The University of Western Australia, the ARC Training Centre for Healing Country at Curtin University and CRC TiME staff, commencing work on the collaborative Pit Lake project: Mine Pit Lake Assessment and Management: A national initiative to support mine closure and regional opportunities, travelled to Albany from Perth for a ‘Reclaim the Void’ community weaving workshop.
Professor Carolyn Oldham, UWA School of Engineering, Dr Chantal Bourgault du Coudray, UWA convenor of Gender Studies, Associate Professor Andrew Knight, Deputy Director of the ARC Training Centre for Healing Country at Curtin University and UWA Associate Fellow, Caroline Williams, Engagement Manager (First Nations), for CRC TiME, took the time to immerse themselves in the local community activity on Saturday 20 May 2023 at the local Museum of the Great Southern in picturesque Albany. The workshop organisers and locals made the staff feel welcome as they tore up pre-loved cotton sheets and had a go at weaving.
The CRC TiME Pit Lake Project aims to develop risk categories for future pit lakes across Australia, depending on mine type, climate and community hopes and use lake and groundwater computer models of future states to inform community hopes for land and water after mining.
It is also a part of the plan that case studies from across Australia on pit lake development after mine closure be conducted to better understand the hopes and values of First Nations peoples, community members and regulators for future pit lakes. Two study regions have been selected for this work – the Pilbara and the Bowen Basin in Queensland. Check out our website to learn more about CRC TiME project 4.9 ‘Mine Pit Lake Assessment and Management: a national initiative to support mine closure and regional opportunities’.
– Caroline Williams, Engagement Officer (First Nations)
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| (left to right: Caroline Williams, Carolyn Oldham, Chantal Bourgault du Coudray, and Andrew Knight) |
(Professor Carolyn Oldham tying fabric to the hoop to start a weave) |