Retreats| Advance

Thirteen CRF members spent time as a research community from the 11th to the 13th of June 2025. We enjoyed the additional company of our Warrnambool research colleagues. There were engaging research activities, including an arts-based ‘walkshop’ activity for a&unement and ‘paying a&enUon’. There were meals shared, rich conversation and plenty of time to advance our own research and writing projects. Melbourne and Geelong members used the comfortable train travel time to and from Warrnambool for some extra working and thinking.

A highlight was Friday’s early start on the Hopkins River. See here for our invitation from Jimmy Mephram – Rikali Canoe Adventures – and our river guide! We met at the jetty on campus for a chat with a Glenelg Hopkins CMA – Steve Ryan, who explained the highly successful Deakin project regenerating the river banks to restore the fish habitat (we hope to have some drone footage coming our way soon). Jimmy set us up for the river. We then paddled canoes to the coast where we met Bre&, a Peek Whurrong educator who shared culture, song, stories and the importance of truth-telling. On return, we stopped at another jetty to collect delicious lunch boxes before paddling back to campus. It was a research retreat done differently.

Thus CRF Research Retreat has incorporated a wonderful On Country
day with colleagues. Some of us are staying in the Deakin Short Stay
AccommodaPons at Waterfront – Geelong, others have gone home for the night. This event has been a wonderful community-building event. Many great conversations and memorable experiences.

We are starting to see climate fiction in all that we do… how about you?

Thank you to those who attended the CRF Research Retreat. It was a really great experience and an amazing way to engage with our Centre’s core values while also exploring Gunditjmara Country. We began at Budj Bim National Park on Sunday at the Tae Rak Aquaculture Centre. There we
were guided by Reuben, learning about the kooyang (eels) and one of the world’s oldest aquaculture systems. We explored the cultural landscape, which is now inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. This included the remains of 6,000-year-old stone houses, eel traps and storage ponds, where Reuben described the traditional methods used to sustain Gunditjmara on Country for millennia.

Staying together in our accommodation on the Warrnambool campus meant there was plenty of opportunity to eat together, talk and connect ideas, as well as making the most of designated blocks of writing time. We also had a chance to catch up with some of our Warrnambool colleagues on cultural tours and in the evenings. Monday afternoon was spent at Worn Gundidj (Tower Hill), where Brett shared culture and stories and guided a walk on Peek Whurrong Country. Some of us took the chance to hike around the crater lake in this unique volcanic landscape.
Tuesday afternoon was a chance to learn about Deakin’s new Hycel Technology Hub, currently under construction on the Warrnambool campus. This generated ideas for connecting with the Centre projects, including potentially designing REACH Scholarships for PhDs with Industry partnerships.

We concluded the retreat with visits to Fluker Posts, guided by Warrnambool colleague A/P Julianne Lynch, who explained the history and purpose of the posts as she led us to some beautiful parts of Warrnambool’s coastline. We appreciated Genée’s tenacity in staying with us via Zoom to experience with us. Some reflections during the retreat include:
· Deep learning together
· Interdisciplinary, take different things from it
· Best generative thinking in a different space
· Two days can be tricky, but the time is appreciated once here
· Importance of Indigenous education
· Assumptions needing to be re-examined
· Collaborative manuscripts are a valuable strategy for Centre members
· On country experiences result in holistic and embodied learning

Some strategies suggested for future Centre actions included:
· Longer retreat
· A collaborative manuscript that conducts analysis and mapping of the tertiary curriculum
· Examples of how the Enabler can be used – RA support, allied members engagement, Micro-retreats (taking small teams to Warrnambool via train for 2-day writing-only experiences).