Environmental water needs for the Mitchell River

The Mitchell River Catchment in Far North Queensland sees summer flooding typical of its tropical wet/dry climate. The river flows year-round from its headwaters in the Great Dividing Range, south-east of the river, to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Where it meets the gulf, it forms the largest wetland delta in Australia.

In summer, the catchment’s wetlands and waterways are saturated with floodwaters. Beneficial algae flourishes, supporting rich aquatic biodiversity. During winter, which is drier, the floodwaters recede but some of the wetlands continue to hold water and provide habitat for algae, other plants and animals.

Open savanna woodlands and grasslands cover most of the catchment. There are pockets of commercial land use such as light grazing for stock, and more concentrated agriculture and mining in the headwaters. Traditional Custodians still use fire to maintain and harvest food and other resources.

With little urban or agricultural development, the catchment’s rivers flow freely, replenishing the delta’s wetlands each year.

However, pressure on the region’s freshwater resources is increasing, with potential dam projects and expansion of irrigated agriculture proposed for the Mitchell catchment.

This Story Map is a collaboration between researchers with the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) and the Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group (MRTCAG) to tell the stories of recent scientific research and how they fit with the traditional cultural knowledge of Gugu Yalanji seasons. The Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group represents the Country and clans of the upper and middle catchment including Western Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan. We pay our deepest respects to the Kokoberra, Yir Yoront (or Kokomnjen) and Kunjen clans who are the Traditional Custodians at the lower catchment.

To understand the power and the value of traditional knowledge to western science, Western Gugu Yalanji have shared the cultural knowledge in relation to their five seasons of the headwaters and upper catchment to show the importance and value of science embedding cultural knowledge hypotheses and perspectives into research findings and publications.

“For us Gugu Yalanji, western science needs to investigate and examine how to live according to the seasons, and the cultural knowledge of Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan is invaluable to NESP research projects as solutions are holistic and address the science questions and the need to heal Country.”

Ruth Link, MRTCAG Chairperson.

Sharon Brady, Gugu Yalanji educator, storyteller and MRTCAG member, and Aunty Marceil Lawrence, Gugu Yalanji Elder and innovator, speak of the criticality for western science to understand, find solutions for and create healthy Country outcomes that include their knowledge of the seasons Wawu Budja (the Mitchell River):

“For Gugu Yalanji people, we manage the health and wellbeing of Wawu Budja, our bush tucker and medicines aligned and connected to the Gugu Yalanji five seasons:

Kamba Season | Proper Wet Time | December to March

Bunna Warrin Season | Flood Time | April to May

Bullarigee | Cold Time | June to September

Woonkjarigee | Hot Time | October to November

Djadamalli | Cyclone Time | November to mid-December”

Below we tell you the story of the findings from NESP research in the Mitchell River and align these findings with the Gugu Yalanji five seasons.

Gugu Yalanji knowledge-holders from MRTCAG assert ownership, authority and control over the cultural knowledge that they have shared in the Story Map project. It is also commonly called the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and is expressed in the Gugu Yalanji language names, stories, knowledge about plants, animals and seasonal connections in this story map, as well as the visual representation of our Country and science.

Gugu Yalanji knowledge holders are sharing the ICIP embedded in this Story Map for educational outreach only – to increase awareness, respect and recognition of their culture, and knowledge and practices among the general public and scientists, in order to share in the beauty, depth and complexity of our Culture, Country and People.

In Australia, tropical wetlands flood during the wet summer months, which are Woonkjarigee and Djadamalli Gugu Yalanji seasons. How much and for how long they flood varies with the climate.

Aquatic ecosystems in lakes, rivers and wetlands need floods. Floods replenish nutrients, stimulate plant growth, support biological diversity and fill groundwater reservoirs. This provides opportunities for recreation and tourism, and the pulse in ecosystem productivity supports traditional food harvesting by Traditional Custodians.

Commercial barramundi and banana prawn industries rely on these wet-season floods to reduce the salinity in the estuary and provide access to the floodplains. The rich supply of food on the floodplains during floods boosts barramundi and prawn growth and reproduction.

The wide-open floodplains of the Mitchell catchment closest to the coast have many more permanent lakes and wetlands than its narrow, fast-flowing headwaters in the Great Dividing Range.

We know from observations and modelling different flooding scenarios that changes in upstream flows affect downstream water levels much more than local rainfall does. Flows across the floodplain vary from year to year. The extent of inundation on the floodplain varies from year to year. More than half of this variation can be explained by what happens with upstream flows, with only a quarter of the variation explained by local rainfall.

