Interview with Zena Cumpston, Centring Aboriginal Knowledge And Our Custodial Obligations To Country

Barkandji researcher and storyteller Zena Cumpston talks about indigenous plant use and the deep cultural significance of plants for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Zena also speaks in-depth about the ongoing effects of colonisation in institutions like universities and the ways in which Aboriginal knowledge has been treated as an "add-on" to the scientific study of plants and the management of Country. She outlines how and why this needs to change. Zena's new book, co-authored with Lesley Head and Michael Shawn-Fletcher, is called 'Plants: Past, Present and Future.' Broadcast on 25 October 2022. Zena's other discussed projects include, Emu Sky, the Indigenous Plant Use booklet (free PDF), and The 2021 State of the Environment Report (co-author of the Indigenous, Heritage, and Urban chapters).