Category Archives: Indigenous Knowledge

Lake Bolac Eel Festival and Environmental Forum – 25-26 March 2022

Posted on 3 April 2023 by | Comments Off on Lake Bolac Eel Festival and Environmental Forum – 25-26 March 2022

Figure 1. An Environmental Forum is a held at each Lake Bolac Eel Festival to bring to the festival-goers reliable information about the ecology of the region and its potential for improved management. (Photo Tein McDonald)

Introduction. Cultural events are increasingly recognised as critical to cultural change and community awareness building. One outstanding example is the Lake Bolac Eel Festival (Kuyang Lapakira – Plenty Eels), a biennial festival held at Lake Bolac in the western basalt plains of Victoria to celebrate environmental repair and Aboriginal cultural revival (Figs 1-5).

The timing of the festival reflects the season when Kuyang (Shortfinned Eel, Anguilla australis) begins its migration to the sea to spawn and when the First Nations Communities from surrounding areas gathered to harvest the species, trade and hold ceremonies. As such the festival is a significant gathering place for people who care for the environment and respect Aboriginal cultural heritage, promoting the restoration of Lake Bolac and surrounding waterways.

Figure 2. The 2022 Eel Festival’s Welcome to Country was conducted by Traditional Owner Brett Clarke with the assistance of local Indigenous community members. The Festival is a gathering of new generations of people affirming the traditions of past generations who cared for the lands and waters of the Lake Bolac area. (Photo Ayesha Burdett)

Figure 3. The festival is very small but is attended by many locals and those serious about ecological and cultural restoration. In 2022, workshops on topics including tanning Eel leather, Indigenous tools and song-making, and childrens’ craft activities were interspersed among music and dance events. (Photo Tein McDonald)

An Environmental Forum is a regular part of each festival program. At this year’s forum, chaired by freshwater wetland ecologist Michelle Casanova, six presenters including Traditional Owners, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority representatives, the local Landcare group, local landholders and researchers provided rich information about the significance of the site, the eel and its habitat,  management strategies, and roles of stakeholders.

The Forum commenced with a moving Welcome dance and a smoking ceremony led by Traditional Owner Brett Clarke. The first speakers were Tim Hill and Jileena Cole, Chair and Facilitator respectively from the Beyond Bolac Catchment Action Group, who described the context of the efforts to protect and repair eel habitats in a production landscape. Brett Clarke then spoke movingly on the role of First Nations people caring for Country and culture. The third speaker was Greg Kerr, Senior Ecologist with Nature Glenelg Trust, who focused on exploring the idea of ‘home’ for animals in Lake Bolac, while the fourth speaker, John Sherwood from Deakin University, intrigued the audience with his presentation on recent evidence of the Moyjil archaeological site at Warrnambool Victoria that suggests far earlier habitation of Victoria by Aboriginal people than is conventionally understood.

Damein Bell – member of the Gundtijmara community, CEO of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and currently a Board Member with the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority – spoke engagingly on the long effort to have the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape recognised on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2019. This account reinforced the importance of patient and persistent action to effect social change.

Perhaps the most intriguing talk was the presentation by the sixth speaker, Wayne Koster from the Arthur Rylah Institute (DELWP) who regaled us with what is currently known about the migration of the Short-finned Eel. This species is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of the South Pacific, but very little has been historically known about its reproduction or where this takes place. Preliminary results were presented of Waynes’s recent work satellite tracking oceanic migrations of the Short-finned Eel, with migration track to the Coral Sea between New Caledonia and Australia.

Figure 4. The large tent provides the setting for both the Environmental Forum and the later musical events. (Photo Tein McDonald)

Figure 5. The day’s activities culminated in a Twilight ceremony featuring Aboriginal dancers, followed by a concert headlined by local musician and one of the Festival founders, Neil Murray. ( Photo Una Allender).

Stakeholders: The event is managed by the Lake Bolac Eel Festival Committee. Funders include: Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership, Victorian Regional Arts Fund Community Grants Round 2 2019, Ararat Rural City Council; Regional Arts Victoria, Beyond Bolac Catchment Action Groups, Stronger Communities Programme Round 7 – Wannon, Visit Victoria – Regional Community Events Fund, Glenelg Hopkins CMA, Willaura Lake Bolac Community Bank and NBN Local.

