Dr Paul Sinclair, Healthy Ecosystems Program Manager with the Australian Conservation Foundation, speaks of Ludwig Becker and his interest in “unveiling the mystery of the land,” the environmental goals of the current expedition, and the importance of documenting the damage and condition of the land that the expedition is travelling though.

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TRANSCRIPT

-The guy I really like who went on the Burke and Will's expectation is Ludwig Becker, who is the artist and naturalist who went with them. And before he set off, Becker told his local friends that he wanted to unveil the mystery of the land.

And I think we still have that same challenge today. It's that we've done a lot of damage to the country through which this expedition will pass through. We've taken a lot of water from the Murray and the Darling rivers. We've damaged a lot of the beautiful range lands out there from overgrazing. We've got problems with weeds and introduced species.

And this expedition is really well-timed, because it brings fresh eyes to this really important country-- part of the country that's deeply important to aboriginal people. That remains deeply important to our own cultural identity.

So I'm really looking forward to the results of this expedition, about the way that it's going to focus attention on the great challenges we have to start looking after and caring for our country.

I wish Jonathan and his expedition all the best. They will come back. We look forward to seeing him when he returns.

-Good on ya, thanks mate.

-Thanks.

-And I want to thank the ACF for, since the mid '60s, doing their best to care for our country. The Australian Conservation Foundation, what a great organization!