Working together to work on country
Working together to work on country
Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council and Tweed Landcare partner to deliver for our environment and community.
Collaborations -
LP022-016
The issue
Tweed Landcare was keen to work more closely with Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council (TBLALC). When we discussed opportunities the TBLALC expressed an interest in forming a Ranger program.
The Tweed area, which is Bundjalung Country, has not had local Aboriginal Rangers to undertake environmental restoration work. There are many areas in the Tweed, including land owned by TBLALC and sites of known Aboriginal cultural heritage significance, where restoration work should be undertaken by Aboriginal Rangers.
The solution
Our discussions with TBLALC originally commenced through a funding opportunity. In late 2020 North Coast Local Land Services announced the North Coast Bushfire Recovery Project. This funding was for the control of priority weeds within 50 Kilometres of a fire scar and had to demonstrate local employment opportunities.
Our project ticked all these boxes, so we worked together to apply and were successful!
The impact
Once the funding was secured we had to work out how to deliver the project. The funding was short-term (6 months timeframe) and had a limited budget. The proposed three-person Ranger team had a total of 16 team days over six months - not full-time ongoing work - so we had to work out how to make this work with the Rangers' other commitments.
We engaged Madhima Gulgan Community Association, a nearby Aboriginal-run bush regeneration business to supervise and train the Rangers. The Rangers are also completing Natural Area Restoration at TAFE.
We have subsequently applied for another project through NSW Environmental Trust - Protecting Our Places and are always on the lookout for other relevant opportunities.
While it is only a small amount of work for the Rangers at the moment we expect this is just the beginning.
Key facts
- 2 applications submitted - North Coast Bushfire Recovery Project & NSW Environmental Trust Protecting Our Places.
- 1 project underway - North Coast Bushfire Recovery Project