Life on the lands where we are working at Kanpa is a tapestry of hard work and simple joys. The sheer distance we travel to the site takes us about 6-7 hours to get to Kalgoorlie, a mining town that is full of men and women in highlighter gear with signs on the doors of pubs saying “No steel cap boots after 9 pm”. Then, after a night in Kalgoorlie, a 10-12 hour drive, mostly on gravel, to Kanpa, 1.5 hours west of Warburton. This gravel road has been a mixture of almost impossible conditions to being recently graded, depending on whether there’s someone to drive the grader from Laverton.
This year hasn’t been easy and we certainly didn’t expect it to be. There’s been incredible learning, adaptation and shedding of what we thought this project was going to be. Working in Aboriginal time and space while having strict timelines and parameters from funders has been one of the most challenging factors – we are the bridge that has been navigating the field of “in-between”. How do we fully honour the skills and sovereignty of First Nations Peoples when, as a Western society, we can barely drop our white privilege or bias and truly understand the challenges the peoples of the Central Desert face? Life in the red centre is raw and this place and its peoples gets under your skin, peeling back the layers that, if you’re willing, will reveal the heart that requires the healing, the heart that called you to this place with the trust that we might be able to make a difference.
Working with Elder Preston Thomas, his son and Custodian of Kanpa, Matt Thomas and the broader community is an enormous privilege. To be able to walk and feel into these lands with a vision to heal/rewild, not only the lands so that wildlife can once again thrive, but the journey that this work initiates us all into. The vision and passion to rewild inner Australia are not only deeply personal, but also there’s a bigger vision for all of us to rewild our own hearts and souls. In a world that is about domesticating everything, including wildlife and wild places, we must turn inwards to reconnect our hearts and minds to the earth. It all starts with her.
Our journey through winter into spring.
It takes us a few days to get ourselves sorted. We pack up the small house in the community into tubs so that we’re not inviting wildlife in whilst we’re not there. It also helps keep the red dust off everything too. That red dust gets into everything!!! Up noses, into ears, thickens our hair and into our pores.
It also takes us a while to get out of the frenetic pace of city life. The work of getting supplies, collecting the vehicle, sorting out equipment and packing the back of the ute for the journey isn’t easy and then the two-day drive to get there.
On our August trip, around the fifth day, it started to rain. First, your eyes have to adjust because it could be real, given so many clouds pass right over, always promising the wet stuff to miss Kanpa completely. And the smell…the gorgeous, sweet smell of rain on a dry, parched land.
Nothing to worry about this time though, as we’ve heard that when it really pours (now a rare event) you can’t leave the house as the roads become a boggy mess and you have to wait until it dries again. We make sure that we’re prepared that any one of our trips we could get rained in and not be able to leave for weeks!
This rain kept us inside for a time, but it was a welcome gift, using this time to complete online workshops. Now hopeful that this rain was enough to kick-start wildflower season.
A sign from the stars.
We like to feed the community when we’re in Kanpa, an opportunity to connect and share stories – it can be a few people or as many as 16. Meal time can be burgers, nachos, curries, stews or a simple barbecue. We love the dinners at night around a fire, although the crew in Kanpa find the winter nights a bit chilly, so we’re usually crammed into the little house, eating off our laps.
When we’re not feeding the team, we like to get out to the abandoned airstrip which is just outside the township, with our necks craned towards the heavens, mesmerised by the sheer brilliance of the stars. The night sky is so clear that the cosmos feels within reach, and then we see a series of lights, moving silently and purposefully across the velvet night sky in random directions. Not a satellite, not a plane – they move with an intelligence and grace that defies easy explanation. Apparently, this is not an uncommon occurrence; we’ve heard some fascinating stories from the crew.
These lights in the night sky feel like they are a reminder that we still have access to magic and mystery, if we are open to the possibility. We like to think that these lights are a cosmic blessing, fuelling Project PanGaia’s spirit, strengthening our connection to the land we serve.
The power of community: the hands and hearts of our August visit.
Every trip to Kanpa is a powerful reminder that regeneration is a collective effort, built by a community of dedicated hearts and skilled hands. In August and September, we were joined by incredible people, volunteering their time and talent and paying their own way to get to Perth.
Acclaimed photographer Eric Algra travelled from Melbourne to again capture the spirit of the work and gather images of our progress. Eric came out last year with our inaugural crew of 12 and his photography has been instrumental in all our marketing material and grant applications. Travelling with him was Kalina’s partner, Matt Wilson, a skilled electrician who immediately put his trade to good use as the infrastructure in Kanpa is aging and requires a lot of maintenance. So nice to have working lights!