Contacts: Una Allender <uallender@bigpond.com> or Ayesha Burdett <ayesha.burdett@gmail.com> Lake Bolac Eel Festival Committee.  Media contact: Sally Gibson <sgibsonaustralia@gmail.com>

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Posted in agricultural lands, Community involvement, Cultural & socio-economic issues & solutions, Education & communication, Fauna & habitat, Freshwater aquatic, Indigenous Knowledge, Landscape arts & aesthetics, Riparian & stream ecology, Victoria, Wetland

Regeneration of indigenous vegetation at Third Reedy Lake as it has dried over summer and autumn 2022

Posted on 24 June 2022 by | Comments Off on Regeneration of indigenous vegetation at Third Reedy Lake as it has dried over summer and autumn 2022

Damien Cook

Introduction.  Third Reedy Lake is a freshwater wetland in the Kerang region in north central Victoria. It is part of the Kerang Wetlands Ramsar Site, which means that it is recognised as being of international significance for wetland conservation as it supports threatened plant and animal species and ecological communities and rookeries of colonial nesting wetland birds.

Prior to European occupation this wetland, along with Middle Lake and Reedy Lake, would have been inundated only when floodwaters came down the Loddon River and caused the intermittent Wandella and Sheep Wash Creeks to flow. At that time the wetland experienced a natural wetting and drying cycle, filling up from floodwaters and drying out completely between floods, which occurred on average once every 3 to 4 years.

In the 1920s, however, this natural wetting and drying cycle was discontinued. Third Reedy Lake became part of the Torrumbarry Irrigation Scheme. Water was diverted out of the Murray River at Torrumbarry Weir and made to flow through a series of natural wetlands including Kow Swamp, the Reedy Lakes, Little Lake Charm and Kangaroo Lake to deliver water to irrigate farms. The lakes and swamps became permanently inundated.  While this meant farmers had a reliable supply of water it also profoundly altered the ecology of the wetlands (Fi. 1).

Figure 1. Third Reedy Lake in February 2013 prior to being bypassed. Continuous inundation for around a century had drowned the native vegetation, leaving only skeletons of trees. (Photo D. Cook)

Trees such as River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) were drowned, lake bed plants that relied on a drying cycle could no longer grow and the ecological productivity of the wetlands was massively reduced. The density of wetland birds has been found to be positively correlated to wetland productivity and this metric has been used in a variety of ecological studies to compare the use of different habitats by wetland birds. During bird counts conducted in 2018 the highest density of birds on Third Reedy Lake was about 5 birds/hectare. In contrast the naturally intermittent Lake Bael Bael supported over 60 birds/hectare, a density 12 times higher. While Third Reedy Lake supported a maximum of 17 wetland bird species Lake Bael Bael supported a maximum 38 wetland bird species.

Works undertaken

Hydrological works.  Third Reedy Lake was deemed to be inefficient for moving water due to losses caused by evaporation and so it was intentionally bypassed by the irrigation scheme in 2020. The lake therefore dried for the first time in one hundred years over the summer of 2022. Environmental water will be periodically delivered to the wetland in the future to mimic its natural wetting and drying cycle and assist ecological recovery.

Revegetation works. Over 2000 River Red Gum trees and 1000  understorey plants, including Tangled Lignum (Duma florulenta) and Southern Cane-grass (Eragrostis infecunda), have been planted across the centre of the lake where no natural regeneration was likely to occur in the short to medium term. Members of the local Barapa Barapa and Wemba Wemba Traditional owner communities were employed to plant the trees and other plants (Fig. 2). The Barapa Barapa and Wemba Wemba Traditional Owners have a strong interest in the wetland because of its cultural values.


Figure 2. Uncle Trevor Kirby with a Red Gum he has just planted and guarded at Third Reedy Lake April 2022. . Virtually no native vegetation remained visible on the lake bed immediately after the long inundation. (Photo T. McDonald)

The River Red Gum seedlings have been planted next to dead River Red Gum stumps to replicate the original woodland structure of the wetland (Fig  3). Planting next to the stumps has other advantages; they provide shelter from the wind and sun and soil carbon and moisture levels are highest close to the rotting wood.

