Adrift Lab celebrates the wins of our incredible project partners, the Tjaltjraak Indigenous Rangers

At Adrift Lab, we celebrate the wins of our graduate students and researchers - but also our many project partners who make the innovative and exciting science that we do possible. Often, our partners are the project leaders (not us) and without them, we'd be lacking critical local knowledge and logistical support to make these projects evolve from an idea...to a successful collaboration.

This month, we celebrate a huge win with a team we're so incredibly fortunate to call project partners: the Tjaltjraak Indigenous Rangers in Esperance, WA. Recently, the Australian Government approved funding of $6.8 million to support the Tjaltjraak Indigenous Ranger project for seven years, empowering the Esperance Nyungar people to protect and conserve their land and sea country (read more here). Among many things, the funding will support long-term seabird and marine debris studies in southwest WA - a collaboration between Tjaltjraak and Adrift Lab.

This exciting collaboration has already demonstrated it can thrive in the face of significant challenges: despite COVID-19 travel restrictions and the distance (Adrift Lab based in TAS and Tjaltjraak based in WA), we have a research paper on seabirds, bushfires, and traditional burning in the final stages of review - stay tuned!