When 46,000 years of Aboriginal culture was destroyed in 2020 as a result of Rio Tinto's decision to blow up a sacred site in the Juukan Gorge, University of New England (UNE) geologist and palaeontologist, Dr Marissa Betts, felt a responsibility as an earth science educator to try and prevent something like this happening again.
"Our geoscience graduates will go on to fill key roles in industry, research and teaching, and so we have the capacity to shape the future of geoscience in Australia," she says.
"I want UNE to graduate geoscientists who understand the deep significance of cultural sites and who, if faced with such decisions in their careers, will make choices that serve to protect these places."
To bring to light the fundamental connections between geology, landscape and culture, Dr Betts has directed and produced a short film called ROLA (Stone)*.
