This week, we're taking you back to the Northern Territory with an interview with one of the Traditional Owners who made the 4,000 KM trek from Darwin to Canberra in September. The delegation of Traditional Owners and environmentalists went to the capital to call on the Federal government to step in and halt the agricultural projects that threaten water-dependent ecosystems. 

In this episode we speak to Cecilia Lake, a Mangarrayi Traditional Owner from Jilkminggan, a community of 300 people on the Roper River, east of Mataranka, where her Country is well renowned for its pristine waterholes and palm forests.

Cecilia attended the delegation in Canberra and is fighting to have her voice heard on the water issues facing her country, particularly the groundwater springs that feed the Roper River during the dry season. According to Cecilia, changes in local agricultural activity that extract groundwater for irrigation are already impacting her sacred springs, threatening the future of her Country and her community.

This week, we're taking you back to the Northern Territory with an interview with one of the Traditional Owners who made the 4,000 KM trek from Darwin to Canberra in September. The delegation of Traditional Owners and environmentalists went to the capital to call on the Federal government to step in and halt the agricultural projects that threaten water-dependent ecosystems. 
In this episode we speak to Cecilia Lake, a Mangarrayi Traditional Owner from Jilkminggan, a community of 300 people on the Roper River, east of Mataranka, where her Country is well renowned for its pristine waterholes and palm forests.
Cecilia attended the delegation in Canberra and is fighting to have her voice heard on the water issues facing her country, particularly the groundwater springs that feed the Roper River during the dry season. According to Cecilia, changes in local agricultural activity that extract groundwater for irrigation are already impacting her sacred springs, threatening the future of her Country and her community.

Water Watch is a weekly deep dive into news and current events from policy, ecology, art and climate. With a diversity of voices from our river communities as well as experts in the field, Water Watch celebrates the life and culture of Australia’s waterways, investigates the big issues facing the future of our rivers, and tells important stories about the human connection to land and water. Water Watch is brought to you by Broken Hill based community radio 107.7 2DRYFM.

Water Watch Radio

Episode 83: Fighting for a voice in the NT

This week we’re excited to share a special interview we’ve been working on for a while with one of the country’s renowned artists and water activists.

Born on the banks of the Baaka river in 1947, Uncle Badger Bates is a proud Barkindji man and an inspiration to both artists and water activists alike. He’s been a strong voice for Barkindji people, fighting for their land and water rights, and he’s also had a very successful career as an artist, using art to tell stories of the Baaka River and the decimation of this sacred place. In recognition of these achievements, Uncle Badger was awarded the prestigious Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2024 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards. 

The Red Ochre Award was established by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1993 to pay tribute to senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons for their outstanding lifetime achievement.

Badger Bates is predominantly a carver, turning his hand to wood, emu eggs, stone carving and linoprinting, but has also made sculptures out of welded steel and although he doesn’t see himself as a painter, he has completed some wonderful paintings.

It was our great honour to sit down with Uncle Badger and to share this conversation with you.

This week we’re excited to share a special interview we’ve been working on for a while with one of the country’s renowned artists and water activists.
Born on the banks of the Baaka river in 1947, Uncle Badger Bates is a proud Barkindji man and an inspiration to both artists and water activists alike. He’s been a strong voice for Barkindji people, fighting for their land and water rights, and he’s also had a very successful career as an artist, using art to tell stories of the Baaka River and the decimation of this sacred place. In recognition of these achievements, Uncle Badger was awarded the prestigious Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2024 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards. 
The Red Ochre Award was established by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1993 to pay tribute to senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons for their outstanding lifetime achievement.
Badger Bates is predominantly a carver, turning his hand to wood, emu eggs, stone carving and linoprinting, but has also made sculptures out of welded steel and although he doesn’t see himself as a painter, he has completed some wonderful paintings.
It was our great honour to sit down with Uncle Badger and to share this conversation with you.

***Bonus EXTENDED Interview with Uncle Badger Bates***

Episode 86: Uncle Badger Bates

This week we are traversing from the depths of the world's oceans to the mud and silt of freshwater rivers and lakes, ponds, dams and backwaters of the world. This episode we're talking about the extraordinary lives of eels. 

Few people know about the vast journey that every eel makes from the bottom of the world's oceans to freshwater rivers and creeks and back again during their life cycle. Eels are ancient animals, having evolved over millenia to make these vast migrations.

This week we speak to Dr. Malcolm Johnson, manager for environmental sustainability at the Huon Local Council in southern Lutrawitta/Tasmania, and in Malcolm’s spare time he is a passionate freshwater eel advocate, educating people about the life of eels and collecting people’s stories and memories of eel experiences.

To look further at Malcolm's work, you can visit his website https://www.malcolmsjohnson.com/

We also hear music from the world's first eel skinned instruments constrcuted and played by Emily Sheppard and Yyan Ng from the musical group Where Water Meets. For further information about Where Water Meets visit www.wherewatermeets.com

This week we are traversing from the depths of the world's oceans to the mud and silt of freshwater rivers and lakes, ponds, dams and backwaters of the world. This episode we're talking about the extraordinary lives of eels. 
Few people know about the vast journey that every eel makes from the bottom of the world's oceans to freshwater rivers and creeks and back again during their life cycle. Eels are ancient animals, having evolved over millenia to make these vast migrations.
This week we speak to Dr. Malcolm Johnson, manager for environmental sustainability at the Huon Local Council in southern Lutrawitta/Tasmania, and in Malcolm’s spare time he is a passionate freshwater eel advocate, educating people about the life of eels and collecting people’s stories and memories of eel experiences.
To look further at Malcolm's work, you can visit his website <a href="https://www.malcolmsjohnson.com/">https://www.malcolmsjohnson.com/</a>
We also hear music from the world's first eel skinned instruments constrcuted and played by Emily Sheppard and Yyan Ng from the musical group Where Water Meets. For further information about Where Water Meets visit <a href="https://www.wherewatermeets.com">www.wherewatermeets.com</a>

Episode 83: Fighting for a voice in the NT

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