ridden governance. The Baaka is a source of life and wellbeing for numerous communities. It should be cared for with the same urgency and coordination as a critically ill patient. If too many doctors or nurses are involved without a clear shared treatment plan, the patient suffers. Likewise, when multiple agencies attempt to manage a sick river, the system can break down. So how can better care be achieved? For Barkindji Elder David Doyle the answer lies in doing it together. Seeking and listening to Aboriginal community Aboriginal peoples have been explaining the importance of Australia's inland rivers for generations. The Aboriginal community at Menindee held protests about the health of the Baaka two years before the first mass fish deaths. Yet their voices and cultural knowledges have not reconfigured river policy. A report by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer into the March 2023 mass fish deaths on the Lower Baaka identified the importance of including Aboriginal cultural knowledges in strategies for fish species regeneration and management. However, according to Barkindji Ngnukuu elder Barbara Quayle, the community's experience of 'consultation' has been a tick-box activity. She says there is no trust that cultural knowledges or community perspectives will actually be listened to. The power of the arts Traditional cultural knowledges are often held and expressed through various artforms, from story, to dance, to gallery arts. Within rural and remote communities, the arts and art-making create conditions that can help people work together to address complex issues. In fact, there's a long history of the arts being used to address social conflict. Can the Fishheart help prevent fish kills? We don't know. But the Barkindji community's artistic input in the project is enabling a more integrated approach to finding out. Elders and community members have come together with regional arts organisation, The Cad Factory, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's Fisheries branch, to design traditional knowledge-inspired art for the Fishheart pipes. The project has brough together Barkindji Elders and community members, regional arts workers, state department employees and members of the team behind the Fishheart technology. Vic McEwan, Author provided (no reuse) This art was painted onto the pipes by members of Barkindji community over the past month. Other community art, including collaborations with the local school, was also placed around the site. Making the art gave everyone involved the time, space and tools to consider and discuss the project. We learned how the Fishheart technology is inspired by the human heart, with tubes resembling 'veins' and 'arteries' that can take fish in and 'pump' them over barriers through a siphon effect, letting them circulate throughout the river. We discussed important details on how this technology works, which includes using artificial intelligence used to detect fish in the pipes and collect real-time data and photos of the migration. We also considered how we might further care for the river, by potentially allowing the removal of invasive species, or monitoring for diseases. The project also provided fisheries managers with the opportunity to hear community concerns, such as whether the installation of fishways might be perceived in ways associated with colonisation, or eventually lead to fish removal from the waterways. Most importantly, seeing the pipes visually transformed by Barkindji art connected the Fishheart to place and Country. The art provides a tangible expression of uninterrupted Barkindji custodianship for the river and the species that depend on it. With art, there is hope for creating policy together – policy that might promote the health of the river as a whole, rather than treating the symptoms of the problem. Disclosure statement Claire Hooker receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF, ARC, and University of Sydney. She is affiliated with Arts Health Network NSW/ACT. Barbara Quayle is the Vice-president of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council, sits on the Barkindji Native Title Board and NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy Board and is a founding guide of Barkindji cultural immersion tour group, Wontanella Tours. Dave Doyle is a member of the Menindee Aboriginal Elders Council, a previous member of the Barkindji Native Title Board, sits on the NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy Board and is a founding guide of Barkindji cultural immersion tour group, Wontanella Tours. Reakeeta Smallwood has received funding from ARC and NHMRC, in partnership with University of Sydney, University of Newcastle and University of New England. These funding sources are not relevant to this article or project.
