Landscapes, soils and surface environments — Week 11 Workshop 2a
Raphael Viscarra Rossel, Lewis Walden
2026-04-29
A note before we begin
In ENST2007, we are learning from publicly shared Indigenous-led resources and guidance, with respect for the people and Countries these materials come from.
We are not speaking for Indigenous communities or for Country, and we recognise that knowledge is local, governed, and place-based.
Please approach these materials with care, respect, and an awareness that not all knowledge is ours to interpret beyond what has been shared publicly.
Cultural warning: some materials may include names, images, or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.
Recap
Western science is one knowledge system among many
Country is a living relational entity — not simply land
IK is place-based, dynamic, holistic, and governed by Traditional Owners
Knowledge governance and protocols reflect rights and obligations
IK underpins land and sea management across fire, water, and vegetation
Today: how do these knowledge systems work together?
Workshop overview
What is Two-Way science?
Weaving knowledge, not absorbing it.
Conditions for good knowledge sharing.
Indigenous Protected Areas and Healthy Country Plans.
Soil, fire, water, and landscape applications.
Learning objectives
Explain what is meant by Two-Way science in the context of environmental management.
Distinguish between weaving knowledge systems and absorbing one into another.
Identify the conditions that support respectful knowledge sharing and partnership.
Apply Two-Way science ideas to soil, fire, water, and landscape management examples.
What is two-way science?
Two-Way science is more than consultation; it is a way of working across distinct knowledge systems in respectful partnership.
Indigenous leadership and governance remain central.
The aim is not to erase difference, but to support better care for Country and better management decisions.
Both knowledge systems remain distinct, but can work together in practice.
Two-way science - CSIRO, 2019.
Weaving, not integrating
Integration can imply that one system absorbs, ranks, or judges the other.
Weaving better describes collaboration in which each knowledge system retains its own history, authority, and methods.
The result is not sameness, but a stronger basis for understanding and action.
This is a more respectful framing for environmental management than treating Indigenous knowledge as an add-on.
Four steps in knowledge sharing
⓵ Communicate: present knowledge in a form the other system can engage with.
⓶ Discuss: create dialogue using agreed concepts, sites, or boundary objects.
⓷ Bring together: co-produce a plan, interpretation, or management framework.
⓸ Apply: use the woven knowledge in practice under agreed governance.
Conditions for good partnerships
Trust and time are essential; relationships usually need to precede knowledge sharing.
Mutual respect is non-negotiable.
Indigenous governance of knowledge must continue throughout the partnership rather than disappear once a project starts.
Good partnerships require benefit, accountability, and attention to what is not available for sharing.
Why this matters for landscape science
Landscape problems are coupled problems involving soil, water, vegetation, fire, sediment, and resilience.
This unit has already shown that these processes interact across scales.
A richer knowledge base can improve both interpretation and management.
Two-Way science is therefore relevant to catchments, restoration, fire management, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation.
Two-way science. Art and mapping project with students - CSIRO, 2019.
Two-way science in practice — fire
Cultural and prescribed burning have different objectives, knowledge bases, and outcomes.
A Two-Way approach can bring together Indigenous knowledge (timing, place, mosaic burning) with Western monitoring and carbon accounting.
Both systems help to capture the full picture.
The challenge is not technical only; it is also about governance, leadership, and trust.
Listening for partnership
As you watch the video next, notice how fire is discussed as knowledge, practice, and responsibility.
Listen for what makes a partnership genuine rather than tokenistic.
Pay attention to timing, place, and who holds authority.
Consider what Western science can contribute without taking over.
Video (10 mins): Fire Country
DCCEEW First Nations climate change series, Episode 2: Fire Country.
Start around 13:53 and watch till the end
Class discussion points (10 mins)
What would make a fire-management partnership genuine rather than tokenistic?
Why is “consultation at the end” different from co-design from the beginning?
What kinds of authority, timing, or local knowledge were important in the video?
What pressures in environmental management make good partnerships difficult?
Two-way science - CSIRO, 2019. 
Two-way science. Art and mapping project with students - CSIRO, 2019. 
