Gondwana Link has been called “the most exciting thing that is happening in restoration in Australia, if not the world.” It’s a one thousand kilometre stretch of country extending right across the south of Western Australia. This globally recognised biodiversity hotspot had been little understood, and devastatingly cleared. But not all of it. And Gondwana Link is restoring and re-connecting these land and seascapes, their communities, and their cultures. Hundreds of people, dozens of groups, private and public landholders, investors and more.

One of the outstanding successes has been the First Nations-led restoration of Nowanup – and all on the back of a handshake. That seems like the big story here – the trust and re-connection, that bears the fruit of restoration. And you’ll find Keith Bradby right in the thick of it.

Keith has been at the heart of Gondwana Link since it began nearly twenty years ago – and really, long before that. He’s the CEO of the organisation, has worked in business and as senior staff to cabinet ministers across the political spectrum, and exudes a love of connecting people and places. A walking ecology. Well, we all are really, but Keith sets a standard. His pivotal achievements read as long as your leg, playing key roles in developing the WA Landcare Network (he’s currently Chair), halting widespread clearing, and recrafting regional economies - both in Australia and now around the world.

Among his many accolades, Keith’s been awarded the Great Southern Development Commission’s Medal of Excellence in Natural Resource Management in 2005, and an Order of Australia Medal in 2015.

This conversation was recorded at one of the magnificent restoration sites at Twin Creeks, on 4 March 2021.

Title slide: Keith Bradby (pic supplied). You'll find a series of other photos on the episode web page too, including a particularly uncanny one.

Note: the quote at the top of this episode description was from Professor Richard Hobbs – an internationally recognised ecologist.

Music:
Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.

Find more:
On Keith Bradby.

Gondwana Link.

Get involved.

Gondwana Link’s video channel, featuring a series of short videos.

A short video profile on Gondwana Link featuring Keith, at the Twin Creeks site, produced by Luke Sweet for Clean State WA.

This short animation, with 2 million views and counting, is one of Keith’s favourite outlines of some of the dynamics at play: ‘

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