Professor Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews is the Director of Indigenous Research at Western Sydney University and a key collaborator in the Cumberland Plain Research Program. His work focuses on integrating Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives into conservation strategies, ensuring that the program supports Aboriginal peoples in maintaining their cultural, spiritual, physical, and economic relationships with the land and waters of the Cumberland Plain.

As part of the program, he leads the Environmental Justice and D’harawal Knowledge Connections to Flora within the Southern Cumberland Plains project. This initiative, in partnership with the D’harawal Traditional Descendants and Knowledge Holders Circle, Bangawarra Inc., and Camden Park House, explores the connections between Traditional D’harawal Knowledge, colonial botanic archives, and key flora and fauna of the region.