My research (and teaching) engages with human-nature relationships. I have completed extensive research on shared governance arrangements between government conservation agencies and Indigenous communities in national parks and World Heritage Areas, including direct contributions to policy development. Other research has examined Indigenous and local knowledge systems and how these interact with Western knowledge frameworks, as well as the cultural dimensions of hunting, especially around knowledge, respect and sacredness. Reflection on my learning from Indigenous and vernacular communities has led me to more exploratory work on nature and the search for meaning. This has been examined through ethnographic and immersion research on hunting, on freediving, and on connections to place, and has been published in narrative non-fiction forms as well as conventional academic formats. I am also interested in the theory and practice of transformational learning experiences.
Methodologically, I like ‘full-immersion fieldwork’, getting deeply and actively involved in the human and non-human lives and landscapes I research. I have worked with Indigenous and other communities across Australia, in arctic Scandinavia, Indonesia, the United States and in India. Prior to joining academia, I have 20 years of professional experience that integrates teaching, research, professional and community roles. I have worked for community-based organisations, NGOs, government agencies, Indigenous organisations, and as a consultant. This experience continues to facilitate strong industry and community linkages that benefit both teaching and research.
2018 UOW Faculty Seed Grant (with others $7,000); 2017- 2018 NCP AsiaBound Mobility Program: Fieldwork Intensive ($133,500); 2018 Jindaola Indigenous Learning Program (with others $30,000); 2017 Global Challenges Seed Grant (with others $20,000); 2017 Calibre Essay Prize ($5,000); 2017 Bundanon Trust Writer in Residence ($1,000); 2016 AsiaLink Arts Residency ($6,000); 2016 Australia-India Institute Chingari Program ($4,000); 2015 Bundanon Trust Writer in Residence ($1,000) 2014 AsiaBound Outbound Mobility Program: Fieldwork Intensive ($21,500) 2013 AsiaBound Outbound Mobility Program [with others] ($21,500) 2013 Formas Swedish Research Council ($5,000 funding as keynote speaker) 2012 UIC Strategic International Links Grant - India ($12,500) 2012 UIC Strategic International Links Grant California (with Dr C. Eriksen, $10,500) 2012-2016 UOW Strategic Research Initiative: Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research - annual member allocation $6,000. 2011-2004 UOW Research Strength: Institute for Conservation Biology & Environmental Management - annual member and special allocations $36,000. 2011 UOW Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award 2010 Dept of Environment, Climate Change & Water ($10,000) 2009 NSW Regional Arts [with Garry Jones] ($9,909.80) 2009 UOW Community Engagement Grant [with Garry Jones] ($9,968) 2008 Dept of Environment & Climate Change Research Agreement ($10,000) 2007 ALTC National Award for Teaching Excellence ($25,000) 2007 UOW Educational Strategies Dev Fund grant [with Dr Nick Gill] ($10,000) 2006 UOW Teaching and Learning Fund Grant ($32,000) 2006 Dept of Environment and Conservation Research Agreement ($6,000) 2005 Dept of Environment and Conservation Research Agreement ($2,500) 2004 UIC Strategic International Links Grant ($6,500) 2004 ARC Special Initiatives: Research Networks [with others] ($10,000) 2003 Churchill Fellowship ($15,000) 2002-2004NSW Environmental Trusts [with others] ($145,000) 2002-2004 National Parks and Wildlife Service research grant ($56,000) 1998-2000 ARC-SPIRT Postgraduate Scholarship ($62,000) 1999 ANU Centre for Cross Cultural Research ($2,500)
Impact
Impact Story
Humans and Nature: from the search for meaning to global environment policy and Indigenous rights.
