Two-way Science: Jawoyn Rangers and Researchers Reveal Nature’s Secrets on Country
Staff and Research Associates from the Northern Territory Herbarium joined a team of Jawoyn Traditional Owners, Jawoyn and Warddeken Indigenous Rangers, Nitmiluk National Park staff, teachers and scientists from across Australia to undertake biological surveys across the vast Jawoyn lands of central and south-western Arnhemland.
Staff (Aiden Webb, Nick Cuff) and Research Associates (Kym Brennan, Ian Cowie) from the NT Herbarium (Flora & Fauna Division) recently took part in a Bush Blitz on Jawoyn Country covering an area of approximately 30, 000 km2 between approximately Pine Creek and the Mainoru River and including Nitmiluk National Park. Jawoyn Country incorporates the south-west part of the Arnhem Land Plateau. This large sandstone province is known to support a high proportion of range-restricted, endemic and threatened plant and animal species of conservation significance.
Bush Blitz is a species discovery program run by the Commonwealth Government in Partnership with BHP that operates across Australia in close collaboration with jurisdictional Agencies, land managers and custodians. The program has been running since 2010 and is in its fourth round of funding. The Jawoyn Bush Blitz was the 52nd conducted since the program’s inception and the seventh to be hosted in the NT since 2012 (https://bushblitz.org.au/).
The Jawoyn field program was a collaborative effort between scientists, the Jawoyn Association, traditional owners/custodians, visiting Warddeken Rangers, NT Parks and Wildlife Commission, Parks Australia (DECEEW) and teachers from across Australia aimed at surveying and sampling biodiversity from a relatively poorly known part of the NT with significant plant and animal values.
A team of 21 scientists was assembled from across Australia by NT Herbarium and Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory staff as the host institutions for the Bush Blitz and included botanists, mycologists (fungi), entomologists (insects), ichthyologists (fish) and herpetologists (reptiles and amphibians). Scientists were joined by 12 Jawoyn and Nitmiluk Rangers, 10 Bush Blitz staff and 6 teachers from as far afield as Christmas Islands for the 10 day field survey.
The Jawoyn Bush Blitz was based in Katherine during the first two weeks of April 2025. Despite the wet weather that a late pseudo-monsoon brought, Katherine provided a perfect launching pad to reach remote areas of Jawoyn Country at a time of the year (for plants at least) when biological activity is at its peak.
Scientific staff worked closely with staff from the Jawoyn Association and NT Parks in identifying appropriate areas to perform surveys with scientists leading sampling efforts in the field to document the plants and animals encountered at these sites. A total of approximately 40 sites were sampled with most sites requiring helicopter access given their remote location. This also provided an opportunity for Jawoyn Rangers, traditional owners and custodians to access country which may not often be visited, particularly at this time of the year.
The survey yielded more than 1300 plant specimens that will add significantly to the understanding of species distributions and ecology in the region and keep staff at the Herbarium busy identifying, analysing and processing these plant samples over the coming months. These data and information are progressively becoming available to the public via the NT Flora website and the Atlas of Living Australia.
Preliminary indications are that the field program is likely to result in the recognition and formal description of a number of plant species new to western science as well as providing significant new insights into the distribution of numerous range-restricted and endemic plant species associated with the sandstone habitats of the Arnhem Land Plateau.