Figure 3. River Red Gum seedling planted next to an old red gum stump, Third Reedy Lake May 2022. (Photo D. Cook)

Results to date.  In the first 3 months without inundation the lakebed muds dried out, followed by deep cracking (Fig 2). Planted trees thrived as there was still ample moisture in the sub-soil.  Site inspections in May 2022 revealed that substantial natural regeneration of the wetland has begun (Fig. 4).

After 100 years without drying it was not known if any seed bank of the original lakebed vegetation would have survived. However, 46 native species have been recorded growing on the lakebed since the last of the water evaporated from the lake in April 2022. This includes two threatened species: Floodplain Groundsel (Senecio campylocarpus) and Applebush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) (Fig. 5) . The germination of Applebush is particularly surprising given that this is only the fourth record of this plant in Victoria, the species being more common in the arid centre of Australia. Other indigenous species that have regenerated on the lakebed are shown in Figs 6 and 7.

Figure 4. Lake bed herbs regenerating after the drying phase, at Third Reedy Lake, May 2022 . A total of 46 native species have been recorded as having regenerated on the lakebed since the last of the water evaporated from the lake in April 2020 (Photo D. Cook)

Figure 5. Among the 46 native species regenerating is Applebush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) which is particularly surprising as it is listed as endangered in Victoria and known to occur in only three other locations. (Photo Dylan Osler)

Figure 6. Spreading Nut-heads (Sphaeromorphaea littoralis), Third Reedy Lake May 2022. This species is uncommon in the Kerang region, the closest records to Third Reedy Lake being from the Avoca Marshes. (Photo D. Cook)

Figure 7. Golden Everlasting (Xerochrysum bracteatum) and Bluerod (Stemodia florulenta) make an attractive display of wildflowers. These species are uncommon at present but if weeds are controlled adequately, they should recolonise much of the wetland floor. (Photo D. Cook)

River Red Gum regeneration has been localised on the bed of the lake and has mainly occurred on the fringes close to where living Red Gum trees have shed seed. The densest Red Gum regeneration has occurred on a sandy rise close to the inlet of the lake, where the trees have grown rapidly (Figs 8 and 9). Many of the seedlings that have germinated on the edge of the lakebed are being heavily grazed by rabbits or wallabies.

Figure 8. Regenerating Red Gums and native grasses and sedges on a sandy rise near the inlet of Third Reedy Lake, May 2022.(Photo D. Cook)

Figure 9. River Red Gum seedling on cracking clay soil that has germinated near the lake edge. Many of these seedlings are being heavily grazed, probably by rabbits or wallabies. (Photo D. Cook)

The young trees will take many years to develop the hollows required by many species of wildlife, but hopefully the old stumps will persist for some time to provide this important habitat feature (Fig 10). When these trees grow large enough, they will provide shady nesting sites for colonial nesting wetland birds such as Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) (Fig. 10) and Great Cormorant  (Phalacrocorax carbo) and replace the dead standing trees as they rot and fall over.

Figure 10. Australasian Darter chicks on a nest in a live River Red Gum in the creek that joins Middle Lake to Third Reedy Lake. (Photo D. Cook)

Stakeholders: Barapa Barapa, Wemba Wemba, Goulburn-Murray Water, North Central Catchment Management Authority and Kerang Wetlands Ramsar Site Committee

Contact:  Damien Cook, restoration ecologist, Wetland Revival Trust, Email: damien@wetlandrevivaltrust.org

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Posted in agricultural lands, Assisted regeneration, Community involvement, Ecosystem services, Environmental watering, Fauna & habitat, Grassland/grassy understorey, Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous land & sea management, Sclerophyll communities, Techniques & methodology, Victoria, Wetland

Biological and cultural restoration at McDonald’s Swamp in northern Victoria, Australia

Posted on 24 June 2022 by | Comments Off on Biological and cultural restoration at McDonald’s Swamp in northern Victoria, Australia

Dixie Patten (Barapa Wemba Working for Country Committee) and Damien Cook (Wetland Revival Trust.