<p>I am trained as a geographer: geo-grapher, earth-writer. In 2017 my lyric essay on freediving, grief and loss, ‘<a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/4100-2017-calibre-essay-prize-winner-salt-blood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salt Blood’</a> won the <a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/prizes-programs/calibre-prize" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Calibre Essay Prize</a>. This work connects an intimate personal story with reflection on our place in the world. It has been showcased in a <em>TEDx</em> <em>Wollongong</em> talk (2018); an interview on Richard Fidler’s national ABC <em>Conversations</em> podcast (2017, ~200,000 downloads); and numerous radio and print media interviews. The work was included in two national ‘best of’ collections in 2017: <em><a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/best-australian-essays-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Best Australian Essays 2017</a></em>; <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-michael-adams-rpt/9233856" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC <em>Conversations Best of 2017</em></a>. The essay itself has been downloaded by readers more than 20,000 times.</p><p>Reflection on the privilege of my learning from Indigenous and vernacular communities led me to research on nature and the human search for meaning. This approach, using deeply personal immersion research expressed in innovative forms, enables open and creative communication with broad public and specialist audiences. I use ethnographic and immersion research to study hunting and death, animals and the sacred, freediving and loss, and connections to place. Insights in all of these areas underscore my debt to Indigenous teachers. While I also publish in conventional academic formats, it is narrative non-fiction and other creative writing that has significantly extended my research impact and engagement.</p><p>My work ranges from global environment and heritage policy to personal and autoethnographic analysis. Impacts consequently embrace the specifics of detailed conservation policy through to contributing to national public cultural conversations. Much of my work has been collaborative with Indigenous and other local communities, conducted in partnership with other researchers, government agencies and NGOs in Australia, Sweden and India. Since 2001, my research has provided evidence of the critical importance of Indigenous relationships to environment in responding to Australian and international environmental challenges. This research has raised awareness and influenced public, agency and academic understanding of issues spanning the recognition of Indigenous culture and rights, to nuanced approaches to grief and loss, and their linked significance.</p><p>My analyses and recommendations on environment policy highlight the unique contribution and relevance of vernacular and Indigenous knowledges and practices, and the social and environmental justice aspects of that recognition. Developed from previous professional work in national park agencies, environment NGOs and Aboriginal organisations, this research has raised awareness with conservation managers, Indigenous leaders and the public. These team projects have had practical outcomes including delineating the precise boundaries of national parks (Cape York 2002); influencing park policy on Aboriginal burning (Uluru 2014); influencing state government policy on Aboriginal land claims (NSW NPWS 2001); and developing international best practice on Indigenous approaches to conservation (<em>IUCN</em> 2011, <em>World Parks Congress</em> 2014).</p>
<p><u>Nature and the search for meaning</u></p><p>The announcement that ‘Salt Blood’ had won the 2017 Calibre Prize generated significant media and public interest, including the interview on the prestigious national ABC <em>Conversations</em> podcast. This engagement demonstrates how writing which presents research in non-academic forms can reach far beyond conventional academic contexts. Earlier work on hunting (2014) in Australia’s foremost literary journal, <em>Meanjin</em>, was republished in <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/16/caught-in-the-net-of-life-and-time-what-modern-hunting-means-to-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a></em><em>,</em> and generated significant national and international debate. My 2017 invited essay on wild horses was one of the first pieces released as a podcast by <em>The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/essays-on-air-the-cultural-meanings-of-wild-horses-90176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Essays on Air</a></em>. In 2019 <em><a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/writing-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffith Review</a></em> feature my essay ‘Outlier’ in transmedia format in the February edition ‘Writing the Country’, which includes some of Australia’s most prominent writers engaging with the challenges of living on a colonised country.