Cultural Connections - June 2025

2/07/2025

Our Engagement Officer, Sue Ellison, has been busy connecting across the region. Sue recently spent two enriching days at Langhorne Creek participating in Cultural Awareness Training, hosted in collaboration with the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation (NAC), Stenhouse Heritage and Langhorne Creek Wine Region. The training brought together members of the Langhorne Creek wine region, CLLMM, Second Nature Conservancy, and the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board. Together with Stenhouse Heritage, participants learned of regional Ngarrindjeri heritage sites and SA laws relating to heritage sites. The training involved on-Country experiences and helped to better understand how to document and preserve culturally significant places, including culturally modified trees.

The Research Centre has built a strong relationship with the Ngarrindjeri Lands & Progress Aboriginal Corporation and its Working on Country (WOC) Rangers. As part of this collaboration, the WOC Rangers along with our Engagement Officer Sue Ellison recently took part in eDNA (environmental DNA) training with the University of Adelaide - organised by Jamie Wood who is part of our Landscape Revegetation project. eDNA is a powerful tool that allows us to detect which animals or plants are present—or have recently been present—in an environment by collecting and testing soil, freshwater, or saltwater samples. During the training, we explored how eDNA can be used to monitor biodiversity around the region, helping to protect this unique ecosystem. We also learned how long eDNA can remain in different environments, giving us valuable insights into the history and health of local habitats.

The Research Centre has participated in several eDNA projects, including the Great Australian Wildlife Search and leDNA, a project achieving a global measure of biodiversity by sampling eDNA from lakes around the world. In partnership with the WOC Rangers, we will work on future opportunities to participate in eDNA projects.