![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Dr-Teagan-Shields-1-scaled.png\")
A proud Arabana woman who grew up in Awabakal Country, Newcastle, Dr Shields has long worked at the intersection of Country and policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past 15 years, Dr Shields has worked in strategic policy reform, community engagement and biodiversity conservation across NSW, ACT and WA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just last year, she completed her PhD investigating the systemic changes needed to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea managers in biodiversity conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her youngest son was only six weeks old when she began her PhD but Dr Shields said she couldn\u2019t ignore the need to prove that Indigenous knowledge is the answer to conservation issues facing Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this assumption that Western science alone holds all the answers, but Indigenous people and knowledge have been caring for Country for thousands of years,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur knowledge has stood the test of time and it shouldn\u2019t need to be validated through a Western lens to be taken seriously. That\u2019s what I\u2019m hoping to achieve through my research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Let us lead\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nDr Shields is now leading two major national projects through the National Environmental Science Program (NESP), alongside Curtin\u2019s Professor Stephen van Leeuwen \u2013 Australia\u2019s first Indigenous Chair for Biodiversity and Environmental Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Six](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Members-of-the-Indigenous-Reference-Group-for-Threatened-Species-Recovery-Hub-1-1000x500.png\")
Photo: Members of the Indigenous Reference Group for Threatened Species Recovery Hub, who authored a submission to the Samuel Review on the recognition of CSE. L\/R: Brad Moggridge, Stephen van Leeuwen, Gerry Turpin, Teagan Shields, Cissy Gore-Birch and Oliver Costello.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThrough their work, they are laying the groundwork for a legacy where Indigenous knowledge is integral to environmental policy and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese projects are driven by mob. It\u2019s about making sure the research starts with community, not just ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of these projects is focused on recognising culturally significant entities \u2013 the plants, animals and places that hold deep cultural meanings to Indigenous communities but are so often excluded from Western frameworks,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese can be bush foods, totem animals, plants used in ceremony or medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the moment, there is no clear national definition for what counts as a culturally significant species or place. That means they\u2019re often not considered when it comes to things like threatened species listing or environmental approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKangaroos, for example, play an important part in Aboriginal cultures, dating back thousands of generations. But they\u2019re not a threatened species, so while they\u2019re significant to mob, they\u2019re not currently protected under any current conservation laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis project is the first of its kind which will ensure that Indigenous knowledge and considerations of cultural significance are integral parts of environmental policy-making processes and recovery strategies across Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Dr-Shields-with-Esperance-Noongar-Senior-knowledge-Holders-1-1000x500.png\")
Photo: Dr Shields with Esperance Noongar Senior knowledge Holders sharing plant knowledge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe second project is the National Indigenous Environment Research Network (NIERN) designed to strengthen Indigenous leadership in environmental research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor too long, researchers have received funding first then come to community with their ideas. NIERN flips that model,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe mob on the ground develop the ideas on how they want to manage Country, then <\/em>we find the right researchers to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe project is driven by Indigenous leaders in the environment and land management space, together with researchers and government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside her research, Dr Shields currently serves as the Deputy Chair of the Federal Minister for the Environment\u2019s Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this role, she has helped influence Indigenous engagement and inclusion across major national environmental programs including the National Environmental Standards, Regional Planning, National Environmental Science Program, State of the Environment, Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous land and sea rangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur people already know how to care for Country. What we need are the systems and structures that support that knowledge and let it lead,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is more than just protecting biodiversity. We\u2019re strengthening culture, community and Australia\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThis piece was featured in Impact Focus<\/em><\/a> \u2013 a quarterly newsletter bringing you the latest in Curtin research. Sign up here<\/a> to get it delivered straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indigenous knowledge has sustained land, culture and life for generations. From understanding seasonal changes to managing resources, it offers a deep, placed-based way of caring for Country \u2013 the way it was always meant to be. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"4916,6122,4568,5429,7099,7833","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":4,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,284],"tags":[211,1348],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-28531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","category-science-and-engineering","tag-research","tag-science-and-engineering"],"acf":{"post_components":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":false,"author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 08:04:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28531"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=28531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Through their work, they are laying the groundwork for a legacy where Indigenous knowledge is integral to environmental policy and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese projects are driven by mob. It\u2019s about making sure the research starts with community, not just ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of these projects is focused on recognising culturally significant entities \u2013 the plants, animals and places that hold deep cultural meanings to Indigenous communities but are so often excluded from Western frameworks,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese can be bush foods, totem animals, plants used in ceremony or medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the moment, there is no clear national definition for what counts as a culturally significant species or place. That means they\u2019re often not considered when it comes to things like threatened species listing or environmental approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKangaroos, for example, play an important part in Aboriginal cultures, dating back thousands of generations. But they\u2019re not a threatened species, so while they\u2019re significant to mob, they\u2019re not currently protected under any current conservation laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis project is the first of its kind which will ensure that Indigenous knowledge and considerations of cultural significance are integral parts of environmental policy-making processes and recovery strategies across Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second project is the National Indigenous Environment Research Network (NIERN) designed to strengthen Indigenous leadership in environmental research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor too long, researchers have received funding first then come to community with their ideas. NIERN flips that model,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mob on the ground develop the ideas on how they want to manage Country, then <\/em>we find the right researchers to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project is driven by Indigenous leaders in the environment and land management space, together with researchers and government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside her research, Dr Shields currently serves as the Deputy Chair of the Federal Minister for the Environment\u2019s Indigenous Advisory Committee (IAC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this role, she has helped influence Indigenous engagement and inclusion across major national environmental programs including the National Environmental Standards, Regional Planning, National Environmental Science Program, State of the Environment, Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous land and sea rangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur people already know how to care for Country. What we need are the systems and structures that support that knowledge and let it lead,\u201d Dr Shields said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is more than just protecting biodiversity. We\u2019re strengthening culture, community and Australia\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This piece was featured in Impact Focus<\/em><\/a> \u2013 a quarterly newsletter bringing you the latest in Curtin research. Sign up here<\/a> to get it delivered straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Indigenous knowledge has sustained land, culture and life for generations. From understanding seasonal changes to managing resources, it offers a deep, placed-based way of caring for Country \u2013 the way it was always meant to be. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"4916,6122,4568,5429,7099,7833","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":4,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,284],"tags":[211,1348],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-28531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","category-science-and-engineering","tag-research","tag-science-and-engineering"],"acf":{"post_components":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"","qualification":"","link":"","description":"","faculty":""}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":false,"author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 08:04:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28531"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=28531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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