Illustrative data: The ebb and flow of floodplain inundation and river flow across the catchment. Combining satellite data with observed river flow data helped define the relationship between inundation and river flows.

The Mitchell catchment has not escaped the effects of climate change and human activity – there are now fewer permanent open freshwater lakes and wetlands all around the world.

New developments impounding water resources – such as dams – have the potential to degrade these ecosystems and the benefits they give to plants, animals and ultimately people, including the important ecosystem services provided by the floodplain – cultural sites, groundwater recharge, plant growth, biodiversity, and traditional and commercial food sources.

An important sign of healthy and productive floodplains is the volume and diversity of plants they grow. Constructing dams will reduce upstream flows, followed by less wet-season flooding, fewer plants and restricted ecosystem services.

Floodplain wetlands are ideal habitats for beneficial algae. They hold shallow water where light penetrates easily, so aquatic plants thrive. The plants that grow submerged in water have many small branches and leaves, which together provide a large surface area for algae to grow.

Algae and bacteria are the organic factories of aquatic ecosystems. These primary producers create wetlands rich in organic material that provide a smorgasbord for decomposers, fish and other animals. The role of algae is to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, and chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphate into food for the food web.

During the summer floods, fish move from the rivers to the wetlands to feed. Many return to the rivers before the wetlands disconnect in the dry season. If consumers like fish can access the wetlands for long periods, then algae provide an enormous benefit to the food web. The more water on the floodplain in wet seasons, the longer the rivers and wetlands are connected, the more algae grow and the more those wetlands give to the food web.

In modelling scenarios where dams or drier years reduced the wetland-to-river connections, we found that consumers such as fish lost access to up to 26% of algae during floods.

Illustrative data: As a flood event progresses, floodplain inundation from the river breaking its banks provides opportunities for algae to grow, fuelling the base of the food web. When flow, and subsequently inundation, are reduced there is a loss of connectivity between river channels and floodplain wetlands which reduces the amount of algae from the floodplain that is available to support instream food webs.

Climate change will bring more extreme flooding and droughts to the tropics. Additionally, dams will reduce freshwater flows reaching the floodplains. The reduction in flows is likely to be even greater with developments like levees, roads and other barriers that divert flows away from floodplain wetlands.

Less water flows during wet seasons reduce connections between the rivers and wetlands, inhibit fish movement and diminish the benefit these wetlands give to the food web of the whole catchment.

Full, flowing rivers create migratory highways for aquatic animals in the wet season.

Fish need to move between waterways to find the right places to spawn and feed, and find refuge in the dry season.

Some species migrate to complete essential stages of their lifecycle. Barramundi move between freshwater, estuarine and coastal environments at different stages of their lives. Adults use floodwaters to move from the rivers to the estuary to spawn. The larvae mature in the mangroves and tidal habitats, and migrate back to the rivers when they reach juvenile age.

Most fish move at least once in their life to find more abundant feeding grounds. Fish will also move to find refuge during the dry season in pockets of permanent water on the floodplain and waterholes in the river channels.

Connected, flowing waterways create larger, healthier fish populations.

The tiny inner-ear bones (otoliths) of fish hold traces of an element, strontium, that is found in the waters where they live. The strontium ratio varies by place.

We sampled water and mussels across the catchment during Bullarigee and Woonkjarigee Yalanji seasons, to map 15 different aquatic regions based on the strontium found. We compared these regions to the strontium found in fish ear bones to understand where the fish were born, how often they moved and where they went during their lifetime.

Seventy-five percent of fish caught in the lower catchment moved at least once in their lifetime. All the fish caught far upstream had migrated to the place they were caught, while fish caught in the Mitchell floodplain and lower Palmer River moved around less in their lifetimes.

The Mitchell River is the birthplace for most migrating fish. Fish need access along the length of the Mitchell River to spawn, forage and live during dry seasons.

Illustrative data: Predicted movement of a small number of fish showing the relatively widespread movement over the lifetime of individuals. Older fish appear earlier in the animation, with their movement ending at approximately the same time – when they were caught. Different species are indicated by different colours:

Like humans, fish ‘are what they eat’. When fish feed, they retain elements from the insects, shrimp and small fish they eat. Using this information, fish can be classified as ‘residents’ or ‘migrants’ depending on how long they have foraged in one place.

We studied where fish feed in the catchment to predict how five potential dams could change how fish move around the catchment to feed and breed.