Introduction. McDonald’s Swamp is a 164-ha wetland of high ecological and cultural significance, and is one of the Mid Murray Wetlands in northern Victoria. The restoration this wetland is part of broader project, led by the Indigenous Barapa Wamba Water for Country Committee in collaboration with the Wetlands Revival Trust, to address the loss of thousands of wetland trees and associated understorey  plants that were killed by poor agricultural and water management that caused prolonged water logging and an elevated the saline water table.

Figure 1. Laura Kirby of the Barapa Wamba Water for Country restoration team beside plantings of two culturally important plants that are becoming well established; Common Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) and Poong’ort (Carex tereticaulis). (Photo D. Cook.)

The project has a strong underpinning philosophy of reconciliation as it is a collaboration between the Wetland Revival Trust and Aboriginal Traditional Owners on Country – access to which was denied to our people for a long time, disallowing us to practice our own culture and have places to teach our younger generations.  One of the main aims of the project is  to employ Barapa and Wemba people on our own land (Fig 1), not only to restore the Country’s health but also to provide opportunities for a deeper healing for us people. Many of the species we are planting are significant cultural food plants or medicine plants. Indeed it’s actually about restoring people’s relationships with each other –Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians – and maintaining our connection to  Country.

Over recent years the hydrology of many wetlands in the Kerang region has been vastly improved by a combination of drought, permanently improved irrigation practices in the catchment and the delivery of environmental water.  This has restored a more natural wetting and drying cycle that will enable regeneration of some prior species, largely through colonisation from the wetland edges and through reintroduction by waterbirds.

However, supplementary planting is needed to accelerate the recovery of keystone species at all strata and the ~50 ha of the wetland that has been assessed as highly degraded with little potential f or in-situ recovery from soil-stored seedbanks.

Figure 2. Aquatic species planted at McDonald’s Swamp, including Robust Water-milfoil (Myriophyllum papillosum), Common Water Ribbons (Cycnogeton procerum) and the endangered Wavy Marshwort (Nymphoides crenata). (Photo D. Cook)

Works undertaken: To date the project has employed 32 Traditional Owners, planting out and guarding canopy trees to replace those that have died, undertaking weed control, and replanting wetland understorey vegetation.

Over a period of 5 years,, around 60% of the presumed pre-existing species, including all functional groups, have been reintroduced to the site, involving 7000 plants over 80 ha of wetland. This includes scattered plantings of the canopy species River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) and Eumong (Acacia stenophylla).  Dense nodes have also been planted of a wide diversity of herbaceous wetland species including water ribbons (Cycnogeton spp.), Nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) and Old Man Weed (Centipeda cunninghamii). These nodes have been protected from waterbird grazing by netting structures for 3-6 months, after which time they have reproduced and spread their seeds and begun recruiting throughout the broader wetland..

Some areas of the swamp are dominated by overabundant native reeds due extended inundation in the past.  Such reeds – including Cumbungi (Typha orientalis) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis) – will be future targets for burning or cutting followed by flooding by environmental watering to reduce their abundance prior to reintroduction and recolonization by other indigenous species.

Figure 3. Prolific regeneration of the nationally endangered Stiff Grounsel (Senecio behrianus). The species is presumed extinct in South Australia and New South Wales and is now only known only from 5 wild and 6 re-introduced populations in Victoria. (Photo G Little)

Outcomes to date: Very high establishment and growth rates have been attained for the canopy tree species, many individuals of which have flowered and set seed within the 6 years since project commencement.  All the planted understorey species are now recruiting very well – particularly the Water Ribbons (Cycnogeton procerum and C. multifructum), Floating Pondweed (Potamogeton  cheesmannii), Common Nardoo (Marselia drummondii), Wavy Marshwort (Nymphoides crenata), Water Milfoils (Myriophyllum papillosum  and M. crispatum), Forde Poa (Poa fordeana), Swamp Wallaby-grass  (Amphibromus nervosus), River Swamp Wallaby-grass (Amphibromus fluitans) and the nationally endangered Stiff Groundsel (Senecio behrianus) (Fig.  3.).  The important Brolga (Antigone rubicunda) nesting plant Cane Grass (Eragrostis infecunda) has also spread vegetatively.  Where hundreds of individuals were planted, there are now many thousands recruiting from seed, building more and more potential to recruit and spread within the wetland.