</p><p>‘Salt Blood’ was the most-read piece of 2017 in <em>Australian Book Review</em>. Many people responded to the essay and the ABC interview, with comments from international writers, freedivers, academics and the public. Writers included prominent and multi-award winning American author Barry Lopez, who said: ‘the essay…is a superb piece of work…I was once a serious diver and want to say that you evoked so well the sensations one comes to know at depth’. Legendary freediver and author Carlos Eyles wrote: ‘I really love how you incorporated the loss of your father into the non-linear reality of the freedive experience. Exceedingly well crafted. I have not seen anything like this, and it lends great power to the piece’. Australian publisher Aviva Tuffield emailed ‘I’ve just read your piece in <em>Best Australian Essays</em> and admired it immensely - I really loved it; it’s so moving.’</p><p>A wide range of people engaged with the exploration of the difficult and sensitive issues of suicide and loss: ‘I think it is beautiful and rich, I like how it manages to balance between facts and personal and takes me on a journey both geographical and physical. And brave.’; ‘You have a gift for articulating experiences that are so very universal but not often shared’; ‘A beautiful and powerful read. The silences, empty spaces and unanswered questions surrounding suicide hit close to home for me’.</p><p>Other readers wrote: ‘It’s just wonderful, a total gem. I feel that wonderful lightness and relief you get from being momentarily transported elsewhere - thank you for sharing this fantastic (and honest) piece of writing’; ‘On grace and loss, and the oceans around and within us. I was stopped completely by this essay’; ‘Truly magnificent, a wonderful evocation of diving and oceans’.</p><p>Radio listeners commenting on ABC social media posted: ‘This was great radio. Michael has had such a complex interesting life…I recommended this interview to a lot of my friends’; ‘Another fantastic interview between two excellent communicators... this interview exemplifies the type of media that the ABC should never delete’; ‘This was unexpectedly wonderful, such compelling listening. Another fascinating guest and topic I (previously) knew absolutely nothing about. Awesome work’.</p><p>The strong responses to ‘Salt Blood’ and the formal recognition afforded by the Calibre Prize led to many invitations, including keynote presentations and public readings, as well as invitations to write, publish and record. This now includes essays, fiction and other writing in multiple editions of <em>Australian Book Review; Mascara Literary Review </em>and <em>Griffith Review</em>.</p><p>These outputs also appear on high profile media websites (including <em>The Guardian, ABC, The Conversation</em>); and increasingly in video, blog and podcast form (20 blogposts hosted on sites including the ACCESS website; videos and podcasts on <em>Sydney Ideas</em>, <em>TEDx, ACCESS</em>, <em>UOW, ABC, The Conversation, Trouble Magazine</em> and others). Developing my research findings into broadcast, podcast, blog and video form has opened broader and more equitable engagement across Australian society. My writing has been supported by national and international residencies, including <a href="https://bundanon.com.au/residencies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bundanon Artist in Residence</a> (2016, 2018) and <a href="https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/arts#exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AsiaLink Arts</a> in India and Sri Lanka (2017). </p><p><u>Environment policy and Indigenous rights</u></p><p>My contracted and participatory doctoral research with Cape York Land Council (1998-2001) led directly to the declaration of Queensland's second jointly-managed protected area, the 160,000 hectare <a href="https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/kulla-mcilwraith-range/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KULLA (McIlwraith Range) National Park</a>. That research was described as ‘compulsory reading for senior conservation managers across Australia’ by Dr Peter Bridgewater, then Chief Scientist at UNESCO in Paris (2001). With a law colleague, I was invited by IUCN, the world’s largest conservation organisation, to contribute to the international policy handbook <em><a href="https://www.iucn.org/content/guidelines-protected-areas-legislation-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guidelines for Protected Area Legislation</a></em> (2011), including a case study of Aboriginal co-management at Booderee National Park. My invited chapter on Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa World Heritage Area, in <em><a href="https://www.forestpeoples.org/en/topics/environmental-governance/news/2014/11/world-heritage-sites-and-indigenous-peoples-rights-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Heritage Sites and Indigenous Peoples Rights</a></em> (2014) was jointly written with a working group of A<u>n</u>angu Traditional Owners. This was part of a global campaign to change World Heritage policy, and was presented and launched at the 2014 World Parks Congress by the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues. In 2018, I was invited by the Environmental Defenders Office to provide pro bono advice on the Ranger Uranium Mine Closure Plan in Kakadu World Heritage Area. My submission along with others established the need for extensive recommendations for change to proposed rehabilitation requirements. My research has had continuous funding from university, agency, national and international sources since 2000.