Fish move the most in the mid- to lower catchment where river channels are more connected.

Species like barramundi and tarpon that migrate to reproduce in the estuary are found throughout the Mitchell catchment. However, species that do not migrate to reproduce, such as the freshwater longtom and salmon catfish, also move around the Mitchell catchment to forage and find habitat to survive the dry season.

Given the regular movement of both breeding and non-breeding fish, potential dams could have a larger impact than previously thought.

Illustrative data: Analyses indicated the percentage of fish caught at each location that recently moved to the site. The number of migrants at each site was strongly correlated with the flow-mediated connectivity of the site to the rest of the river network. More flow-connected sites had more migrants. Swipe left and right to see the predicted reduction in the amount of migration around the catchment due to the reduction in flows under the scenario where five dams are constructed. A single dam might seem to have a comparatively small impact, but cumulative impacts of many dams are much larger.

How connected a river is depends on how often it links to other waterways through flowing water. The more connected a river is, the more fish can move around.

Dams reduce a river’s connectivity with their physical barriers and by reducing the amount of water flowing downstream which impacts the time that the river connects to other waterways.

Fish movement would drop by more than one-third across the whole catchment if all five potential dams used in our modelling scenarios are constructed without any mitigation measures (predicted average drop of 36%).

The severity of impact on fish movement depends on where the dam is located and its size.

The three largest dams in the modelling scenario (Pinnacles, Chillagoe and Palmer) will have the largest effect on fish movement in the sub-catchment in which they would be built.

The Pinnacles dam, likely to have the most serious impact on fish movement, would reduce connectivity to the Mitchell River as well as the lower Palmer sub-catchments. This would reduce movement in the lower Mitchell catchment, where there are important breeding sites, habitat and connections to the floodplain.

If all five dams used in our modelling are constructed, the ability of fish to access the Mitchell catchment from other waterways would nearly halve (45%).

The dam development scenarios came from the CSIRO  NAWRA River Model app  developed under the  Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment .

Wet-season flows from the rivers of the southern Gulf of Carpentaria carry nutrients to the estuaries and coastal waters.

Like wetland ecosystems, these estuaries need nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus so algae can flourish. They fuel the food web which leads all the way to migratory shorebirds and large consumers like barramundi.

Nutrients are also needed in coastal ecosystems. The estuary’s mangroves and tidal mudflats provide habitat and nurseries for fish, prawns and other aquatic animals.

The nutrients delivered by rivers to their estuaries depends on yearly changes in freshwater flows. The estuaries likely have very low nutrient levels for most of the year.

In low-flow years, there are only short-lived spikes of nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the coast. In big wet seasons, freshwater flows boost nutrients, and plant growth and productivity flourish.

It’s essential to maintain the river flows in drier years, as the first flows of the wet season (during Djadamalli Gugu Yalanji season) supply important food to the ecosystem. These early flows immediately reduce salt levels, meaning less stress for plants and animals surviving in this saltwater environment.

Illustrative data: Interannual variation in flows affects the densities of prawns caught in the estuary and nearshore zone. Prawn densities change as wet-season flows and inundation deliver nutrients and change the salinity of the estuaries.

The estuarine ecosystems support several major fisheries including the Northern Prawn Fishery, worth over $70 million in gross value production in 2018–2019.

Banana prawns are an important contributor to the fishery and are used as an indicator species. The health of their population tells us about the productivity of the whole estuary.

When large volumes of freshwater enter the estuaries in the wet season, salt levels drop. At the same time, animals living in the salty mud that the prawns feed on, disappear. This stimulates banana prawns to migrate offshore where the fisheries operate.

Prawns have a short lifespan and are easy prey in the estuaries. If they do not migrate offshore because the salt levels do not drop enough due to freshwater input, they are eaten before they can spawn. This means fewer prawns are available for marine food webs or for fishers to catch.

When freshwater is diverted by dams or extracted from rivers, this reduces flows, causing salt levels to rise in the estuaries. The banana prawns then ‘stay put’, noticeably reducing prawn catch. There will be even less prawn catch in years with low flows.

If multiple large dams are constructed on the Mitchell River, prawn fishery catch could drop by more than half in low-flow years (53%). Without reallocation of fishing effort, this could lead to a 22% loss in profit across the fishery. There will be even greater losses if freshwater is diverted and extracted and there are consecutive years of low flows.

This project investigated what the catchment needs to sustain healthy, biodiverse ecosystems under pressure from water-resource developments such as dams.

