Landcare in a Cultural Landscape
Landcare in a Cultural Landscape
Working in partnership with the community to improve our land, water and biodiversity and embed Aboriginal Cultural Values into Landcare
Collaborations -
LP017-R001
The issue
The structures of Landcare groups, project design and prioritization are overwhelmingly based on a European sensibility and understanding of natural resource management and agriculture. Now, more than ever groups are looking for ways to incorporate Traditional Aboriginal Land Management into their consciousness and begin the process of understanding and celebrating the deeper connection of Caring for Country and recognizing Aboriginal cultural values as an asset in all aspects of Natural Resource Management.
The solution
Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre Aboriginal Corporation (Yarkuwa), one of the Murray Landcare Collective groups, has been building the relationships with Aboriginal communities, landcare and government NRM agencies for a long time. Yarkuwa is leading the "Landcare in a Cultural Landscape" project supported by Murray Local Land Services Regional Land Partnerships Program (through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program) and is working closely with the Regional Landcare Coordinator, Paula Sheehan and the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator, Sandy Dellwo.
The impact
Some of the planned activities include (but are not limited to): * awareness of the great work that is already happening across the region and the resources available; * build local relationships and collaborations to increase Aboriginal participation in Landcare and Landcare’s interactions with community; * encourage and build capacity in Aboriginal communities to increase involvement in NRM and support Aboriginal involvement in planning and decision-making processes; * run workshops for Landcare groups and LLS focusing on Aboriginal cultural values and ecological knowledge, how to incorporate them into the projects, how to recognise cultural indicators in the landscape for monitoring environmental health, how to promote discussions on how NRM, agriculture and landcare projects may impact on cultural locations, understanding the value of heritage assessments and what the process involves; * create safe spaces for open discussions to break down barriers to participation.
The project will increase Landcare awareness and understanding of working in a cultural landscape and better incorporate Aboriginal engagement into projects and activities of Landcare across the Murray region.
Key facts
- There are some 75,000 Indigenous people living in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin and most of these people are Traditional Owners who belong to over 40 autonomous First Nations
- Healthy landscapes include healthy people
- Traditional land management and ecological knowledge is relevant and adds depth to NRM projects