</p><p>This work has ongoing impact through teaching and doctoral supervision, including a First Class Honours project on the Cape York World Heritage proposals by Dr N Skilton, now working in Native Title research (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2014.899026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skilton, Adams and Gibbs 2014</a>); and a completed doctorate on Indigenous relationships with private conservation areas by Dr H Moorcroft, consultant on Indigenous conservation (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2014.953733" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moorcroft and Adams 2014</a>). Current doctoral research projects include the cultural, policy and management implications of Aboriginal women’s use of fire, collaborative with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and the interaction of emotion and conservation activism at Ningaloo World Heritage Area. While my creative writing hopes to engage hearts and minds in discussing critical global and national issues, this policy work continues to help make practical changes in people’s daily lives.</p>
Beneficiary
Quantification
Description
Evidence
Description
Supervision
Available as Research Supervisor
Advisees
Graduate Advising Relationship
Degree
Research Title
Advisee
Doctor of Philosophy
Art and Urban Aboriginal Adolescent Identity
Moyle, Catherine
Doctor of Philosophy
Storytelling and Ocean Conservation
Croft, Freya
Master of Philosophy
The applications and function of Citizen Science in Growing Community Based Knowledge
I teach GEOG339 International Fieldwork Intensive, annually taking students to Asia for two weeks. Since 2015 we have been to the Andaman Islands, India; Bali, Indonesia (twice); mainland India; and will be going to Phang Na Bay, Thailand in 2019. I teach Buddhism, Environment and Sustainability at the Nan Tien Institute. For ten years I taught INDS201 Redefining Eden: Indigenous Peoples and the Environment. I previously taught INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia, and INDS130 Introduction to Comparative Indigenous Studies.
These were taught to Wollongong and regional campuses. I regularly lead field trips for visiting international academics and Study Abroad students.
I am interested in experiential and participatory learning. My teaching engages with subjects that are controversial, sensitive and highly relevant nationally and internationally, including critical unresolved issues around entrenched racism and environmental crisis. I have mentored numerous Indigenous students through science and other degrees, and mentored many graduates into professional careers. Several of these graduates have won prestigious awards, including the Robert Hope Memorial Prize (J. Kitchener 2013); the Ray Kelly Scholarship (R. Evitt 2009); the NSW Indigenous History Fellowship (Evitt 2010); and the Illawarra Prize in 4th Year Earth & Environmental Sciences (V. Cavanagh 2008).
My research (and teaching) engages with human-nature relationships. I have completed extensive research on shared governance arrangements between government conservation agencies and Indigenous communities in national parks and World Heritage Areas, including direct contributions to policy development. Other research has examined Indigenous and local knowledge systems and how these interact with Western knowledge frameworks, as well as the cultural dimensions of hunting, especially around knowledge, respect and sacredness. Reflection on my learning from Indigenous and vernacular communities has led me to more exploratory work on nature and the search for meaning. This has been examined through ethnographic and immersion research on hunting, on freediving, and on connections to place, and has been published in narrative non-fiction forms as well as conventional academic formats. I am also interested in the theory and practice of transformational learning experiences.
Methodologically, I like ‘full-immersion fieldwork’, getting deeply and actively involved in the human and non-human lives and landscapes I research. I have worked with Indigenous and other communities across Australia, in arctic Scandinavia, Indonesia, the United States and in India. Prior to joining academia, I have 20 years of professional experience that integrates teaching, research, professional and community roles. I have worked for community-based organisations, NGOs, government agencies, Indigenous organisations, and as a consultant. This experience continues to facilitate strong industry and community linkages that benefit both teaching and research.