Flows from the mountain headwaters were essential for inundating the floodplain during the wet season. Such flows fuel the growth of aquatic plants and beneficial algae in the wetlands which form the basis for the whole catchment’s food web.

The modelled development scenarios analysed would nearly halve the contribution of wetland plants to the catchment’s food web (by 44%) due to reductions in freshwater flows.

Wet-season flows, during Djadamalli and Kamba Gugu Yalanji seasons, connect rivers to the floodplain, fill up the groundwater and flood wetland habitat. They flush large amounts of nutrients into the estuaries, fuelling more plant growth. These are all essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems.

Fish living in the catchment move throughout the year to breed, forage and find refuge habitats during the dry season. They need connected waterways during the wet season to maintain the size and health of their populations.

Plants and animals surviving in the estuaries rely on wet-season flows to reduce stressful salt levels. Animals like the banana prawn – important for the Gulf prawn fisheries – rely on this freshwater flush to migrate to coastal waters.

The catchment also supports numerous threatened species, nationally significant wetlands, and commercial and recreational fisheries.

Development of the catchment’s freshwater resources will divert and alter flows disconnecting its waterways and reducing flows to the floodplains. This will degrade the health of the catchment’s ecosystems and their valuable ecosystem services.

The value a natural place delivers to society can be determined through ecosystem accounting. Through this process, the health of an ecosystem over time is mapped, the services it supplies to society are determined and the value it provides to our wellbeing is calculated.

Some of the services that the Mitchell catchment provides can be easily quantified:

• its native grasslands and woodlands provide grazing fodder for its $17.3-million-dollar beef industry each year

• its woodlands and forests store more than 870 million tonnes of carbon, helping to regulate local and global climates

• wild barramundi from the Mitchell estuary have delivered about 170 tonnes of fish per year to commercial fisheries.

Other ecosystem services are not so easily quantifiable. Traditional Custodians value cultural places for their spiritual wellbeing and holistic connections. Natural vegetation stabilises banks and reduces erosion, and the natural river environment provides places for recreation and destinations for tourism. The catchment’s soil supports cultivated crops. These values have yet to be estimated, but they only increase the value of the Mitchell River in its current state.

While the catchment is remote with a small population, new dam infrastructure will have a profound impact on the value of the many ecosystem services the catchment delivers. Estimating the cost of such impacts to the catchment’s ecosystem services is a potential next step in this research.

The research to derive the findings described above occurred without deep engagement with the Traditional Custodians represented by MRTCAG. Following the research process, NESP researchers sat down with Gugu Yalanji Elder Marceil Lawrence, educator Sharon Brady and MRTCAG Chairperson Ruth Link to weave the scientific findings into the Traditional Knowledge of Gugu Yalanji seasons.

Kamba | Proper Wet Time | December to March

Gugu Yalanji go to higher ground due to the wet-season rains and hunting and gathering for bush tucker is more difficult and we predominantly ate stored foods.

The scientific findings show that during Kamba the rivers are flowing with rainfall on Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Kuku Djungan and Wokomin Country, and the floodplain wetlands on Kowanyama Country are becoming inundated. Construction of dams in these regions will reduce the floodplain inundation in the lower catchment.

Bunna Warrin | Flood Time | April to May

During Bunna Warrin season there is lots of water in the river and big flying ants swarm the camps, heaps of march flies are on Country now. Water floods Country, and it’s difficult to hunt and travel during this season. Gugu Yalanji people continue to eat our stored foods.

During this season, Eastern Gugu Yalanji people would come up to Western Gugu Yalanji Country because there was too much water on the Eastern slopes. Western Gugu Yalanji have clay dirt Country and that’s hard to get through. But at the same time, they were able to monitor and catch kangaroo on that part of Country who were also there for the medicinal and healing components that this season afforded the animal world as well. Gugu Yalanji People saw the green grass shoots as the signal that this was medicine time for the whole of the catchment. When the first shoots came on the grass, then old people spoke of getting all the bushes from the trees, and the fish would then come and eat the flowers The science shows that the algae is flourishing in the rivers and wetlands on the floodplain during Bunna Warrin, and loss of flows from dams will reduce the algal productivity that supports the freshwater food webs.

