Heartland Journeys

Ezzard Flowers is a Goreng-Menang Elder. His life story includes living with his extended family on country as a young boy and then being removed from family and placed in a mission.
Following this experience, he faced the challenge of reconnecting to family and country and seeking his identity and purpose as a Noongar man.

This is the compelling story of Carol Pettersen, a Menang-Ngadju Elder. Aunty Carol was born at the Gnowangerup Mission and raised in the bush around Jerramungup with her family, which she describes as “one of the most glorious times of my life”.
She has spent much of her life in the Albany area, on her traditional country and her story offers many cultural insights.

Eugene Eades is a Goreng – Menang Elder, and since 2006 he has played a pivotal role in creating a powerful healing and cross-cultural gathering place on a former farm, now called Nowanup, to the north-east of the Stirling Range.
Eugene has used his extraordinary leadership skills and dedication to help make Nowanup a beacon of hope. He has led hundreds of camps and welcomed thousands of people to Nowanup.

Lynette Knapp is a Merningar Elder and Adjunct Research Fellow and Dr Alison Lullfitz, is a Research Associate, both at the University of Western Australia.
In this story, Lynette and Alison are walking and talking together on a bush property beside the Pallinup River, near Boxwood Hill. Connection to country is a strong thread in their friendship.

Meet Dr Nic Dunlop, Coordinator of the Citizen Science Program at the Conservation Council of Western Australia. For decades, Nic has used his scientific knowledge to assist and run citizen science projects, mostly involving birds.
One of Nic’s key projects is testing the effectiveness of a bird monitoring method that can be used by citizen scientists to identify the ecological outcomes of restoration and revegetation plantings, as well as habitat management.

Heather Adams is the Chair of the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group, a successful farmer with her husband Mark in the Kalgan Valley north of Albany, and a long-term leader in the landcare movement. For the past thirty years, the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group has been involved in a remarkable story of landcare, ecological restoration and recovery. 

Meet some of the members of Friends of Porongurup Range, an incredibly passionate and dedicated community group who own and manage Twin Creeks Conservation Reserve. This is a property of 511 hectares nestled between the highly biodiverse Porongurup Range and Stirling Range National Parks.  

Gen Harvey is the Landcare Officer at Wagin Woodanilling Landcare Zone, and with a special passion for the wildlife that lives here and was once more widespread in this landscape. Gen is talking here about Wingedyne Nature Reserve, just to the west of the small town of Woodanilling, which contains many of the ecosystem communities found in the rea.

Restoration ecologist Justin Jonson has spent years refining the science of restoring habitats and ecological integrity on cleared land. He has worked extensively in the central zone of Gondwana Link, between the wetter forests and the Great Western Woodlands. This work is largely taking place on land cleared for agriculture and is part of an ambitious program to re-connect wildlife habitats across south-western Australia. 
 

Wendy Bradshaw farms near Tambellup, and is also a passionate environmentalist who is constantly learning and experimenting with how we can farm better with nature. Along with her farming background, she has a wealth of experience working in community landcare, and in her own environmental consultancy, where she helps to restore biodiversity and soil health on farms.

Sylvia Leighton farms near Wellstead on the property she grew up on. When her parents retired in 2013, she returned to the farm with her partner Peter and their son Alex. Sylvia has come back with a wealth of scientific knowledge and experience in biology, ecology, community landcare and soil science, along with a passion for farming in a more ecologically-sensitive way.

Meet some of the key people behind the Ranges Link initiative in the Kalgan Valley, a productive farming area between the Porongurup and Stirling Ranges. The Kalgan Valley is also a place with a fascinating geological history, immensely rich biodiversity and a delightful long stretch of the Kalgan River. Thankfully, it has a dedicated and engaged community who have long been leaders in community landcare and ecological restoration.

Meet Ella Maesepp from Katanning Landcare, one of Western Australia's most prominent and successful landcare organisations in a prosperous agricultural community in the heart of WA’s southern wheatbelt. Ella has been with Katanning Landcare since 2006, working with farmers to help improve the sustainable management of their land, as well as assisting people in town to develop more sustainable living practices.

Meet Ella Maesepp from Katanning Landcare, who helped to coordinate an enormous community landcare effort to bring Lake Ewlyamartup back from the brink of collapse. 

Meet Eddy and Donna Wajon, owners of Chingarrup Sanctuary, a 576 hectare bush property near Boxwood Hill. Since they purchased the property for conservation in 2002, Eddy and Donna overseen some wonderful ecological restoration and citizen science work, including the restoration of 80 ha of cleared land to quality wildlife habitat.

Balijup is a special property in the Great Southern region and a vital link in the Gondwana Link. Settled by the Hordacre family in the 1920s, it is now a shining example of landcare in the area. Listen to current co-owner Alan Hordacre, Basil Schur and Joe Porter describe the important work taking place at Balijup, including the fully fenced Fauna Sanctuary.