Issue 18 Wetland wildfire

In September 2019, a wildfire burnt sections of the Gingham Watercourse in the Gwydir Wetlands leaving in its wake roughly 1,600 ha of black scorched earth. We were intrigued about how inundation may influence post-fire regeneration of these wetlands so we devised an experiment to learn more.

We’d like you to meet Kevin and Liz

2rog and UNE are piloting a program to welcome Cultural Advisors to the Gurnu-Baakandji (Warrego-Darling) and the Gomeroi (Gwydir) Selected Area Flow-MER teams. Employing the knowledge and skills of advisors from each area, we are fortunate to welcome Kevin & Liz to the team. Learn more about Liz Learn more about Kevin

Gwydir booms again in 2021

Cycles of ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ periods dominate the Gwydir floodplain. Longer dry periods are often broken by flooding rains. The past several years have been one of those very dry spells for the Gwydir, a bust. However, the current ‘boom’ will help to rejuvenate the landscape and community after the long dry.

Q&A: Lakkari Pitt

Last year we shared an art series produced by Gamilaroi artist, Lakkari Pitt, that beautifully captured the Flow-MER program ecological indicators shown in the image above.

This time we want to share a little more about the artist herself. Lakkari discusses family, connection to Country and traditional knowledge in our feature Q&A that we’re excited to share for NAIDOC week, 2021.

Issue 15 A look at the Gwydir March 2021 flows

Floods that hit the Gwydir catchment in late March, 2021, brought a mixture of devastation and life to the communities and ecosystems that depend on the catchment’s rivers. As the entire Gwydir catchment was doused with heavy rainfall between March 22 and March 24, downpours quickly translated into a significant, widespread flooding event. We tracked this event, including its volume and extent, as it moved throughout the channels in the Gwydir system and beyond.

Issue 12 A turtle’s go with no flow

The Gwydir River valley is home to a diverse range of aquatic species that rely on flows of fresh water to survive and thrive. The 2019 calendar year was the driest on record and the drought saw record low rainfall which led to sustained periods of no flow. Very dry conditions combined with high temperatures and local bushfires had to place a lot of pressure on the plants and animals of the Gwydir. In this little story we’ll provide some insight into how the system responded.