Bullarigee | Cold Time | June to September

During Bullarigee season, the bama move to higher flat ground away from the rising water and away from bilkgamore (big crocodiles). The Country during this season is abundant with fruits, vegetables, hunting and fishing all critical for our bama gala. The native beehives were full and honey was gathered and our people felt a sense of goodness during this season from the abundant and pristine nature of the Country. The science shows that the flow of the rivers allows fish to move throughout the catchment during Bullarigee, searching for food and refuge for the dry season.

Woonkjarigee | Hot Time | October to November

During the Woonkjarigee season, the weather got hotter and Wawu Budja started to dry up and hunting and fishing became more difficult as fruits and vegetables become less available. During Woonkjarigee, the science shows the water is drying up and the fish are relying on food in the waterholes they found to survive the dry season. The stable water levels mean the strontium levels can be sampled to show which fish have moved throughout their lives.

Djadamalli | Cyclone Time | November to mid-December

During Djadamalli season, there are big, life-threatening winds with lots of rain. Conditions on Country are hot and humid during Djadamalli season. Wawu Budja’s water levels are low and rain is scarce. Our people are drawn back to Wawu Budja for sustenance, wellbeing and empowerment. The flows that come from the scattered storms during Djadamalli deliver nutrients to the estuary to support the early growth of prawns and the smaller animals they feed on. Capturing these flows with dams and other water-resource development will reduce the food available to the prawns.

At the conclusion of this Story Map, we hope you can see how sharing the knowledge of Traditional Custodians and scientific researchers through storytelling and conversation can bring a deeper understanding of the workings of a place like Wawu Budja.

Ruth Link, Chairperson of MRTCAG notes:

“Historically, western scientific discourse, research frameworks and practices have marginalised Indigenous voices and perspectives at best, and frequently have been used to validate and entrench discrimination and racism in Australian law, policy and society. MRTCAG developed a Research Protection Protocol in 2009, and many scientists have worked with us to ensure that research is inclusive through informed consent, and entrenches a view that represents our wisdom, custodianship, and knowledge accurately, respectfully, and appropriately.

The cultural and spiritual beliefs of past, present, and future generations of Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Kuku Djungan, Wokomin people is founded upon our historical and contemporary Traditional Custodian ethic, which is tied to our air, water, land, laws and dreaming system. Our cultural ethics endow us with and provide us a communal identity, languages, histories and value systems that bonds and links us together culturally to the land, water, air and each other and interdependence with plants, animals and the spirit world.

Following the Five Principles of Engagement and Friendship, this Story Map represents MRTCAG and NESP researchers resetting the value of their two different knowledge systems, to seize the moment for respectful collaboration. It is by valuing the strength and beauty of Culture and investing in people that we can bring unity that values our diversity. This sets the foundation for exciting opportunities in the coming years.”

This project was funded by the Australian Government’s National Environment Science Program through its Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Mitchell River catchment: Western Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin, Kuku Djangun, Kokoberra, Yir Yoront (or Kokomnjen) and Kunjen. The story map was completed in July 2022 by Ben Stewart-Koster, Chantal Saint Ange, Lyndal Scobell, Jane Thomas and Ruth Link in collaboration with project researchers and Econnect Communication.

Welcome and acknowledgement of Country

My name is Ruth Link, and as the MRTCAG Chairperson representing our Traditional Custodian Groups of the upper and middle catchment, I provide a Traditional Welcome and Acknowledgement of Country before we explain who we are and our relationship with western science, research, and cultural resurgence of our knowledge systems.  

Wunjada Wawu Budja – Welcome to the Mitchell River – Western Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djangun – we are the Traditional Custodians from the clan estates situated at the upper and middle of the Mitchell River. Gugu Yalanji people call the Mitchell River ‘Wawu Budja’ and in our language that means ‘water is life’.

MRTCAG’s objectives are to be united to:

●     protect the air, land, water, and story places of the Mitchell River upper and middle catchment

●     preserve and maintain story places, cultural belief and customs

●     strengthen and empower Traditional Custodians and our connection to the river. 

Sharon Brady, Gugu Yalanji educator, cultural knowledge-holder and storyteller and MRTCAG Member, explains the importance of our clan estates and right people for right Country in ensuring the cultural authority, knowledge and leadership is gugu yaral – straight and honest.

“Our Traditional Country (Land, Sky and Water Country) is divided into clan estates, and the ‘right people for right Country’ are responsible for looking after our sites, and the day to day living. Wawu Budja was pristine and abundant when our people were solely responsible for caring for the river and we believe relationships with NESP and western scientists are critical to developing scientific solutions that respect and embed traditional knowledge. MRTCAG believes this is the only way to address the complex land and water problems Wawu Budja is experiencing from agricultural, damming, and other forms of western society development.”

