CHOOSING NATURE THROUGH FIRE, WATER AND SKY: QUANDAMOOKA INDIGENOUS RANGERS' ELEMENTAL APPROACH TO PROTECTING MINJERRIBAH'S PRECIOUS KOALAS

Where the waters of Moreton Bay meet the shores of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), a remarkable story of conservation through meaningful partnership has been unfolding.

Here, on this sacred landscape, Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation Rangers, with the support of WWF-Australia, WWF-Denmark, Robotto and QATO Foundation are pioneering an innovative approach that blends Indigenous Knowledge with cutting-edge technology to protect Australia's only naturally occurring island koalas.

These unique koalas have called Minjerribah home for approximately 8,000 years, surviving in isolation since rising sea levels separated the island from the mainland. Unlike their mainland cousins who face devastating rates of chlamydia, these island dwellers have remained relatively disease-free, making them incredibly valuable to the species' future. However, there is another threat that could impact this precious population: intense wildfires that have become all too common since the loss of traditional Indigenous cultural fire practices on the island.

As we invite Australia to Choose Nature in order to safeguard our precious species, both now and into the future, take a trip to Minjerribah to meet the Quandamooka rangers and discover their journey towards healthier Country through partnership.

Returning Fire to the Land

The relationship between fire and water on Minjerribah has always been delicately balanced through Indigenous cultural burning practices. These traditional methods, developed over thousands of years, work with the landscape's natural rhythms to prevent the catastrophic fires that have recently plagued the island.

“Coal samples were taken from Eighteen Mile Swamp over a number of years. And they could actually scientifically prove when the burns stopped”, explains Bronwyn Dillion, Quandamooka Traditional Owner and Principal Ranger of The Beach Rangers. “Certain species took over where previously the burns would rid them. It's something we've always known that the traditional fire burning techniques did actually, protect the environment from introduced species and regenerate growth.”

The devastating 2014 fire that consumed 70% of Minjerribah, followed by subsequent blazes in 2018 and 2019, highlighted the urgent need to restore these practices.

So, what is cultural fire and how is it different to conventional bushfire management?

As flames gently ripple up the trunk of a Melaleuca until it’s uniformly enveloped in a blanket of orange, QYAC ranger and chief drone pilot Ryan Kucirek observes the ranger activities, shedding light on the careful design behind them. “We go out to burn the grass trees and Melaleucas, which in the perfect conditions burn really hot. So if it's a rainy day we'll go out and candle them and it just burns the outside and doesn't cause harm to the trunk.”

“Cultural burning is an approach to fire that's different from a Western risk resilience framework, which is hazard reduction burning”, explains Djarra Delaney, Traditional Land Management Specialist at WWF-Australia. “Cultural fire really looks at the Country, looks at the Country type, understands what type of fire and when. It comes from Traditional Knowledge. So a really deep understanding of place.”

As QYAC Community Land & Sea Manager Darren Burns puts it, revitalising traditional burning practices on Minjerribah isn't as simple as lighting a match. "The thick understorey that has developed in the absence of cultural burning presents a significant challenge," he notes. "We can't immediately implement Traditional burning practices without first addressing this built-up fuel load. It requires a careful, staged approach, including manual reduction of vegetation."

“The heat of wildfires will kill the native vegetation that's supposed to be here”, Djarra explains. “And what will grow back is a really high growth of weeds, and a mid storey that is far too dense. So what we end up with is an area that's really prone to hot fires.”  

One of the areas the rangers have been focusing on rehabilitating is known locally as the culturally-important Cypress Camp on Minjerribah, near Canalpin Creek.

This area has been identified as not only a place where Quandamooka people Traditionally lived, but also as the last firebreak on Minjerribah’s southern end. It is the southernmost area accessible by 4WD.

Only Traditional Owners, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the QYAC rangers have permission to access this area, which has posed significant challenges. Despite this, the rangers are pleased with the revitalisation achieved so far.

“[The rehabilitation work] was hand done by the QYAC rangers, and you had to drag everything out of there, so there was no machines”, Ryan Kucirek, QYAC ranger and chief drone pilot reveals. “It was only footprints that were in there. It was hard manual labor for months. Looks very nice now.”

