Sara Cavalcanti Marques

Sara is currently a PhD candidate at Murdoch University. In Australia, Sara coordinated Curtin University’s Tourism Research Cluster before commencing her doctorate degree in 2022, having conducted a series of research projects on Indigenous tourism development for peak industry bodies in Western Australia. Sara’s PhD explores the socio-ecological benefits of incorporating native bush tucker to land stewardship practices involving Indigenous participation. Her key research interests centre on ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation, food cultivation and sustainable community development.

Sara’s PhD on “Assessing socioecological benefits of incorporating bush tucker cultivation to land stewardship practices” explores the potential of diversifying critical land management activities to maximise social and environmental outcomes in regions. The research assesses the novel horticulture model “Savannah Enrichment” that incorporates high-value native food and medicine plants to degraded areas with the aim of evaluating its use as a tool for ecosystem restoration, carbon abatement, and biodiversity enhancement.

In collaboration with NR TAFE, the project’s first case study compares existing enrichment trials with degraded and reference ecosystems to gauge overall model performance. Additionally, the project facilitates and monitors the development and implementation of a new enrichment trial with West Kimberley Aboriginal Rangers through a tailored training program. The second phase of the project consists of a case study executed on-Country in collaboration with an Indigenous organisation. The research aims to quantify co-benefits linked to the multifunctional bush tucker model, providing insight into its application on-Country.

Assoc. Prof.  Dr Rachel Standish (Murdoch University), Dr Michael Hughes(Murdoch University), Dr Kathryn Thorburn (University of Notre Dame Australia)