Werai knowledge sharing

Impact summary

Scientists and water managers from Commonwealth and State government share knowledge bout Ramsar wetlands and environmental water and provide information about scientific monitoring and research done on Werai Lands with its Traditional Owners

Research and engagement activities leading to impact

•Researchers from Charles Sturt University and water managers from Commonwealth and NSW State government provide information about scientific monitoring and research done on Werai Lands to Werai Lands Traditional Owners community
•Researchers from Charles Sturt University and water managers from Commonwealth and NSW State government share knowledge about Ramsar wetlands and environmental water
•Researchers from Charles Sturt University show Werai Lands Traditional Owners and families photos and videos of the Werai Lands, ranging from dry to flooding conditions
•Researchers from Charles Sturt University show Werai Lands Traditional Owners and families water bugs and fish larvae under microscopes
•Researchers from Charles Sturt University show Werai Lands Traditional Owners and families hands-on water quality measurements

Research outputs associated with the impact

Werai Lands Traditional Owners Community Day is a community event to share knowledge and learn about monitoring and research on Werai Lands. On Sunday 3 March 2024 about 30 Traditional Owners and their families took part in the Werai Lands Traditional Owners Community Day at the Deniliquin Golf Club, where they listened to presentations from, and asked questions of, scientists and environmental water managers. Ideas for future research and activities were discussed. Werai Lands forms part of the NSW Central Murray Forests Internationally recognised Ramsar site.

Professor Robyn Watts spoke about four recent research projects on Werai Lands. They were:
• The use of field cameras that took take daily photographs over several years that showed the changes to the forest’s vegetation in response to watering and unregulated flood flows.
• Inundation modelling which used satellite imagery to show how the water travels through the forest and how long it takes to dry down after flows recede. The study showed that water that flows into Werai Lands drains off relatively quickly into Colligen Creek or the Edward River, when compared to other floodplain wetlands
• A study that showed that during the unregulated flood in late 2021 the quality of water flowing out of Werai forest into Colligen-Niemur River was better (more dissolved oxygen and lower turbidity) when compared to the water flowing into the forest from the Edward River. The forest improved the water quality.
• An evaluation of the effectiveness of using drones to assess groundcover vegetation under trees.
A commissioned report about these four research projects done on Werai Lands has been published 'Edward/Kolety-Wakool Flow Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Project: Werai Forest Research Report 2022'.

Researcher involvement

Charles Sturt University researcher Professor Robyn Watts gave a presentation on four recent research projects on Werai Lands. Some of these projects had been conducted in collaboration with Traditional Owners.

Dr Xiaoying Liu led an activity on water quality and Mr Chris Davey led an activity where Traditional Owners could view fish larvae and aquatic bugs under microscopes.

Kate Reid, Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Delivery Officer for the Edward/Kolety-Wakool system, gave a presentation on Ramsar wetlands.

Paul Childs, environmental water manager from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, gave a presentation on environmental water contribution.

Outcomes of research leading to impact

Collaborative research and community engagement and partnership in Werai Lands research facilitated sharing of knowledge and expertise that contribute to better cultural and ecological outcomes. The new knowledge created through Werai Lands project
• enables the sharing of knowledge and has identified key information that is needed to inform the future management of the forest,
• underpins decision making for delivery of Commonwealth environmental water to Werai Lands and other nearby rivers and wetlands in the Edward/Kolety-Wakool system, and
• assists Werai Lands and Water Corporation Board to plan future management of the Ramsar site.

These established positive relationships between Charles Sturt University, Commonwealth/State government agencies, First Nations organisations, and local community organisations can benefit future research and monitoring in and around Werai Lands and improve both cultural and ecological outcomes in such an important area.

Beneficiaries of the impact

Werai Traditional Owners and families have a better understanding of how Werai Lands respond to water flows by seeing physical evidence and actual measurements.

It’s a great step forward into future engagement with the Traditional Owners of Werai Lands for researchers from Charles Sturt University and water managers from Commonwealth and NSW State government.

Details of the impact achieved

A community day which aimed to share knowledge and provide information about scientific monitoring and research done on Werai Lands with its Traditional Owners certainly achieved its goal, judging by the many questions and overall engagement on the day.

Around 30 Traditional Owners and their families took part in the Werai Lands Traditional Owners Community Day on Sunday March 3 at the Deniliquin Golf Club, where they listened to presentations from, and asked questions of, scientists and environmental water managers.
The day was organised by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH), who, as part of its annual planning, provide environmental water for Werai Lands.

Attendees included members of the Werai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre, and the Deniliquin Local Aboriginal Land Council. Presentations were given by environmental water management from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; and Professor Robyn Watts, from Charles Sturt University who leads the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s science program Flow-Monitoring Evaluation and Research (Flow-MER) in the Edward/ Kolety-Wakool River system.

The Werai Lands (previously referred to as Werai Forests) is made up of a group of former state forests, managed by NSW National Parks for more than a decade, which total 11,315ha downstream of Deniliquin on the Edward/Kolety River. The Werai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation, who represent the Traditional Owners - the Perrepa Perrepa or Barapa Barapa and Wamba Wamba or Wemba Wemba people – was given the one freehold title for the forests by the NSW Government in July last year.

Chairperson of the Werai Land and Water Corporation since its inception in 2016, Stewart Taylor, a Barapa Barapa Wemba Wemba man, said the forest was an important part of his people’s culture with cultural values such as burial sites, scar trees and shell middens amongst other things. It is also a Ramsar listed wetland of international importance being one of three sub-sites in the NSW Central Murray Forests Ramsar Site.

“It is important to know what we need, or what we need to do, to manage the land the best we can for the best environmental outcome,” said Stewart. “We need people such as Robyn and others to inform and help us. We can’t do it by ourselves. Without people such as those here today, we wouldn’t be able to do the upgrades on the regulators to be able to get water down into the lands; we wouldn’t be able to do the surveys which justify the need for what we require…it’s actual evidence-based from experts in the field, not us just saying we need water down there. We have our traditional knowledge on things, but we need the western science to inform and complement what we do.”

Moesha Day, 25, a Wemba Wemba woman from Echuca, said she attended the day “as I wanted to see how the Country is going and what we are doing to try and support Country. I think I have a responsibility as a younger person and next generation to do that.”
Moesha said information presented on the day gave her “a different kind of understanding” of what she knows already about the Werai Lands from growing up on Country.
“I’ve learnt that there are multiple layers to getting better water flow into the system,” said Moesha. “I now have a better understanding of how many different plant species there are and how they respond to water flows. It’s been really great to see some physical evidence, the actual measurements, of what is going on in the Werai.”

Kate Reid, Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Delivery Officer for the Edward/Kolety-Wakool system described the day as “fantastic. Everyone was very engaged, and I think it’s a great step forward into future engagement with the Traditional Owners of Werai Lands. “The feedback I’ve had is that the Traditional Owners found the day very informative and that it gave them a much better understanding of what is going on with water in the Werai which is what we want. It is a really difficult topic to get your head around because there is so many moving parts. This day is just the first step.”

Impact date	03 Mar 2024
Category of impact	Environmental Impact, Cultural Impact