Traditional Land Management and innovative technology are a key part of that journey towards rehabilitation. This is where initiatives like the innovative "Fireproofing Koalas" project comes in. With $600,000 in funding and support from WWF-Australia, WWF-Denmark, and the QATO Foundation, QYAC rangers are developing a comprehensive approach that combines cultural burning with modern technology to protect these precious marsupials.

“After mulching to get rid of the mid storey and open this area up for new growth to come through that is much more suitable to the environment, you can put cultural fire down, encourage the right seedbed to grow back and slowly balance out the vegetation to something that's a lot more healthy”. - Djarra Delaney, Traditional Land Management Specialist at WWF-Australia and Quandamooka Traditional Owner.

The Waters That Shaped an Island Paradise

Minjerribah's landscape has been sculpted by water over thousands of years. The island's diverse ecosystems, from coastal wetlands to freshwater swamps, play a crucial role in supporting its distinct koala population. 

“Minjerribah is a sand island”, Djarra reveals. “It has a mix of mangroves to one side through to your kind of inland eucalypt forests and other kinds of forest types through to the beach. Each of those different sections have a different kind of species profile, a different ecological importance to different species.”

Flinders Swamp, one of the island's vital water bodies, exemplifies the importance of these aquatic environments.

During a recent drone survey, this area revealed its significance as a koala haven, with 52 koalas detected over just two nights – a number that far exceeded traditional ground-based survey results.

There are a number of culturally-significant bodies of water on Minjerribah, including Blue Lake, Traditionally acknowledged as a men’s site, and Brown Lake, a sacred birthing place for Quandamooka women.

“You can just feel the peacefulness here. It's just beautiful. It's a healing place as well. The water is infused with tea tree oil, so it's very healing. We come out here, we, use the sand to cleanse our body and wash, and you come out, and it just makes your stress just minimised.” - Bronwyn Dillion, Quandamooka Traditional Owner and Principal Ranger of The Beach Rangers.

During the course of the survey, Blue Lake was identified as a koala hotspot.

Eyes in the Sky: Drones and AI Join Traditional Knowledge

The integration of drone technology and artificial intelligence with Indigenous Knowledge represents a groundbreaking approach to wildlife conservation. Six Quandamooka rangers have recently become licensed drone operators, equipped with thermal imaging technology that can detect koalas with unprecedented accuracy. This modern technology serves as a powerful tool to enhance Traditional Knowledge rather than replace it.

Ryan Kucirek, QYAC's chief drone pilot, speaks passionately about this fusion of old and new: "Combining cultural fire and koala drone surveys is everything. It enables the best protection for our wildlife. And the burns bring life back into the ground."

The drone surveys have proven remarkably efficient, capable of covering up to 50 hectares per hour with far greater accuracy than ground-based searches.

The technology has been further enhanced through collaboration with Danish drone software company Robotto. Co-founders Kenneth Geipel and Lucas de Paula traveled to Minjerribah to help train the AI systems to recognise koalas automatically.

This partnership exemplifies how Traditional Knowledge and modern innovation can work hand in hand to achieve conservation goals.

“We’re using the drone with the thermal camera to see if we can spot koalas”, Kenneth explains.

“The reason why we're doing that manually here is we are gathering data for AI to have enough to train that to recognise the koala automatically. The thing with AI and data is, the more diverse the data, the better. So, the more places we can find koala, the better.”

Midway through the koala survey, rare koala sightings started to really ramp up as a number of factors led to more and more koalas being discovered via drone. The search resulted in spotting up to 20 koalas a day.

The drones are also allowing the rangers to better observe cultural burn patterns from the sky using thermal imaging technology.

According to QYAC, the biggest threat facing the koalas on Minjerribah is bushfire. So better understanding of where they are and the density of those koalas will allow Quandamooka people to safely implement cultural burning across the island. The drone technology will improve monitoring of the ignition patterns to reduce the intensity of the fire, which is what will potentially cause harm to the koalas across the island.