After 7 years of a more natural wetting and drying regime, natural regeneration has also occurred of a range of native understorey species including populations of the important habitat plant Tangled Lignum (Duma florulenta), Lagoon Saltbush (Atriplex suberecta) and Common Spike-rush (Elaeocharis acuta) (Fig 4.).

Figure 4. Planted River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and naturally regenerating Tangled Lignum (Duma florulenta) and a range of other native colonisers and some herbaceous weed at McDonald’s Swamp some6 years after hydrological amendment and supplementary planting. (Photo T McDonald)

Stakeholders:  Barapa Land and Water, Barapa Wamba Water for Country Committee, Parks Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Contact: Damien Cook, Wetland Revival Trust, Email: damien@wetlandrevivaltrust.org

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Posted in agricultural lands, Assisted regeneration, Community involvement, Cultural & socio-economic issues & solutions, Ecosystem services, Environmental watering, Fauna & habitat, Grassland/grassy understorey, Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous land & sea management, Landscape pattern & design, Techniques & methodology, Threatened species & communities, Victoria

Monitoring the Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan, Kimberley, Western Australia – UPDATE of EMR feature

Posted on 14 September 2019 by | Comments Off on Monitoring the Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan, Kimberley, Western Australia – UPDATE of EMR feature

[Update to EMR feature: Moorcroft, Heather, Emma Ignjic, Stuart Cowell, John Goonack, Sylvester Mangolomara, Janet Oobagooma, Regina Karadada, Dianna Williams and Neil Waina (2012) Conservation planning in a cross‐cultural context: the Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Project in the Kimberley, Western Australia,  Ecological Management & Restoration, 13:1, 16-25. See https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2011.00629.xk]

Key words: conservation planning, participatory conservation, Indigenous people, Kimberley

Figure 1. Location map of Wunambal Gaambera land and sea country. (Source: WGAC)

Introduction. The development of the Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan (HCP) was a key enabler for Wunambal Gaambera people to look after country (Fig 1) and occurred at an important time when native title rights to country were being secured. The plan came about through a partnership between Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC) and Bush Heritage Australia (BHA), who brought the planning approach and supported WGAC to develop a plan that met the needs of Traditional Owners. This plan then became the basis of a long term partnership between the two organisations to support implementation.

Healthy Country Planning, a term coined by this project, adapted the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (http://cmp-openstandards.org/ ) to an Indigenous native title community context. The approach has subsequently flourished in Australia, adopted by a further 30 indigenous groups ( see doi: 10.1111/emr.12267).

The unique partnership model established between BHA and WGAC, underpinned by Healthy Country Planning, has also expanded (https://www.bushheritage.org.au/what-we-do/aboriginal-partnerships). The program supports indigenous partners to achieve their community and conservation aspirations articulated through Healthy Country Planning.

Figure 2. Terrick Bin Sali handling a northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus). (Photo WGAC)

Conservation planning with a difference. Our experience has been that the Open Standards can be successfully applied to an Indigenous context but some important adaptation is required. For example:

  1. People, culture and country are inseparable in Australian indigenous worldviews. As such, Healthy Country Planning is much wider in scope than mainstream conservation or natural resource management planning. The vision in the HCP typically sets long-term goals that include aspirations for looking after country and achieving health conditions for landscapes, seascapes, plants and animals, as well as for people and culture (Figs 2-4). These outcomes are collectively referred to as “Healthy Country”. An indigenous plan will always recognize and value people in the landscape rather than as separate. Traditional Owners, and/or their culture, become a conservation target alongside species and habitats with ‘key cultural attributes’ established alongside ‘key ecological attributes’. HCPs also have a greater degree of management strategies that relate to people and culture than would be found in mainstream management plans, and culture and Indigenous Knowledge is incorporated into land management activities that could be considered mainstream, such as the inclusion of cultural rules within visitor management.
  2. The Open Standards include approaches and tools for stakeholder participation that lend themselves well to Indigenous peoples, however given that Indigenous lands are communally-owned and governed by unique law and culture systems, participation requirements are higher and more complex. Traditional systems of governance are often recognized under State and Federal Law (such as the Native Title Act) requiring additional process steps. In developing the HCP, WGAC undertook a process of involving all Traditional Owner families in various stages of planning and the plan was authorized at a Traditional Owner meeting.
  3. A Healthy Country Plan typically applies to the whole traditional estate of a Traditional Owner group regardless of tenure, consistent with the concept of “Country-based Planning”. WGAC initially dedicated stage I of the Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area over several aboriginal reserves in 2010, and later added exclusive possession lands following native title determination. The marine environment will also be added to the IPA once agreement is reached with State and Commonwealth Governments, as articulated in the Uunguu Wundaagu Plan.

