Hosting the North Coast Regional Aboriginal Landcare Officer in the Grafton Landcare Office
Clarence Landcare is hosting Michael Kennedy the Aboriginal Landcare Officer for North Coast Regional Landcare, the first position of its kind in NSW.
Collaborations - LP-022-028
The issue
The North Coast Regional Landcare Network was successful in gaining funds to employ an Aboriginal Landcare Officer in September 2021. The question was how and where to locate the position. Clarence Landcare has worked with Local Aboriginal Land Councils over the past 25 years so could see the benefit of hosting this new and exciting position. We could see that it would be of mutual benefit to both parties.
The solution
Clarence Landcare has an office in the main street of Grafton with enough room to house another desk and person. Due to Grafton being central to the North Coast Region we offered to host the position. Fortunately, the successful applicant, Michael was from Clarence Valley and preferred to work in an office rather than at home so it worked out perfectly.
The impact
The benefit of housing Michael in our Landcare office is the regular two way mentoring.
Michael’s local and regional family connections to the Gumbaynggirr community and beyond means his advice and knowledge leads to more efficient and effective Aboriginal community liaison for all our staff. Michael is our go to person now for all things Aboriginal including correct terminology, cultural protocols and ideas and support on Aboriginal community engagement.
Michael has not worked in Landcare before so working in a Landcare office where we have 26 year’s experience in the field is valuable to him. This access to our knowledge and experience of the Landcare network at a local, regional, state and national level increases his productivity and efficiency. We also have experience in project planning, development, delivery and reporting including grant writing so Michael regularly taps into this knowledge.
Key facts
- Aboriginal Landcare Officer - first position of its type in NSW.
- Position hosted by Clarence Landcare Grafton Office.
- Located central to the region.
- Two way mentoring and mutually beneficial.