“Working with WWF and Robotto has been great. It's been exciting to see the wildlife, not just the koala, but the wallabies, the snakes, the gliders. The ability to use this technology to identify animals that would take hours to find. Yesterday was very frustrating looking at the screen all day and not finding a single koala. And then again this morning, we didn't have much luck until, two flights in or three flights in. But it is exciting once you do see it.”  Dan Carter, Rehabilitation Manager at Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation

Women on Country: A New Generation of Rangers

The project is also breaking ground in another important way – by empowering Indigenous women to take leading roles in conservation.

Quandamooka woman Kiah Morgan, who recently completed both cultural fire training and her drone license, sees this as a crucial step forward. 

"The collaboration between technology and Traditional Owners and looking after the environment is really important," she says. "We know the ways of the animals but having this technology will advance our research. We need more women out caring for Country."

“We've had some really devastating fires that have come close to the town. So, amongst the different services, it's a combined effort”, Bronwyn confirms. “So we'll start those burns [late Autumn / early Winter] trying to prepare for the upcoming fire season. In fact I think there’s a burn on today! I'm just so excited that now we've got more women in such a male dominated space.”

This inclusion of women in both traditional and technical aspects of conservation work is creating pathways for younger generations to connect with Country in new ways. It demonstrates how traditional practices can evolve while maintaining their cultural integrity and ecological effectiveness.

A Model for the Future

The journey towards healthier Country on Minjerribah is an evolution through partnership. Dan’s own journey with QYAC is a microcosm of an island’s pathway towards a Nature Positive future. His entire career spent on Quandamooka Country, he transitioned from the local council to working with a mining company on the island which marked a genuine turning point for him.

“I had good opportunities [in the mining role] to understand rehabilitation and restoration. Then I was manager of the closure of that mine”, Dan recalls. 

“I was then given an opportunity by QYAC to move over to their team - to develop their roles and capabilities to take on the rehabilitation long term and facilitate Quandamooka people working on Country.”

Dan is really happy with how this truly unique conservation work is progressing on Minjerribah. “I've built a good a strong relationship with the Quandamooka people in particular, Darren and many of the Rangers now, where my job is to blend that Cultural Knowledge with science to ensure the protection and enhancement of the koala and the conservation values of the island.”

The significance of this project extends far beyond Minjerribah's shores. The cultural burning guidelines for koalas developed by QYAC have the potential to benefit koala populations across Eastern Australia. As Djarra hopefully declares, "We want to see Traditional Knowledge being used to care for koalas while bringing in cutting edge technology to assist. Koalas are a special animal for Quandamooka people. We have a custodial responsibility to make sure they're happy, healthy and thriving."

The project represents a holistic approach to conservation that recognises the interconnectedness of land, water, and wildlife.

Before conducting fuel reduction burns, rangers carefully plan their approach, including watering down vegetation around koala-occupied trees and having water bomber aircraft on standby for larger operations. This careful balance between fire and water management demonstrates the sophisticated understanding that underpins Indigenous land management practices.

Choosing Nature is Elemental

While the challenge of reducing dangerous fuel loads won't be overcome overnight, the "Fireproofing Koalas" project offers hope for the future of Minjerribah's unique koala population. By combining the wisdom of Traditional Owners with modern technology, and by empowering a new generation of Indigenous rangers, the project is creating a model for contemporary conservation that respects and builds upon millenia of Knowledge.

The waters that have long protected Minjerribah's koalas continue to play a vital role in their conservation story. From the swamps that provide crucial habitat to the strategic use of water in cultural burning practices, this project demonstrates how understanding and working with natural systems can create more effective conservation outcomes.

As climate change increases the risk of catastrophic fires across Australia, the lessons learned on Minjerribah could prove invaluable for wildlife conservation nationwide. The success of this project shows that by respecting Traditional Knowledge, embracing new technologies, and working in harmony with natural systems, we can develop more effective approaches to protecting our precious wildlife for generations to come.

Nature is so interconnected to everything that makes life the sacred journey that it has been for millenia. It is part of who we are and matters to us all. We must protect it for tomorrow.

This year is critical for our environment. 

Please, send a message to your political leaders to Choose Nature and secure a thriving future for all.