21 December 2023

Last week, our researchers Lenore Morris, Michael Douglas and Natalie Rossiter-Rachor were hard at work in Kakadu National Park.

Ahead of her PhD studies kicking off, Indigenous Research Associate Lenore Morris spent time in the park to meet with Victor Cooper, Violet Lawson, Jeffrey Lee, Margaret Rawlinson and Bernadette Calma – 5 of the Bininj and Mungguy Traditional Owners of Kakadu.

Bininj and Mungguy Traditional Owner, Victor Cooper, discussing bush-tucker plants with Research Associate, Lenore Morris. Photo: Michael Douglas. 

Lenore will be researching wet-season burning across the park as part of her PhD. She’ll work closely with Bininj and Mungguy Traditional Owners and Parks Australia staff to measure fire behaviour, fuel dynamics and ecological impacts of this type of burning across different ecosystems.

Our researchers visited sites to be burned this wet season and sites that have been burned in previous wet seasons. They are hoping to get an idea of the types of research questions that Traditional Owners are most interested in.

The grassy understory in Kakadu becomes highly flammable in the dry-season. Photo: Michael Douglas.

‘I really enjoyed meeting Victor, Violet, Margie and Bernie, and learning about the different bush tucker and plants used in Kakadu,’ said Lenore.

‘I can’t wait to get back up there next year when the wet-season burns are happening…and maybe I’ll get to try their sugarbag honey, too!’

Lenore’s PhD will be part of a larger hub project looking at wet-season burning in Kakadu.