For #IWD2024 , our colleague & PhD scholar, Stephanie Beaupark, is named as 1 of ‘50 remarkable & inspirational women in Aus science’ by Cosmos Magazine! Steph's a Ngugi woman studying the colour chemistry of natural dyes w/ Indigenous natural dye artists: cosmosmagazine.com/people/society…

We just landed back in Sydney from our amazing adventure in India! 170 million years ago we were neighbours, now we’re friends across the sea. Until next time 🧡🤍💚

Thank you to the 20 students who’ve been absolutely amazing! Always respectful, engaged, asking thoughtful questions & participating fully! It’s a real privilege to assist students on this learning journey & I look forward to seeing how they apply this experience going forward!

Students always say this trip is the highlight of their degree. We have Asha, Karishma & Vidisha to thank for that this year! The dream team!

…get to engage w/ & learn from ppl & places they wouldn’t be able to on their own. Sustainable, small scale tourism embedded in an experiential learning framework can have a powerful impact on how students understand & see a complex changing world.

This trip would not be possible without our partnership w/ Dakshin Endeavours & Dakshin Foundation! Their passion for conservation & social justice alongside their approach to establishing long-term, ethical & reciprocal relationships w/ communities & community orgs means our students…

I’m always blown away by the power of song, dance & food to bridge cultures & language barriers! Tonight we had the privilege of dancing & singing w/ the Soliga community: “we now have shared memories”.

From one escarpment to the next! This is where the Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats:

Part 2: The students presented their fieldtrip learnings. This trip is all about hearing from different perspectives & understanding how complex the conservation & colonial landscape is!

Day 13 - Part 1: Early safari w/ a very special tiger sighting. Nicknamed the lantana safari - this experience was particularly unique! Tradition dictates (from the 1st group who saw a king cobra), that those who saw the tiger are now obligated to get a tattoo of one 🐅!

Part 5: We finished off the day w/ students working in groups to prepare for their presentations tomorrow! Time to bring together threads of complexity across a number of key themes!

Part 4: Forest rights ‘allows’ the Soliga ppl to produce & sell non-forest Timber Products (NTFP). We visited a processing unit that produces honey, coffee, turmeric, pepper & other forest products. I’ve bought some to share with/ the school!

Most impressive is the collective community coordination & counter map documenting sacred sites. Fire is banned in forest areas, tiger reserves & wildlife sanctuaries, but was always used as enviro management tool by the Soliga. How do you manage the forest when you can’t burn?

Part 2: We visited an Adivasi school & shared stories of home, games & dances. The nutbush made an appearance! Next we discussed the implications of the Forest Rights Act & the process for Soliga ppl to claim recognition of both individual & community forest/land rights.