Jim Underwood
Connecting Country Coordinator

After a 17-year career of conservation research into the resilience of coral reefs, Jim has recently moved his focus back onto the land to apply his understanding of connectivity and ecosystem health with the Gondwana Link team. Jim spent much of his early life growing up Mt Gibson Station and managed its transition from a pastoral operation to a wildlife sanctuary, so this love and care for Country is has been re-ignited.

Jim has so far authored 20 peer reviewed papers (with 1,070 citations) and has presented at more than 20 national and international conferences. His best contribution working for the Australian Institute of Marine Science, however, involved development of collaborations with state, federal and Indigenous management agencies to design marine sanctuaries that provide the best chance of survival of coral reefs in a rapidly warming ocean. Through these collaborations, the two-way learning with Traditional Custodians inspired a deep respect for the ecological truth that healthy people depend on healthy country. Therefore, Jim is now committed to supporting traditional ways of looking after country through genuine partnerships with Indigenous communities.

In his role as Connecting Country Coordinator, Jim is looking to build capacity and enable access and healing of Menang and Goreng people on their Country. He is currently involved with supporting Nowanup Enterprises towards self-sufficiency and Yarramoup Corporation to achieve their cultural aspirations.