Walking Together: Indigenous Knowledge to deliver Climate Resilience for a Changing World
Tracks
Coolangatta Room
| Tuesday, July 28, 2026 |
| 11:55 AM - 12:25 PM |
Overview
Rachelle Cooper Kalkarni MSc, Sustainify & Aunty Leanne Phillips
Details
Three Key Learnings
1. Indigenous knowledge underpins climate resilience
Participants will learn how First Nations ways of observing and caring for Country & Community provide practical guidance for preparing for, reducing, and responding to climate‑related risks.
2. Nature-based solutions work because they work with Country, not against it
The audience will understand how practices like cultural burning, land and water restoration, and seasonal knowledge help reduce disaster impacts and support healthier, more resilient ecosystems.
3. Walking together creates better outcomes for communities
Attendees will recognise that combining Indigenous wisdom with contemporary emergency management approaches leads to more trusted, culturally respectful, and effective responses before, during, and after disasters to minimise harm and maximise harmony.
Speaker
Rachelle Cooper Kulkarni
Founder & CEO
Sustainify
Walking Together: Indigenous Knowledge to deliver Climate Resilience for a Changing World
Abstract
As climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of disasters, resilience demands more than technical planning—it calls for restoring relationships with land, culture, and community – with the custodians of land for more than 60,000 years. In this session, Aboriginal leader Aunty Leanne Philipps and sustainability practitioner Rachelle Cooper Kulkarni explore how First Nations knowledge systems offer powerful, grounded pathways for climate resilience across prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Rooted in First Nations worldviews, Country is understood as a living entity—alive with stories, ancestors, responsibilities, and spirit. These knowledge systems emphasise relationality, reciprocity, and deep observation of natural cycles, providing a sophisticated foundation for navigating uncertainty and environmental change. When integrated into disaster and emergency management, they shift the focus from reactive, asset centric responses to approaches that centre people by caring for culture, ecosystems, and long term community wellbeing.
Through shared storytelling, lived experience, and practical examples, this session highlights how Indigenous Knowledge grounds nature based solutions and forms inherently resilient and adaptive systems that live in harmony with mother nature. Aunty Leanne and Rachelle demonstrate how these foundational approaches strengthen contemporary emergency management systems, improving resilience while fostering trust, agency, and place based decision making.
Participants will be invited to re imagine climate resilience as a shared journey—one where both ancestral knowledge and modern practice walk together. By centring Indigenous ways of being, practitioners can design and deliver responses that respect spirit, empower communities, and sustain Country in a rapidly changing world.
Rooted in First Nations worldviews, Country is understood as a living entity—alive with stories, ancestors, responsibilities, and spirit. These knowledge systems emphasise relationality, reciprocity, and deep observation of natural cycles, providing a sophisticated foundation for navigating uncertainty and environmental change. When integrated into disaster and emergency management, they shift the focus from reactive, asset centric responses to approaches that centre people by caring for culture, ecosystems, and long term community wellbeing.
Through shared storytelling, lived experience, and practical examples, this session highlights how Indigenous Knowledge grounds nature based solutions and forms inherently resilient and adaptive systems that live in harmony with mother nature. Aunty Leanne and Rachelle demonstrate how these foundational approaches strengthen contemporary emergency management systems, improving resilience while fostering trust, agency, and place based decision making.
Participants will be invited to re imagine climate resilience as a shared journey—one where both ancestral knowledge and modern practice walk together. By centring Indigenous ways of being, practitioners can design and deliver responses that respect spirit, empower communities, and sustain Country in a rapidly changing world.
Biography
Rachelle Cooper Kulkarni MSc is a futurist, change-maker, and systems thinker, determined to create the future we want to see in the world. Her career has been diverse but woven together with a common thread. Rachelle’s experience in government and private sector roles across infrastructure, energy, and sustainability, has illuminated her core purpose: to deliver change that matters. As Founder & CEO of Sustainify, she works at the intersection of strategic foresight, communities, climate, and energy to advance a just and inclusive future. Rachelle is also a Director of Aboriginal charity, the Sanctuary for Embracing Difference, which supports women to reach their highest potential.
Aunty Leanne Phillips
Walking Together: Indigenous Knowledge to deliver Climate Resilience for a Changing World
Abstract
As climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of disasters, resilience demands more than technical planning—it calls for restoring relationships with land, culture, and community – with the custodians of land for more than 60,000 years. In this session, Aboriginal leader Aunty Leanne Philipps and sustainability practitioner Rachelle Cooper Kulkarni explore how First Nations knowledge systems offer powerful, grounded pathways for climate resilience across prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Rooted in First Nations worldviews, Country is understood as a living entity—alive with stories, ancestors, responsibilities, and spirit. These knowledge systems emphasise relationality, reciprocity, and deep observation of natural cycles, providing a sophisticated foundation for navigating uncertainty and environmental change. When integrated into disaster and emergency management, they shift the focus from reactive, asset centric responses to approaches that centre people by caring for culture, ecosystems, and long term community wellbeing.
Through shared storytelling, lived experience, and practical examples, this session highlights how Indigenous Knowledge grounds nature based solutions and forms inherently resilient and adaptive systems that live in harmony with mother nature. Aunty Leanne and Rachelle demonstrate how these foundational approaches strengthen contemporary emergency management systems, improving resilience while fostering trust, agency, and place based decision making.
Participants will be invited to re imagine climate resilience as a shared journey—one where both ancestral knowledge and modern practice walk together. By centring Indigenous ways of being, practitioners can design and deliver responses that respect spirit, empower communities, and sustain Country in a rapidly changing world.
Rooted in First Nations worldviews, Country is understood as a living entity—alive with stories, ancestors, responsibilities, and spirit. These knowledge systems emphasise relationality, reciprocity, and deep observation of natural cycles, providing a sophisticated foundation for navigating uncertainty and environmental change. When integrated into disaster and emergency management, they shift the focus from reactive, asset centric responses to approaches that centre people by caring for culture, ecosystems, and long term community wellbeing.
Through shared storytelling, lived experience, and practical examples, this session highlights how Indigenous Knowledge grounds nature based solutions and forms inherently resilient and adaptive systems that live in harmony with mother nature. Aunty Leanne and Rachelle demonstrate how these foundational approaches strengthen contemporary emergency management systems, improving resilience while fostering trust, agency, and place based decision making.
Participants will be invited to re imagine climate resilience as a shared journey—one where both ancestral knowledge and modern practice walk together. By centring Indigenous ways of being, practitioners can design and deliver responses that respect spirit, empower communities, and sustain Country in a rapidly changing world.
Biography
Aunty Leanne Phillips is a respected Aboriginal leader, mentor, and social innovator dedicated to healing, connection, and uplifting communities. She supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and migrant Australians through a deeply human, holistic approach to wellbeing and leadership. With a gift for awakening potential, she blends cultural wisdom with genuine care, mentoring others as a confidant, guide, and advocate. Over more than a decade, she has founded impactful initiatives including Healing to Employment and The Sanctuary of Embracing Difference. Guided by lived experience, she helps people reconnect with spirit, remove barriers, and build futures grounded in dignity and belonging.
