Indigenous insight into our harsh climate

Indigenous people's understandings of weather patterns are being recorded as part of a cooperative new project between Monash University and the Bureau of Meteorology. The findings of the project could provide insight into surviving Australia's harsh climate.

The Indigenous Weather Knowledge project, funded by an ARC Linkage Grant and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, aims to record indigenous Australians' knowledge of weather phenomena, weather patterns and long-term environmental changes.

Professor Lynette Russell, director of Monash's Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies (CAIS), and Professor Nigel Tapper from the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences recently appointed PhD student Mr Greg Lehman to work on the project.

About 18 months ago, the Bureau of Meteorology approached Monash to develop an Indigenous Weather Knowledge link to the bureau's website. A small study program was established, and the material gathered during that process, including seasonal weather calendars developed over thousands of years by indigenous communities, has been developed into web pages for the Bureau of Meteorology. The site, which is expected to be launched soon, will be expanded to include Mr Lehman's findings.

Professor Tapper said the project could also have implications for native land titles as it showed indigenous Australians' long-term association with, and understanding of, the land.

Item provided courtesy of Monash University