2018 UOW Faculty Seed Grant (with others $7,000); 2017- 2018 NCP AsiaBound Mobility Program: Fieldwork Intensive ($133,500); 2018 Jindaola Indigenous Learning Program (with others $30,000); 2017 Global Challenges Seed Grant (with others $20,000); 2017 Calibre Essay Prize ($5,000); 2017 Bundanon Trust Writer in Residence ($1,000); 2016 AsiaLink Arts Residency ($6,000); 2016 Australia-India Institute Chingari Program ($4,000); 2015 Bundanon Trust Writer in Residence ($1,000) 2014 AsiaBound Outbound Mobility Program: Fieldwork Intensive ($21,500) 2013 AsiaBound Outbound Mobility Program [with others] ($21,500) 2013 Formas Swedish Research Council ($5,000 funding as keynote speaker) 2012 UIC Strategic International Links Grant - India ($12,500) 2012 UIC Strategic International Links Grant California (with Dr C. Eriksen, $10,500) 2012-2016 UOW Strategic Research Initiative: Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research - annual member allocation $6,000. 2011-2004 UOW Research Strength: Institute for Conservation Biology & Environmental Management - annual member and special allocations $36,000. 2011 UOW Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award 2010 Dept of Environment, Climate Change & Water ($10,000) 2009 NSW Regional Arts [with Garry Jones] ($9,909.80) 2009 UOW Community Engagement Grant [with Garry Jones] ($9,968) 2008 Dept of Environment & Climate Change Research Agreement ($10,000) 2007 ALTC National Award for Teaching Excellence ($25,000) 2007 UOW Educational Strategies Dev Fund grant [with Dr Nick Gill] ($10,000) 2006 UOW Teaching and Learning Fund Grant ($32,000) 2006 Dept of Environment and Conservation Research Agreement ($6,000) 2005 Dept of Environment and Conservation Research Agreement ($2,500) 2004 UIC Strategic International Links Grant ($6,500) 2004 ARC Special Initiatives: Research Networks [with others] ($10,000) 2003 Churchill Fellowship ($15,000) 2002-2004NSW Environmental Trusts [with others] ($145,000) 2002-2004 National Parks and Wildlife Service research grant ($56,000) 1998-2000 ARC-SPIRT Postgraduate Scholarship ($62,000) 1999 ANU Centre for Cross Cultural Research ($2,500)
Impact
Impact Story
Humans and Nature: from the search for meaning to global environment policy and Indigenous rights.
<p>I am trained as a geographer: geo-grapher, earth-writer. In 2017 my lyric essay on freediving, grief and loss, ‘<a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/4100-2017-calibre-essay-prize-winner-salt-blood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Salt Blood’</a> won the <a href="https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/prizes-programs/calibre-prize" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Calibre Essay Prize</a>. This work connects an intimate personal story with reflection on our place in the world. It has been showcased in a <em>TEDx</em> <em>Wollongong</em> talk (2018); an interview on Richard Fidler’s national ABC <em>Conversations</em> podcast (2017, ~200,000 downloads); and numerous radio and print media interviews. The work was included in two national ‘best of’ collections in 2017: <em><a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/best-australian-essays-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Best Australian Essays 2017</a></em>; <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-michael-adams-rpt/9233856" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC <em>Conversations Best of 2017</em></a>. The essay itself has been downloaded by readers more than 20,000 times.</p><p>Reflection on the privilege of my learning from Indigenous and vernacular communities led me to research on nature and the human search for meaning. This approach, using deeply personal immersion research expressed in innovative forms, enables open and creative communication with broad public and specialist audiences. I use ethnographic and immersion research to study hunting and death, animals and the sacred, freediving and loss, and connections to place. Insights in all of these areas underscore my debt to Indigenous teachers. While I also publish in conventional academic formats, it is narrative non-fiction and other creative writing that has significantly extended my research impact and engagement.</p><p>My work ranges from global environment and heritage policy to personal and autoethnographic analysis. Impacts consequently embrace the specifics of detailed conservation policy through to contributing to national public cultural conversations. Much of my work has been collaborative with Indigenous and other local communities, conducted in partnership with other researchers, government agencies and NGOs in Australia, Sweden and India. Since 2001, my research has provided evidence of the critical importance of Indigenous relationships to environment in responding to Australian and international environmental challenges. This research has raised awareness and influenced public, agency and academic understanding of issues spanning the recognition of Indigenous culture and rights, to nuanced approaches to grief and loss, and their linked significance.</p><p>My analyses and recommendations on environment policy highlight the unique contribution and relevance of vernacular and Indigenous knowledges and practices, and the social and environmental justice aspects of that recognition. Developed from previous professional work in national park agencies, environment NGOs and Aboriginal organisations, this research has raised awareness with conservation managers, Indigenous leaders and the public. These team projects have had practical outcomes including delineating the precise boundaries of national parks (Cape York 2002); influencing park policy on Aboriginal burning (Uluru 2014); influencing state government policy on Aboriginal land claims (NSW NPWS 2001); and developing international best practice on Indigenous approaches to conservation (<em>IUCN</em> 2011, <em>World Parks Congress</em> 2014).</p>
