The RegenNarration

Clinton Walker is a Traditional Custodian of the incredible Murujuga (or Burrup Peninsula), on the north-west coast of Australia. You might recall my conversations with archaeologist Peter Veth and the co-authors of Songlines, Lynne Kelly and Margo Neale, last year. They all related back to this place – where the Songlines start, as Clinton puts it. So at the end of last year, as my family and I headed south from the Kimberley, Clinton and I met up to record a yarn for the Clean State podcast, the spin-off series from The RegenNarration specific to my home state of Western Australia. That podcast is a shorter snappier format. But with so much at stake here right now, and so much to appreciate about what he’s up to, Clinton and I settled in for an extended chat. So here’s the rest of what we recorded together. Murujuga houses the largest rock art collection in the world – around one million petroglyphs, some dating back about 40,000 years. The World Heritage nomination for this place is a shoe-in, unless it’s jeopardised by current industry expansion plans – most notoriously, the Scarborough Gas Field proposal, currently being challenged in court and elsewhere, with the stakes running far beyond this incredible ancient place.But there are better ways to go about things here. And Traditional Custodian Clinton Walker is uniquely placed to say. He was a highly paid technician with one of the mining companies here, but he ultimately couldn't bear the harm it was causing his Country. He now runs an extremely successful tour operation called Ngurrangga Tours, and is living the message that sustainable industries such as Indigenous cultural tourism are enormously beneficial - economically, for Country, and for bringing our cultures together. Clinton sat us down on a very special part of his Country for this yarn on 13 December 2021.Update: The Cultural Heritage Reform Bill has since passed the WA State Parliament, without alteration.Title slide: Clinton Walker (supplied). You can see more photos on the episode website.Music:Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia. Find more:To hear the rest of my conversation with Clinton, tune in to episode 9 of the Clean State podcast.Ngurrangga Tours. Hear my conversations with the co-authors of Songlines for episodes 92 & Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Damon Gameau has been a wonderful presence in so many of our lives for a couple of decades now - from his prominent acting career, to his transformation into an award-winning film-maker. There’s his timeless Tropfest winner Animal Beatbox, through to his legendary documentary features That Sugar Film and 2040. Now there’s a new film about to launch, with the vision honed towards 2030. This vital decade. It’s another master work – a short film with a big story. It’s called Regenerating Australia.Along with the film, there’ll be another huge outreach effort, a community projects funding program, and more. This time, Damon draws on visions expressed by communities around Australia, uniting on key themes across political and other divides. This is our take off point, and from there our conversation weaves through some of the many layers of the film, our country, and our respective personal paths. From what Regeneration means, and how to protect it, to the practicalities of how the film will roll out in the lead up to a pivotal and promising federal election. The community independents movement continues to gather momentum, along with so many other aspects of regeneration. Though I wondered, given Damon’s focus on these stories of regeneration, how we might hold the darker aspects. And how his friendship with the late great Aboriginal performer David Gulpilil shaped his understanding of story, from the perspective of this Country’s first story-tellers. You’ll also hear a sneak preview of the beautiful soundtrack to the new film.This conversation was recorded online on 11 February 2022.Title slide: Damon Gameau (supplied).Music:Regeneration (from the Regenerating Australia soundtrack), composed by Amelia Barden.Find more:Regenerating Australia. If you’d like to hear my conversation with Cathy McGowan that Damon referred to, head to episode 85. And you’ll find the Songlines book we talk about here. You can also hear my previous conversations with Damon on the podcast for episodes 30 (just as 2040 was being finished), 38 (when it premiered in Perth) & 77 (when 2021 began).Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Dianne Haggerty probably doesn’t need an introduction these days. When last on the podcast for episode 68 around 18 months ago, I’d come to visit Di and husband Ian to learn about their world breakthrough regenerative farming operation. You’ll have heard them mentioned in a number of episodes since (and featured on ABC TV and elsewhere). Their natural intelligence ethos, fierce grace and incredible story of regeneration ignite the imagination. And their episode remains among the top 6 most listened to on this podcast.So when we were heading south from the Kimberley late last year, we dropped in. Join us under the stars on a warm December evening, for a quick catch up on some of the brilliant and challenging aspects of their year. Their regeneration of country continues apace, but there’s a clarion call here too. And fittingly it has echoes of Petrine McCrohan in the previous episode, noting that one was recorded in the region of the Haggerty’s old haunt and their transformation. This conversation was recorded on 23 December 2021.Title slide: Dianne and Ian Haggerty, showing our young fella the ropes on one of the repaired headers (pic: Anthony James). You can see a few other pics on the episode website.Music:The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Rockin’ in the 80s, by Dr Sparkles (sourced from the Free Music Archive). Find more:To hear my extended conversation with Di and Ian back on the farm in 2020, and see a range of links and photos, head to episode 68. The influential Textile Exchange Report, hot off the press, that the Haggerty’s were engaged extensively in: ‘Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis’. And my young fella did his own podcast episode with Di, so of course I’m including that link here too! ‘How do you harvest all this (and can I drive the harvesting machine)?’ (or on Spotify - episode 8)Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Petrine McCrohan is the founder of Bridging the Landscapes – our inner and outer landscapes. This has emerged from spending the best part of the last 20 years in the Kimberley, engaged in empowering processes and skilled therapeutic interventions. She’s been doing much of this work as a group facilitator and direct mentor to Aboriginal communities and social enterprise developers. And in the process, she’s observed and assisted a transformation in how initiatives and enterprises are being designed. The focus is increasingly on healing inter-generational trauma. And the economies that this shift is successfully restoring and creating constitute a model not just for other Aboriginal communities, but for us all. Petrine’s journey to the Kimberley stemmed from her own experiences of trauma and transformation. She left an established life in Victoria when in her 40s, pulled and guided by ‘invisible threads’ and formative encounters. And she’s come to believe and witness that healing from trauma is the window through which purposeful, healthy and prosperous lives and societies are forged. We exchange notes on a few fascinating corroborating cases and experiences too, that suggest she’s not alone.Join us at sunset beside the spectacular Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge), a 35O million year old Devonian Reef, ancient home to the Bunuba people, cornerstone to the story of Bunuba warrior Jandamarra, drawcard on the famed Gibb River Road, and an area pivotal to Petrine’s journey. And right on topic, you’ll hear how the conversation sub-consciously rolls with the shifting light and sound around us. This conversation was recorded on 6 September 2021.Title slide: Anthony James and Petrine McCrohan with the Martuwarra Fitzroy River in the background, just outside of Fitzroy Crossing, a couple of days after this conversation (pic: Olivia Cheng).See the episode website for more photos from this spectacular Country.Music:The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Flamenco Rhythm, by Sunsearcher (sourced from the Free Music Archive). Find more:Petrine’s LinkedIn profile. Yiriman Women On-Country Enterprises. Dillon Andrews’ Bungoolee Tours. Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Jess Beckerling is Campaign Director of the West Australian Forest Alliance (WAFA), and much more besides. She’s a highly respected figure here in the southern reaches of Western Australia, by both those who would traditionally have prioritised conservation, and those who might not have. I spoke with Jess back in July last year for the Clean State podcast, a spin-off series from The RegenNarration specific to WA. At the time, WAFA was seizing the opportunity it sensed to finally end native forest logging in WA. With the comprehensive and poetically conceived Forests for Life Plan in hand, WAFA has been showing how we can stop bleeding finances, forests, farmlands and communities, and back in the growing suite of ecologically and economically beneficial industries. Come September, the WA government agreed – and in an Australian first announced the end of native forest logging in this state.So we kick off the podcast for the new year with this massive story. You’ll hear the last 15 minutes or so of my conversation with Jess, which closes with a few bonus minutes that just couldn’t fit in Clean State’s cut. Then I’ve patched in Jess’s media statement from Parliament House on the dramatic day of the government’s announcement (a few minutes long), along with some of her comments to the journo’s present.More on Jess: Jess lives in the forests on the South Coast of WA. She first became involved in forest conservation in 1997 when she joined the Giblett forest blockade near Pemberton. Jess lived in forest blockade camps for 3 years, winning the State Government's