#079 Gondwana Link
The most exciting restoration at scale in Australia, with Keith Bradby OAM
Gondwana Link has been called “the most exciting thing that is happening in restoration in Australia, if not the world.” It’s a one thousand kilometre stretch of country extending right across the south of Western Australia. This globally recognised biodiversity hotspot had been little understood, and devastatingly cleared. But not all of it. And Gondwana Link is restoring and re-connecting these land and seascapes, their communities, and their cultures. Hundreds of people, dozens of groups, private and public landholders, investors and more.
One of the outstanding successes has been the First Nations-led restoration of Nowanup – and all on the back of a handshake. That seems like the big story here – the trust and re-connection, that bears the fruit of restoration. And you’ll find Keith Bradby right in the thick of it.
Keith Bradby on a Gondwana Link field trip (pic supplied)
“Yep, I’ve got it. The world’s going to bloody hell in a hand basket and it’s all grim. But I’m not going to dwell on that. Gramsci said something like ‘pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will’. If we’re going to go down, I’m going to go down fighting. And as you say that, and then you start acting, well amazingly good things do happen.”
Keith Bradby OAM has been at the heart of Gondwana Link since it began nearly twenty years ago – and really, long before that. He’s the CEO of the organisation, has worked in business and as senior staff to cabinet ministers across the political spectrum, and exudes a love of connecting people and places. A walking ecology. Well, we all are really, but Keith sets a standard. His pivotal achievements read as long as your leg, playing key roles in developing the WA Landcare Network (he’s currently Chair), halting widespread clearing, and recrafting regional economies - both in Australia and now around the world.
Among his many accolades, Keith’s been awarded the Great Southern Development Commission’s Medal of Excellence in Natural Resource Management in 2005, and an Order of Australia Medal in 2015.
This conversation was recorded at one of the magnificent restoration sites at Twin Creeks, on 4 March 2021.
Note: the quote at the top of this episode description was from Professor Richard Hobbs – an internationally recognised ecologist.
Click on the photos below for full view, and hover over the image for descriptions where they’ve been added. The last image has its own story.
Get more:
And if you’re interested in getting involved, in all manner of ways.
Gondwana Link’s video channel is well worth a look, with a series of short videos.
A short video profile on Gondwana Link featuring Keith, at the Twin Creeks site, produced by Luke Sweet for Clean State WA.
This short animation, with 2 million views and counting, is one of Keith’s favourite outlines of some of the dynamics at play here: ‘Why Poor Places are More Diverse’.
Keith also co-wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary ‘A Million Acres a Year’, which told the story of the change from large scale clearing to the beginnings of large scale restoration in Western Australia.
Music:
Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.