Ruth Link, MRTCAG Chairperson, lawyer and Gugu Yalanji woman, explains why MRTCAG has partnered with NESP to undertake Indigenous knowledge-led research on Country:

“We are deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of Wawu Budja and have created a 40-year Healthy Country Plan to holistically address the colonisation, disrespect, and exclusion of our people’s knowledge and bama gala in managing and maintaining Healthy Country. 

NESP has been an organisation that seeks to understand, change, and transform its relationship with our people, and our work has seen western scientists understand we want friendship. MRTCAG wants friendships with science because friends can tell each other this is wrong, and work to fix the relationship so the knowledge, and solutions make spiritual, economic, scientific, cultural, social, political, and emotional sense for current and future generations.

I draw upon the powerful words of Uncle Qwanji Brady, deep western Gugu Yalanji language speaker, traditional cultural knowledge holder and MRTCAG cultural authority to make Country healthy ‘it needs to be a combined effort of cultural knowledge and scientific knowledge, then you have a holistic effort’.” (2008, Cairns).

“Since 2007, NESP has developed a relationship with the Mitchell River Traditional Custodian Advisory Group (MRTCAG) over the years through Professor Michael Douglas, Professor Stuart Bunn, Ruth Link, Gerry Turpin, Valmai Turpin, Eddie Turpin, Aunty Jean Rosas, Aunty Rita Turpin, Aunty Marceil Lawrence, Aunty Sharon Brady, Uncle Qwanji Brady, Wawu William Brady, Wawu Matthew Brady, Stephen Brumby, Wawu Vivian Lane, Eddie Thomas, Annette Grainer, Wawu Estelle Waia, Joe Callope, Sonja Callope, Wawu Troy Grainer, Bertie Riley and Uncle Graham Brady as well as many other Western Gugu Yalanjji, Mabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan people working on research related projects across the upper and middle catchment of Wawu Budja. Thank you to all our people as they have stayed on the journey of healing Country.

Thank you to all our people who have stayed on the journey of healing Country. This is not easy for our people to lead this work. We are in a period of world and Australian history where we have returned to Country and are rebuilding Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan Nations and addressing the damage and destruction to our Country, people, and culture.

MRTCAG therefore seeks respectful, responsible, peaceful and honest relationships with science systems and this is so important to our people because strong relationships are evidence that science sees and designs research projects with our bama gala. Our bama gala is our ways of being, knowing and doing, which is achieved in the continual activities of our daily life, and our immersion into relatedness and fulfilling our cultural knowledge conditions for each way of knowing Country considered such as including our knowledge of the Gugu Yalanji seasons. This approach creates a deeper hypothesis that we can test and observe using combined traditional and scientific knowledge, methods and solutions.

This approach will enable the inclusion of our cultural and spiritual knowledge into science paradigms because our knowledge is learned within shared experience and memory and our learning never stops. Our people are given different responsibilities based on our stage of development because it’s about how we can contribute to the health and wellbeing of the clan groups along the upper and middle Mitchell River catchment, as opposed to being right all the time. MRTCAG seeks to find balance between our own cultural knowledge systems, so respect, responsibility and peace lay the foundation of the relationships.

Gugu Yalanji, Mbabram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan people collectively speak about the relationship with Country when we speak about our relationship with the sacred world and our people. This is central to our dreaming system and the wellbeing of our clans and nations. What is critical is relationships and relatedness as these are pivotal to the success of our people’s relationship with western scientists and research organisations as our cultural knowledge and Indigenous science of the seasons, biodiversity and the river catchment contains ancient knowledge to heal Country. By combining the two-knowledge systems, we demonstrate a genuine commitment to working towards Indigenous-led science over the next seven generations that seeks to heal Country.   

For Wawu Budja and its people, wellbeing is about strengthening the wellness of our cultural ecosystems because they are fundamental to Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan. The impact of the loss of Indigenous biocultural knowledge has been the most significant cause of loss of identity for our people, and Western science and wellbeing paradigms largely ignore the relationship between ecosystems and wellbeing. This is even though Gugu Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan knowledge and science and indeed that of Indigenous peoples account for most of the world’s cultural diversity.

Biocultural knowledge accumulated by our people is contained in our ancient languages and story and Songlines. Gugu Yalanji, Mbabram, Wokomin and Kuku Djungan knowledge is passed on through our clan group orally. Our traditional language extinction is leading to loss of ecological knowledge of the river and how to care for it using traditional knowledge of our people and our ability to maintain Wawu Budja for future generations.