Youth Leadership Award in recognition of her commitment to the maintenance of nonviolence in the camps. Jess has been the convener of WAFA since 2011 and was awarded the Conservation Council's Bessie Rischbieth award in 2015. Late last year, she was recognised as the Environmentalist of the Year by the Bob Brown Foundation.This conversation was recorded online with Jess speaking from her office in the south coast town of Denmark on 13 July 2021 (Australian time). The media statement was recorded outside Parliament House in Perth by Clean State WA on 8 September 2021.Title slide: Jess Beckerling (supplied).Music:A Forests Dream, by Cloudjumper, sourced from the Free Music Archive. Find more:To hear the rest of my conversation with Jess, tune in to episode 8 of the Clean State podcast, a spin-off series from The RegenNarration specific to Western Australia. The plan and campaign website. Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is our customary sign-off episode for the year – a package of highlights from our brilliant array of guests throughout 2021, accompanied by some of the music and sounds of Country you heard along the way. Here's the 'track list':To the podcast theme song The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra - Damon Gameau (ep 77), Jeff Pow & Michelle McManus (ep 78)To the sounds of Country at one of the magnificent restoration sites at Twin Creeks - Keith Bradby (ep 79) To River Feeling by Kalaji - Nicol Ragland (ep 80), Tim Winton (ep 81), Geoff Bastyan (ep 82), Peter Veth (ep 83) & Anne Poelina (ep 84)To Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae - Cathy McGowan (ep 85), Stephen Jenkinson (ep 86), Willem Ferwerda (ep 87), Gaala Watson & Rob Pekin (ep 88), Courtney Young & Ian Congdon (ep 89), Robert Kennedy, Kate Raworth & Marieke van Doorninck (ep 90)Lynne Kelly (ep 92)To Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp - Margo Neale (ep 93), Mark Jones (ep 94), Leon Khan & Owen James (ep 95), Paul Hawken (ep 96)We Can Change the World (The Regeneration Song) by AY Young and Jonathan Russell of The Head & The HeartTo Liyan by Kalaji – Alessandro Pelizzon (ep 97) & Anne Poelina (ep 98)To Jeremiah Johnson – Katherine Trebeck & Mike Salvaris (ep 99), Chris Henggeler (ep 100), Eva Orner (ep 101)To the sounds of Nyul Nyul Country - Bruno Dann & partner Marion (ep 102)To Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no.15 in D major op.28 "Pastoral" - I. Allegro, by Karine Gilanyan (sourced from the Free Music Archive) - Charles Massy (ep 103)Fate, in full, by Stephen Jenkinson (from ep 86)Closing the year with the close of our theme song, The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.Title slide: Regenerating creeks, wetlands and groundcover at Kachana Station in the Kimberley (pic: Anthony James).With thanks to all the wonderful musicians who generously granted permission for their music to be heard here.Find more:To access the full catalogue of episodes, head to our website or wherever you get your podcasts.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to the final conversation for 2021, featuring globally renowned doyen of regenerative agriculture, Charles Massy. This best-selling author of Call of the Reed Warbler has recently written for Paul Hawken’s NYT best-seller Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. And perhaps less predictably, he’s also been busy writing a new kids’ book. It’s called The Last Dragon. It’s a beautiful work of art, thanks to illustrator Mandy Foot, and the imagery Charlie conjures of an elusive fellow dweller in the land he calls home. And there’s an even bigger story behind how this came to be his next volume, and why we might see more like it.I also introduce this episode with some great news on two key stories we’ve been following on the podcast – the donkeys at Kachana Station, and efforts to protect Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf. And I close with some last words from me for 2021.This episode marks what would have been the 78th birthday of the bloke who introduced me to systems thinking and living 21 years ago, the late Professor Frank Fisher. This Aussie legend became a treasured mentor of mine, and a great mate. Last year, we marked the occasion with Allan Savory on the podcast. The year before, another globally influential systems thinker in Hazel Henderson. Continuing the tradition, I’m very happy to be introducing Charlie this year.This conversation was recorded across some very remote Country (mostly without a hitch!) on 19 November 2021 at 6DBY Derby Media Aboriginal Corporation in WA, with Charlie at home at Severn Park in NSW.Title slide: The Last Dragon himself, illustrated by Mandy Foot (from the book).Music:The System, by The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.The tune accompanying the introduction is by Jeremiah Johnson.Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no.15 in D major op.28 "Pastoral" - I. Allegro, by Karine Gilanyan (sourced from the Free Music Archive). Find more:The book, The Last Dragon. My conversation with Charlie at Severn Park in late 2018. There’s also a live conversation event featuring Charlie, with David and Frances Pollock from Wooleen Station, that attracted around 300 people in Melbourne earlier in 2018.