<p><u>Nature and the search for meaning</u></p><p>The announcement that ‘Salt Blood’ had won the 2017 Calibre Prize generated significant media and public interest, including the interview on the prestigious national ABC <em>Conversations</em> podcast. This engagement demonstrates how writing which presents research in non-academic forms can reach far beyond conventional academic contexts. Earlier work on hunting (2014) in Australia’s foremost literary journal, <em>Meanjin</em>, was republished in <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/16/caught-in-the-net-of-life-and-time-what-modern-hunting-means-to-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a></em><em>,</em> and generated significant national and international debate. My 2017 invited essay on wild horses was one of the first pieces released as a podcast by <em>The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/essays-on-air-the-cultural-meanings-of-wild-horses-90176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Essays on Air</a></em>. In 2019 <em><a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/writing-the-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffith Review</a></em> feature my essay ‘Outlier’ in transmedia format in the February edition ‘Writing the Country’, which includes some of Australia’s most prominent writers engaging with the challenges of living on a colonised country.</p><p>‘Salt Blood’ was the most-read piece of 2017 in <em>Australian Book Review</em>. Many people responded to the essay and the ABC interview, with comments from international writers, freedivers, academics and the public. Writers included prominent and multi-award winning American author Barry Lopez, who said: ‘the essay…is a superb piece of work…I was once a serious diver and want to say that you evoked so well the sensations one comes to know at depth’. Legendary freediver and author Carlos Eyles wrote: ‘I really love how you incorporated the loss of your father into the non-linear reality of the freedive experience. Exceedingly well crafted. I have not seen anything like this, and it lends great power to the piece’. Australian publisher Aviva Tuffield emailed ‘I’ve just read your piece in <em>Best Australian Essays</em> and admired it immensely - I really loved it; it’s so moving.’</p><p>A wide range of people engaged with the exploration of the difficult and sensitive issues of suicide and loss: ‘I think it is beautiful and rich, I like how it manages to balance between facts and personal and takes me on a journey both geographical and physical. And brave.’; ‘You have a gift for articulating experiences that are so very universal but not often shared’; ‘A beautiful and powerful read. The silences, empty spaces and unanswered questions surrounding suicide hit close to home for me’.</p><p>Other readers wrote: ‘It’s just wonderful, a total gem. I feel that wonderful lightness and relief you get from being momentarily transported elsewhere - thank you for sharing this fantastic (and honest) piece of writing’; ‘On grace and loss, and the oceans around and within us. I was stopped completely by this essay’; ‘Truly magnificent, a wonderful evocation of diving and oceans’.</p><p>Radio listeners commenting on ABC social media posted: ‘This was great radio. Michael has had such a complex interesting life…I recommended this interview to a lot of my friends’; ‘Another fantastic interview between two excellent communicators... this interview exemplifies the type of media that the ABC should never delete’; ‘This was unexpectedly wonderful, such compelling listening. Another fascinating guest and topic I (previously) knew absolutely nothing about. Awesome work’.</p><p>The strong responses to ‘Salt Blood’ and the formal recognition afforded by the Calibre Prize led to many invitations, including keynote presentations and public readings, as well as invitations to write, publish and record. This now includes essays, fiction and other writing in multiple editions of <em>Australian Book Review; Mascara Literary Review </em>and <em>Griffith Review</em>.