The case for a Torres Strait Islander‐driven, long‐term research agenda for environment, health and wellbeing

[Extract] Researchers and communities are seeking strategies to manage complex challenges regarding positive health for Torres Strait Islanders – a ‘wicked problem’ for which there is no straightforward solution.1 Proposed models for Torres Strait Islander‐driven research and policy analysis are not new.2 Yet a coordinated model for achieving synergy of multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders for environment, health and wellbeing has remained elusive. Partnerships between researchers and communities are typically limited by project scope and funding duration. Research capacity‐building efforts have focused on individual researchers. This has successfully produced a new generation of Torres Strait Islander researchers across disciplines, including Meriba buay‐ngalpan wakaythoemamy (also known as the Torres Strait Islander Researchers’ Community of Practice or CoP). However, support for local community organisations to drive their own long‐term research agenda is found wanting. Given Torres Strait Islanders’ previous and current calls for autonomy, the community itself is best positioned to determine key priorities and to understand the context for decision making.3-5 How can Torres Strait Islander communities leverage research that properly informs decision‐making and action towards positive health and wellbeing

Torres Strait Seagrass Report Card 2023

• Seagrass is a critical habitat in Torres Strait. Extensive seagrass meadows support populations of dugong, green turtle, and fishery species. Strong cultural and spiritual links exist between Torres Strait Island communities and these species and environments. • The Torres Strait Seagrass Monitoring Program (TSSMP) incorporates an extensive network of seagrass monitoring programs that regularly assess the condition of seagrass habitat at 28 sites/meadows. The TSSMP incorporates the Torres Strait Seagrass Observers Program, Ranger Subtidal Monitoring Program, Queensland Ports Seagrass Monitoring Program, and Reef-top Monitoring Program. Data from these programs are integrated and used to produce this report on seagrass condition. • Twenty-six sites/meadows were classified for the 2023 report card across the Western, Central, Eastern and Inner Island Clusters. • Overall seagrass condition was good in the Central and Inner Clusters, satisfactory condition in the Western Cluster, and poor condition in the Eastern Cluster. • Within these Clusters there were individual sites and types of meadows where seagrass condition is of concern, or promising signs of recovery, including: a. Subtidal seagrass biomass at the Dugong Sanctuary, which remains very low and shows no signs of recovery following large scale declines that were first noted in 2019 surveys (2020 report card). In contrast, subtidal seagrass at Orman Reefs and Dungeness Reef are showing good signs of recovery. b. Condition of seagrass percent cover at Poruma Island site PM2 and Mer Island site MR2 continued to be well-below average (poor condition). Seagrass at Mabuyag Island Goemu (site MG2) is recovering from declines in 2019-2021. • The role of herbivory in seagrass declines in the Western Cluster was examined at Mabuyag Island and Kai Reef in 2021-2023 and show large herbivores such as turtle and dugong have a significant impact on seagrass condition. • Important milestones reached in the monitoring program in 2023 include: a. Mabuyag Island’s Panay site (MG1) reached 10-years of monitoring data, meaning that the baselines for this site is now set. b. 5-years of monitoring data were achieved at Dungeness Reef subtidal (DR1), allowing preliminary baseline conditions and overall grades and scores to be included in the report card for the first time. • This report card highlights areas where information is lacking and suggests a pathway for better understanding Torres Strait seagrass habitats and improving representativeness and reliability of condition scores for seagrass in all Island Clusters. We recommend: (1) establishing seagrass monitoring in the Top-Western Cluster, (2) expanding meadow-scale monitoring in the Eastern and Central Cluster, (3) expanding subtidal monitoring, (4) incorporating new technology such as drones to expand intertidal seagrass monitoring and commence dugong and turtle monitoring, and (5) incorporating in situ water temperature and benthic light loggers in areas of concern. These additions would vastly improve our annual assessment of seagrass condition and drivers of observed changes in the region

Torres Strait Seagrass Report Card 2022

[Extract] Torres Strait seagrass meadows are abundant, widespread, and contain some of the greatest species diversity in the Indo-Pacific (Carter et al. 2014; Coles et al. 2003; Poiner and Peterkin 1996). These seagrass habitats are of national significance due to their large size, their role in sustaining fisheries, and as a food source for the iconic and culturally important species dugong and turtle, which play a vital role in the ecology and cultural economy of the region (TSRA 2016). Torres Strait Islanders depend heavily on their surrounding marine resources, and their consumption of marine species are among the highest in the world (Kleisner et al. 2015; Johannes and MacFarlane 1991). Most of these important species, including fish, prawns, beche de mer, and tropical rock lobster, are reliant on seagrass during some stage of their life-cycle (Marsh et al. 2015; Unsworth and Cullen 2010; Heck et al. 2008; Green 2006). The loss of seagrass would have detrimental flow on effects to Torres Strait Islanders’ spiritual, cultural and economic well-being (TSRA 2016; Kleisner et al. 2015; Faury 2009)

Rich and purposeful mathematical knowledge of mothers and children in a Torres Strait Islander community

This paper focuses on a pilot study that explored the situated mathematical knowledge of mothers and children in one Torres Strait Islander community in Australia. The community encouraged parental involvement in their children’s learning and schooling. The study explored parents’ understandings of mathematics and how their children came to learn about it on the island. A funds of knowledge approach was used in the study. This approach is based on the premise that people are competent and have knowledge that has been historically and culturally accumulated into a body of knowledge and skills essential for their functioning and well-being (Moll, 1992). The participants, three adults and one child are featured in this paper. Three separate events are described with epiphanic or illuminative moments analysed to ascertain the features that enabled an understanding of the nature of the mathematical events. The study found that Indigenous ways of knowing of mathematics were deeply embedded in rich cultural practices that were tied to the community. This finding has implications for teachers of children in the early years. Where school mathematics is often presented as disembodied and isolated facts with children seeing little relevance, learning a different perspective of mathematics that is tied to the resources and practices of children’s lives and facilitated through social relationships, may go a long way to improving the engagement of children and their parents in learning and schooling