Figure 3. Traditional Owners undertaking a ‘junba’ traditional dance workshop. (Photo: WGAC)

Monitoring & evaluation since 2012. Aspects of the monitoring and evaluation framework established by WGAC include the establishment of the Uunguu Monitoring & Evaluation Committee (UMEC) and the completion of mid-term evaluation of the HCP (see 2017 review doi:10.1111/emr.12257). The UMEC is composed of Traditional Owners and external experts who undertake key Healthy Country Planning steps and functions. A significant investment of time and money was required to support annual or biennial meetings “on country” (ie. on Wunambal Gaambera lands), however the review showed that the investment has proven worthwhile because WGAC has been able to implement the plan to a high degree.

In 2015 a major mid-term evaluation was undertaken to assess the progress of the HCP. It utilized some standard evaluation tools examining Open Standards process. It also incorporated some new approaches to include the views of the wider Traditional Owner community in the evaluation of the plan to ensure the plan was meeting their needs and following effective process with regard to governance and participation. The review made a number of observations as follows.

  1. Considerable progress had been made in the implementation of fire management strategies in the HCP to the point that the health condition of the “Right Way Fire” target was changed from ‘fair’ to ‘good’. Unmanaged wildfires have significantly reduced in size as a result of increased capabilities of the Uunguu Rangers to undertake burning. At the same time “right way” cultural principles have been incorporated into operations to ensure that Traditional Owner families are making decisions about burning and undertaking fire operations on their family areas.
  2. Significant progress has been made against a visitor management strategy. One of the key concerns of elders when developing the plan was unregulated visitation to important cultural sites by the expedition cruise industry and independent travelers. The Uunguu Visitor Pass, launched in 2017, requires visitors to obtain a permit to access authorized visitor locations as well as generating funds for looking after country. Over 90% of commercial tour operators have now registered for the UVP, with a similar independent traveler compliance, generating funds to support Traditional Owner participation in visitor management and delivering tour products.
  3. Progress was not made, however, in the health of cultural targets in the plan. As a result, the 2015 review recommended further investment and effort in culture strategies. Two important books have been completed to document elders’ knowledge of biodiversity and cultural places. There has been an increase in cultural activities including language and corroboree dance workshops and annual culture camps for school children. Law and culture dictates that visitors to country (indigenous or non-indigenous) need to be accompanied by the right local Traditional Owners when undertaking activities on country. In this way Healthy Country work supports large numbers of Traditional Owners to visit country and guide participation in the implementation of the plan. A number of actions have been undertaken to support Traditional Owners to live on country and remote ranger infrastructure has been developed.

Figure 4. Uunguu Rangers during a cultural fire walk. (Photo WGAC)

Future Directions. The first 8 years of the HCP implementation has focused on building WGAC’s land and sea management capacity and resources, with funding from WGAC,  the Australian Governments Indigenous Protected Area and Indigenous Ranger Programs and from Bush Heritage Australia. Traditional Owners currently hold certificate level roles of rangers, tourism workers and construction workers but further work is now needed to support Traditional Owners to take on roles that require higher levels of training. There is also a need to support the development of a wider range of livelihoods to support Traditional Owners to live and/or work on country.

Contact information. Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation, PMB 16 Kalumburu via Wyndham WA 6740, Australia.

Email: info@wunambalgaambera.org.au

Web: www.wunambalgaambera.org.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uunguulife/

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in arid, Coastal & marine, Community involvement, Cultural & socio-economic issues & solutions, Fauna & habitat, Fire Ecology & Management, Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous land & sea management, Integrating ecosystems & industries, Monitoring, Planning, monitoring & assessment, Reserve management, Restoration & management theory, Threatened species & communities, Western Australia