</p><p>These outputs also appear on high profile media websites (including <em>The Guardian, ABC, The Conversation</em>); and increasingly in video, blog and podcast form (20 blogposts hosted on sites including the ACCESS website; videos and podcasts on <em>Sydney Ideas</em>, <em>TEDx, ACCESS</em>, <em>UOW, ABC, The Conversation, Trouble Magazine</em> and others). Developing my research findings into broadcast, podcast, blog and video form has opened broader and more equitable engagement across Australian society. My writing has been supported by national and international residencies, including <a href="https://bundanon.com.au/residencies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bundanon Artist in Residence</a> (2016, 2018) and <a href="https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/arts#exchanges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AsiaLink Arts</a> in India and Sri Lanka (2017). </p><p><u>Environment policy and Indigenous rights</u></p><p>My contracted and participatory doctoral research with Cape York Land Council (1998-2001) led directly to the declaration of Queensland's second jointly-managed protected area, the 160,000 hectare <a href="https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/kulla-mcilwraith-range/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KULLA (McIlwraith Range) National Park</a>. That research was described as ‘compulsory reading for senior conservation managers across Australia’ by Dr Peter Bridgewater, then Chief Scientist at UNESCO in Paris (2001). With a law colleague, I was invited by IUCN, the world’s largest conservation organisation, to contribute to the international policy handbook <em><a href="https://www.iucn.org/content/guidelines-protected-areas-legislation-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guidelines for Protected Area Legislation</a></em> (2011), including a case study of Aboriginal co-management at Booderee National Park. My invited chapter on Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa World Heritage Area, in <em><a href="https://www.forestpeoples.org/en/topics/environmental-governance/news/2014/11/world-heritage-sites-and-indigenous-peoples-rights-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Heritage Sites and Indigenous Peoples Rights</a></em> (2014) was jointly written with a working group of A<u>n</u>angu Traditional Owners. This was part of a global campaign to change World Heritage policy, and was presented and launched at the 2014 World Parks Congress by the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Issues. In 2018, I was invited by the Environmental Defenders Office to provide pro bono advice on the Ranger Uranium Mine Closure Plan in Kakadu World Heritage Area. My submission along with others established the need for extensive recommendations for change to proposed rehabilitation requirements. My research has had continuous funding from university, agency, national and international sources since 2000.</p><p>This work has ongoing impact through teaching and doctoral supervision, including a First Class Honours project on the Cape York World Heritage proposals by Dr N Skilton, now working in Native Title research (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2014.899026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Skilton, Adams and Gibbs 2014</a>); and a completed doctorate on Indigenous relationships with private conservation areas by Dr H Moorcroft, consultant on Indigenous conservation (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2014.953733" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moorcroft and Adams 2014</a>). Current doctoral research projects include the cultural, policy and management implications of Aboriginal women’s use of fire, collaborative with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and the interaction of emotion and conservation activism at Ningaloo World Heritage Area. While my creative writing hopes to engage hearts and minds in discussing critical global and national issues, this policy work continues to help make practical changes in people’s daily lives.</p>
Beneficiary
Quantification
Description
Evidence
Description
Supervision
Advisees
Graduate Advising Relationship
Degree
Research Title
Advisee
Doctor of Philosophy
Art and Urban Aboriginal Adolescent Identity
Moyle, Catherine
Doctor of Philosophy
Storytelling and Ocean Conservation
Croft, Freya
Master of Philosophy
The applications and function of Citizen Science in Growing Community Based Knowledge
I teach GEOG339 International Fieldwork Intensive, annually taking students to Asia for two weeks. Since 2015 we have been to the Andaman Islands, India; Bali, Indonesia (twice); mainland India; and will be going to Phang Na Bay, Thailand in 2019. I teach Buddhism, Environment and Sustainability at the Nan Tien Institute. For ten years I taught INDS201 Redefining Eden: Indigenous Peoples and the Environment. I previously taught INDS150 Introduction to Indigenous Australia, and INDS130 Introduction to Comparative Indigenous Studies.
These were taught to Wollongong and regional campuses. I regularly lead field trips for visiting international academics and Study Abroad students.
I am interested in experiential and participatory learning. My teaching engages with subjects that are controversial, sensitive and highly relevant nationally and internationally, including critical unresolved issues around entrenched racism and environmental crisis. I have mentored numerous Indigenous students through science and other degrees, and mentored many graduates into professional careers. Several of these graduates have won prestigious awards, including the Robert Hope Memorial Prize (J. Kitchener 2013); the Ray Kelly Scholarship (R. Evitt 2009); the NSW Indigenous History Fellowship (Evitt 2010); and the Illawarra Prize in 4th Year Earth & Environmental Sciences (V. Cavanagh 2008).