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This is an excerpt from episode 102 (part 2) featuring the last 20 minutes or so of my conversation with Nyul Nyul Traditional Custodian, Bruno Dann, and partner Marion, at Twin Lakes Cultural Park. These 20 minutes are a real highlight. We pick up the conversation with evidence of the original circular economy, when being shown a fig leaf that feels like sandpaper. We go on to talk about the best of the regenerative outcomes they’ve observed at Twin Lakes, the famed international companies they’ve turned down, and the turning point for them almost a decade ago. Then it’s the profound experience of arriving at the old ceremonial grounds.Title slide: Bruno, Anthony and Marion walking out through regenerated Country to the old ceremonial grounds (pic: Olivia Cheng).Music: Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Find more:The rest of our conversation starting with Part 1, ‘Twin Lakes Cultural Park: A return to Country, restoration & incredible bush products success’. The rest of this 2nd & final part of episode 102, ‘People Want the Story: Heading out to the ceremonial grounds’.And tune into the Extra with Marion on her remarkable journey from Sydney to the Kimberley. Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

Welcome to part 2 of episode 102 as we join Nyul Nyul Traditional Custodian Bruno Dann, and partner Marion, on a walk out to the old people’s camping, hunting and ceremonial grounds. To even write these words, I feel a wave rise within me. The conversations spring from the old trails we tread, connecting back in with some of the threads from part 1, and charting the journey of how Twin Lakes has emerged as such a compelling story. I’ve experimented a bit with this episode too. I’ve recorded Bruno and Marion as they were situated physically around me. This means you’ll hear Bruno in your right ear, and Marion in your left. See how it feels. So join us as we gather back at camp at Twin Lakes Cultural Park, with Bruno and Marion. For a story that further highlights the enormous possibilities for regenerative economies and cultures right across the Kimberley and beyond.Part 2 of this episode was recorded on-location at Twin Lakes Cultural Park, on Nyul Nyul Country, on the Dampier Peninsula in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia, on 6 August 2021.Title slide: Anthony and Bruno by the old ceremonial grounds at Twin Lakes Cultural Park (pic: Olivia Cheng).Music:Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.Find more:If you’ve come here first, tune into part 1 of this episode: ‘Twin Lakes Cultural Park: A return to Country, restoration and incredible bush products success’. You’ll find a link out to Twin Lakes Cultural Park in the show notes there too. And an extensive selection of photos. Have a listen to the special Extra with Marion too – hers is a brilliant story in its own right.Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!

This extra to episode 102 features an impromptu conversation I had with Marion by the fire on our first night there, before the morning walks. It wasn’t intended to be recorded - I’d just been recording some ambient sounds when we got talking. We chat about Marion’s life, and some of her perspective on this incredible story that none of them saw coming – though an elder had prophesised it. Marion’s is a remarkable story in itself, with generations of her family steeped in achievement and adventure, and her journey to this place charted through a series of extraordinary and unlikely encounters. I’m very happy she gave me permission to share this with you. So join us by the camp fire at Twin Lakes.Note: because this wasn't intended to be recorded, there is some swearing on occasion - just in case you'd rather not have little people hear that.And among the other voices you might hear in the background, Marion’s sister Fiona chimes in when talking of their childhood. Title slide: Marion at Twin Lakes Cultural Park (pic: Anthony James).Find more:You can hear more of Marion in conversation, with Bruno and I, starting with Part 1 of the main episode: ‘Twin Lakes Cultural Park: A return to Country, restoration & incredible bush products success’. You’ll find a link out to Twin Lakes in the show notes there too. And a selection of photos. And stay tuned for part 2 of this episode out next week, featuring an incredibly moving visit to the old hunting and ceremonial grounds, still so clearly etched into the land and spirit of this place. Send us a textSupport the showThe RegenNarration is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep the show on the road - and gain access to a great community and some exclusive benefits - on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find my writing). You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal. I hope to see you at an event, and even The RegenNarration shop. And thanks for sharing with friends!