Eric’s captured not just our work, but the laughter, the collaboration, and the soul of the project. His lens tells the story of our journey in a way words can’t.
From the skies above, the drone provided a breathtaking perspective, with Eric collecting fabulous photographic evidence of the sheer magnitude of the work completed. The neat lines demonstrate Western science’s approach to the trial sites, with trial sites broken into quadrants to cover Western science, nature’s approach, rover’s impact on soil, etc. The hundreds of micro-pits, a testament to the foundations we are laying for the land’s recovery.
Then we were privileged to have Tracey van den Brand join us from the UK with Beth Duncan, who has recently moved to Australia from the US. Both these women have extraordinary experience working with First Nation’s Peoples, wildlife and wild places. Beth has recently returned from the Kalahari, working with the Bushmen and their communities.
Tracey was also on the trip last September, which included Eric, Kalina, Donalea and eight other adventurous souls who helped vision Project PanGaia into being. It’s hard to believe it was only twelve months ago when Preston, Deidre and Matt hosted us for the very first time.
Sharing knowledge, building futures.
A core goal of this project has always been the sharing of knowledge. One of the highlights was seeing the crew gather for a workshop on the autonomous rover. As the rover develops, there’s always much to share in how the rover works, assembly and disassembly, charging batteries and connecting the solar panel. Training and knowledge sharing with the Aboriginal youth on this project, for the future, inspiring the next generation of caretakers, landholders and innovators.
And, as always, extra hands to help with the ever-growing, ever-curious puppies were a joy for everyone involved! Keeping a keen watch as they’re at the terrible stage of chewing everything!!! With this work being so remote, there’s no quick trip to Bunnings, Jaycar, Altronics or even a supermarket locally.
The land begins to respond.
The most fulfilling moments come when we stop, watch and listen.
Preston and Matt have taken us to some incredible and ancient sites, one of the most interesting to us is the caves which are in the numerous breakaways, to scout for wildlife – discovering evidence of scat and seeing markings on the ground that roos and other mammals inhabit here. High above the cliff edges, we have spotted kites, a falcon and a pair of goshawks who carved circles in the blue of the sky, their sharp eyes scanning the land below for a feed.
These field trips are always made sweeter by the legendary scones from Donalea’s kitchen, which have become a ritual on these excursions – the perfect accompaniment to a tea break. Preston currently rates them a cheeky 8/10, but we all know it’s just his way of ensuring she keeps baking!
Guided by Preston’s deep knowledge of the land, we carefully placed wildlife cameras at cave openings, thoroughfares and other places where we found evidence in the soil or fresh scat. There are times when the cameras reveal nothing, even after being left in place for a week or more. But other times, the results are breathtaking. The cameras have captured images of bats, a possible false antechinus (a thrilling and rare discovery!) and, perhaps most moving of all, the image of an ancient kangaroo – pay special attention to the ears! These caves in the breakaways seem to be providing a vital haven for the remaining wildlife. We’ve also seen signs of healthy micro-pitting left by some curious bilbies near the Breakaway trial site. And sometimes, we’re delighted by the chatter of zebra finches, who take flight from the bushes in joyful, chaotic clouds.
Kanpa is transforming.
While the project continues to hum along, the Pira-Kata team has been busy transforming the township itself. With the return of the community, significant changes have occurred since our visit in September 2024.
This year, a Telstra tower was installed, which allows us to stay connected to the world and gives us greater flexibility with our work. There’s still a focus to secure funding for solar power as Diesel is not only costly, but it also leaves the community reliant on supply. In a place blessed with abundant sunshine, it really is a “no brainer”!
There’s also an urgent need to upgrade the water tower, as the fibreglass is deteriorating and contaminating the water supply.
The community’s efforts continue to transform the township, instilling a powerful sense of pride and renewal. It’s a reminder that, while For the Love of Wildlife’s Project PanGaia is focused on curbing extinction through a combination of technology, Indigenous wisdom, and a different approach to conservation, the impacts our small team is having can’t always be measured by the traditional metrics we’ve been taught to use.
What we are truly demonstrating is that a few passionate souls, with a dedicated vision, can transform far more than just our minds and hearts.
If you feel moved or called to join the work we’re doing, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Our desert crew.
