Best wet season in decades gives life to Barkindji people's living medicine cabinet, tell me about this news in (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-12/preserving-barkindji-knowledge-through-edible-medicinal-plants/107115718)

This news story highlights how an exceptionally bountiful wet season across Barkindji Country in western New South Wales has revitalized the local landscape, triggering a rare and vibrant bloom of native edible and medicinal flora.For the Barkindji people, the Baaka (Darling River) and the surrounding floodplains and red-soil country act as an ancestral, living medicine cabinet and pantry. The high rainfall and floodwaters have restored vital plant species that often lie dormant for years during extended droughts.Key aspects of the story include:

• Flourishing Bush Foods and Remedies: The surge in water has brought back a wide variety of culturally significant plants used for generations to treat ailments, heal wounds, and provide nourishment.
• Cultural Knowledge Transmission: Elders and community leaders are utilizing this rare, fertile window to take younger generations onto Country. They are sharing traditional knowledge on identifying, harvesting, and preparing remedies, ensuring vital oral traditions and cultural practices remain alive.
• Documentation and Preservation: Community initiatives and field guides are being used to document native plant varieties and their traditional Barkindji names and uses, bridging ancient ecological knowledge with modern conservation efforts.
• Ecological and Spiritual Healing: For the Barkindji, seeing the land and waterways healthy and productive is deeply tied to spiritual wellbeing, highlighting the profound connection between the health of the river system and the vitality of its First Nations custodians.