155. A Shifting Level of Engagement
Zac Webb, Amy Steel & Damon Gameau live in Margaret River
Mid-last year I accompanied film-maker Damon Gameau as he toured his film Regenerating Australia around WA. We were with Di Haggerty and Heidi Mippy which became ep122 from the Leederville screening, and in ep131 I hosted student Kate Fenech in Busselton. There were two other event conversations on that tour that Damon hosted with other local guests, and they were exceptional. And as I listened back to the one from Margaret River this week, I thought this has just got to go out.
Redgate Beach, near the Witchcliffe Ecovillage and the town of Margaret River (pic: Anthony James, just before the event).
“Yeah, I have noticed it. I’ve noticed it quite a lot. It’s been that shift. Unfortunately, I think it’s because it’s hit a lot of people’s backyards, different experiences, like we see the fires and the floods and things like that. And then COVID made everyone just pause and kind of reassess and think about things. And we’ve just seen an uptake of it happen almost from about 2018, it’s just continued to grow and grow.”
So conversing with Damon, you’ll hear the former international sports star, Amy Steel, whose career was ended by a near-fatal heat stroke. And since then, she has dedicated her life to working with business and First Nations communities on cultural and climate matters. She’s currently the WA Leader | Decarbonisation and Climate risk at Engie, and in the process of moving to the new Witchcliffe Ecovillage near Margaret River.
Alongside Amy is Wadandi Bibulmun man, Zac Webb. Born in Undalup (Busselton), Zac grew up on Wadandi Boodja (Country) listening to his Great Grandmother, Grandparents and his Father Dr Wayne ‘Wonitji’ Webb. Zac is highly respected in his work with Elders and Custodians, giving the wider community a better understanding of Cultural Protocols, and their Connection and Responsibilities to the Boodja that we all share together.
3.30 Damon sets the scene
8.45 Panel starts
21.55 Audience question on fire
29.08 On shared local knowledge working with bureaucracies
31.58 On understanding biodiversity - in numbers or knowledge of place
36.48 Young person on the sustainability of drones for planting trees
37.42 On the mining rush for minerals for renewables and potential re-colonisation of Country [57m t of e-waste last year – mine that]
38.42 Young person on how to make the film’s vision a reality
41.55 Damon on what you can do including some funding opportunities.
This conversation was recorded at the HEART Centre in Margaret River, on 17 May 2022.
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Find more:
Zac Webb (and his father Wayne).
Hear more from Amy on episode 73, The Biggest Sports Story.
Regenerators film ‘What is Regeneration?’
Join me at Regenerating Country, a live podcast conversation at the World Science Festival Brisbane on 26 March 2023.
Music:
Micro Biome, by Formidable Vegetable.
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the film Regenerating Australia, available for community screenings now.