We have a deep love for our Country, and this manifests in our services which are research, law, cultural education and language revitalisation and maintenance services to scientists, and we are committed to our relationship with NESP and transforming science to benefit our peoples, Country, and cultures through continuing to undertake research on Country together building the friendship.”

Ruth Link, MRTCAG Chairperson March 2022.

Sharon Brady, Gugu Yalanji educator, cultural knowledge holder and storyteller and MRTCAG Member, with her eldest sister Aunty Marceil Lawrence, Gugu Yalanji Elder, Indigenous scientist, innovator and MRTCAG Director, speak of the holistic nature and spiritual power of the Gugu Yalanji seasons:

“For Gugu Gugu Yalanji people, we manage the health and wellbeing of Wawu Budja. Our bush tucker and medicines aligned and connected to the Gugu Yalanji five seasons:

Kamba Season | Proper Wet Time | December to March

Gugu Yalanji go to higher ground due to the wet-season rains and hunting and gathering for bush tucker is more difficult.  Our people predominantly ate stored foods, and our clan groups spend time together on shared Country.

Bunna Warrin Season | Flood Time | April to May

During Bunna Warrin season there is lots of water in the river and big flying ants swarm the camps, heaps of march flies are on Country now. Water floods Country, and it’s difficult to hunt and travel during this season. Gugu Yalanji people continue to eat our stored foods.

During this season, Eastern Gugu Yalanji people would come up to Western Gugu Yalanji Country because there was too much water on the Eastern slopes. Western Gugu Yalanji have clay dirt Country and that’s hard to get through. But at the same time, they were able to monitor and catch kangaroo on that part of Country who were also there for the medicinal and healing components that this season afforded the animal world as well. Gugu Yalanji People saw the green grass shoots as the signal that this was medicine time for the whole of the catchment. When the first shoots came on the grass, then old people spoke of getting all the bushes from the trees, and the fish would then come and eat the flowers.

Buluriji | Cold Time | June to September

The Country during this season is abundant with fruits, vegetables, hunting and fishing all critical for our bama gala. The native beehives were full, and honey was gathered, and our people felt a sense of goodness during this season from the abundant and pristine nature of the Country.

Wungariji | Hot Time | October to November

During the Wungariji season, the weather got hotter and Wawu Budja started to dry up and hunting and fishing became more difficult as fruits and vegetables become less available. We relied on yams during this season for nourishment, and we continued to observe the seasons and the flying ants, and dragonflies were central to the signals Gugu Yalanji lilved by to maintain the health and wellbeing of the dreaming system – human world, physical world and sacred world in balance and harmony.

The flying ants start to appear by the end of December, we know the rain is coming then. When the big flying ants start to appear after that is when we start to experience more water and the flood time. Then the dragonfly comes in and it tells the whole story of the wet season of the upper Mitchell and the story is carried in the winds as the hum is heard across the landscape.  The dragon fly prepared us for the big rain, it was our signal.

Djadamalli | Cyclone Time | November to mid-December

Conditions on Country are hot and humid during Djadamalli season. Wawu Budja’s water levels are low, and rain is scarce. Our people are drawn back to Wawu Budja for sustenance, wellbeing and empowerment.

Gugu Yalanji people knew this was the build-up time, the humidity, that hot time and our people would only move in the evening. We could track the food easier; our people had the energy and able to collectively hunt for food. Gugu Yalanji people always did things together.

“MRTCAG seeks to influence and shape western scientists and their research to respect, understand and create knowledge that embeds the complex knowledge of our people by having a deep understanding, practice, and commitment to living according to these five seasons.”

Ruth Link and Sharon Brady.

“The Gugu Yalanji seasons’ shifting winds, thunderstorms, and the availability of different foods throughout the seasons together with our hunting and gathering, our songs and dance are all interlinked, and this is because this is our Gugu Yalanji education system”

Sharon Brady

In 2019, MRTCAG engaged with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science to develop five principles for science engagement and friendship. 

Unity and diversity

Understand ‘one mob’ and valuing the diversity of land, culture and diversity of aspiration.

Resetting the value

Understanding that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have deep understanding of science, which was developed and refined over 60,000 years, and respecting that value.

Seizing this moment

Understanding that there is a changing of the seasons, creating the ability to do things differently while reflecting that which is ingrained.

