Abstract
For sustainability transformations to be truly successful, particularly in regional areas, they must be authentically grounded in place. Local communities are critical agents in achieving this since they are most attuned to both the issues and opportunities on their “patch” but in practice are often overlooked. Built on this awareness, there is a clear role for sustainability researchers to elevate the voices of local communities to promote and facilitate societal change for environmental benefit. However, this orientation to research conflicts with traditional, academic roles and thus presents new challenges, raises new questions and highlights the importance reflexive practice. Through a case study of an ongoing project in East Gippsland, Australia, we illustrate environmental, economic and societal transitions in practice and describe how we, as sustainability researchers, have worked to enable local sustainability transformations. Tracing various formative moments in the development of Living Bung Yarnda, we document our successes, as well as the obstacles and tensions that shape generative and ground-up approaches to sustainability transformations, through the practice of environmental stewardship. We argue that these tensions must be embraced to embed meaningful change in local contexts and will be essential to avoid perceptions of co-optation, community disenfranchisement and reinforcing narrow, or inappropriate pathways for place-based sustainability.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge funding through the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Scheme and the support of Bethany Hunting, Coastcare co-ordinator. We also acknowledge the knowledge and enthusiasm of the Lake Tyers community and thank them for inviting us to share their special place. We are grateful also for the time and consideration of GLaWAC, LTAT and representatives of the various government agencies who have responsibility for the environment of Lake Tyers and its catchment.
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Bonney, P., Reeves, J., The Community of Bung Yarnda. (2023). Navigating Local Pathways to Sustainability Through Environmental Stewardship: A Case Study in East Gippsland, Australia. In: Edmondson, B. (eds) Sustainability Transformations, Social Transitions and Environmental Accountabilities. Palgrave Studies in Environmental Transformation, Transition and Accountability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18268-6_9
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