Strength and beauty

Valuing the strength and beauty of culture and understanding, not focusing on the deficits.

Invest in people

Understanding that change requires friendship and friendship requires people.

These five principles provide a roadmap for the journey ahead and provide a solution to bringing western and Indigenous knowledge system together to heal Country. 

Importantly, we pay deep respect to Mitchell River Traditional Custodians who have led MRTCAG since we commenced. To our Elders, cultural knowledge holders and language speakers, MRTCAG deeply respects, acknowledges and recognises how critical your continued commitment to the dreaming is, your patience in times of lack of outcomes and progress, and your kind and generous spirit ground us all as we move forward with our research, cultural education, healthy Country, and language priorities.

I would also like to acknowledge the MRTCAG Board:

• Gerry Turpin, Deputy Chairperson and powerful Mbabaram man with deep commitment to sharing his knowledge and wisdom his people and Country, of ethnobotany and the preservation, protection and maintenance of traditional knowledge.

• Aunty Marceil Lawrence, Yalanji Elder, innovator, scientist and MRTCAG Director, for sharing her deep cultural knowledge and scientific perspectives on how to heal Country.

• Valmai Turpin, Mababram woman, innovator and MRTCAG Treasurer, for her dedication to healing Country through Indigenous plant use, and traditional knowledge.

• Natarsha Bell, Gugu Yalanji woman, designer, innovator and MRTCAG Secretary, for her deep love for Wawu Budja show in her artwork, cultural knowledge and leadership.

Thank-you to our Board for their dedication to traditional knowledge leading and informing healthy Country research and outcomes. 

MRTCAG has developed a range of icons that align to NESP research projects to share our cultural knowledge of caring for Wawu Budja. We acknowledge and deeply respect:

• Natasha Bell, Gugu Yalanji woman, designer, innovator and MRTCAG Secretary who has used her cultural knowledge and artistic skills to create these designs you will see throughout the story map. Our people are visual, and these speak to the beauty we see in Wawu Budja and the life it brings to us.

I acknowledge and give big respect and love to Aunty Sharon Brady, Uncle Qwanji and Wawu William Brady, Graham Brady and my dad Billy Cummins and Wawu Lukie Cummins, Wawu Gummi Peter Costello and Wawu Gammi Dalsy Costello/Symons for guiding me through life, sharing the cultural knowledge of our clan and nation and the deep love and commitment to my leadership. 

Acknowledgement of NESP and the role of science in strengthening our knowledge

According to the Yalanji five seasons and the history of Wawu Budja, the past 237 years of history there is an urgency to come together with people who have the hearts, minds and commitment to healing Country. MRTCAG will always work with western scientists and organisations that are on the journey of understanding the power that combined knowledge systems can have. MRTCAG would like to deeply thank Professor Michael Douglas for his deep commitment to always listening and trying to understand the spiritual and cultural connection of our People and our Vision. MRTCAG would also like to thank Professor Stuart Bunn and Professor Michele Burford for the ongoing commitment to understanding the biophysical processes of Wawu Budja and how the Yalanji five seasons enliven and add so much value to the scientific findings. We understand none of this can happen without deadly coordinators and communicators. Everyone has their responsibilities, so we thank Lyndal Scobell and Jane Thomas for their support in communicating and engaging appropriately with MRTCAG.

Lastly, MRTCAG would like to acknowledge and give big respect to Ben Stewart-Koster, who we call Guyu which is the Catfish, and the catfish is our people’s favourite fish. Ben is NESP’s western science leader on the Mitchell River and he has taken the time to understand the relationship we have had with NESP in all its interactions over the years, he has taken the time to develop a strong relationship through truth-telling and not focusing on western concepts of time. These powerful developments are leading to the synergy of western science and cultural knowledge that will benefit Wawu Budja to become healthy within seven generations.

“It is a genuine privilege to do research into the aquatic ecosystems of the Mitchell River, Wawu Budja. And I’m really grateful for the opportunity to develop this friendship with MRTCAG. I acknowledge all of the Traditional Owners of the Mitchell River catchment: Western Yalanji, Mbabaram, Wokomin, Kuku Djangun, Kokoberra, Yir Yoront (or Kokomnjen) and Kunjen. Scientific approaches can teach us how these ecosystems function, but often our science is only ‘new knowledge’ if we ignore the wealth of traditional knowledge that has existed for thousands of years. It shouldn’t surprise us when scientific findings are closely aligned with what Traditional Custodians know.”

Ben Stewart-Koster.