Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation

08/08/2022

In July, the Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation attended on country at Hiltaba which is a 78,000 ha (780 km2) property ran by the Nature Foundation. Hiltaba is situated on Bungala country with connections from the Kokatha an Wirangu families into the Gawler Ranges region, still used today for cultural purposes.
Hiltaba home to species such as the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, the Slender-billed Thornbill and Desert Greenhood Orchid. Providing an opportunity for Gawler Ranges Board and community to understand, and work with Nature Foundation with partnerships on country.

Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation with Green Collar and the Nature Foundation are in a unique position to work in partnership that can be the catalyst for Carbon Farming Projects within the Gawler Ranges region.

Green Collar has registered the Hiltaba Nature Positive Project to focus on regenerating 18, 354 ha of Native Vegetation within the Gawler Ranges area. While Hiltaba is a Nature reserve and managed by the Nature Foundation for conversation, it is on Bungala country with Kokatha and Wirangu boundaries with families.

Providing this partnership with Green Collar/Nature Foundation will provide a multilayer foundation of opportunities for land management, training and managing country together. Also providing pathways for young Gawler Ranges people through this partnership.

Warren Munthardies Miller

01/08/2022

Ceduna Area School - Kids on Country Program - JUNE 2022

The Kids on Country Camp Program is held at Nature Foundation’s two largest Nature Reserves:

• Hiltaba Nature Reserve located on the traditional lands of the Gawler Ranges People – Kokatha, Bungala and Wirangu, 750 km North West of Adelaide.

Nature Foundation delivered its second Kids on Country camp for Ceduna Ares School at Hiltaba Nature Reserve from Monday 27 June to Friday 01 July 2022. Facilitators included Katie Perry (Kids on Country Coordinator), Warren Milera
(Aboriginal Cultural Facilitator), Helen Palmer (Ranger), Ben McCallum (Community Ecologist) and Alice (Ecology Field Technician) from SA Arid Lands Landscape Board and Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation Director Leslee Warrior.

The program provides young Aboriginal people the opportunity to participate in ‘on-country’ camps, where they have the space to develop, nurture and grow their ambition to pursue further study and evaluate career opportunities. The camps have a culture-first approach, where participants are afforded the opportunity to grow under the mentorship of senior Aboriginal people, whilst engaging in practical on-country studies in conservation and land management.

The program provides young Aboriginal people aged between 12 and 18 with:

• Skills and knowledge in conservation and land management practices;
• Opportunities to build on skills and aptitudes for personal growth and long-term success and development;
• Transmission of Traditional ecological and cultural knowledge, stories and practice by
Aboriginal Key Stakeholders including Elders.
• A program that is linked to secondary school curriculum
• Improved health and wellbeing through connection to nature and country;
• A platform to share knowledge.

Thanks to Katie Perry (Youth Programs Coordinator) at Nature Foundation for allowing us to share these photos and content.

29/07/2022

Providing another perspective on country through the eyes of a drone is amazing.

Showing our GRAC Director’s Leslee Ladybird Warrior, Doris McNamara and Tracy Reid the DJI FPV Goggles on country was beautiful.

Also getting young kids back on country and using drones was a good merge of technology and elders knowledge on country.

More to come…

21/06/2022

An amazing opportunity to be on country and share the space with Green Collar and Nature Foundation on some rejuvenation country projects.

So happy to feature and share this journey with my son who graced Nature Foundations cover.

GRAC, Nature Foundation and Green Collar have
been talking for some time about the opportunity
for Carbon Farming in the Gawler Ranges.

https://www.naturefoundation.org.au/who-we-are/publications/nature-matters

08/04/2022

Casual Field Work

Nature Foundation is looking for casual field officers to assist with science-based monitoring and conservation programs both on and off Nature Foundation remote reserves.

Applications are encouraged from individuals who are interested in developing flora and fauna survey capabilities. Previous experience with field work is desirable but not essential.

The successful candidates will be physically fit, be willing to learn new survey techniques and be available for 12 days at a time for remote travel within SA and WA

The next 12 day work trip is a vegetation survey at Hiltaba Nature Reserve in the Gawler Ranges, between Tues 19- Sat 30 April.

• 9 days field work – early starts, 10 hour days
• 2 paid days travel to/from Hiltaba,
• 1 paid rest day half way through the trip
• All meals provided
• Travel and Accommodation provided

Please contact Liam Crook, Nature Solutions Program Coordinator - [email protected] or call 0412 472 346

08/11/2021

Nature Foundation

The Youth Programs Officer will start in January 2022 and help with the delivery and growth of the Kids on Country program so it can positively impact and reach more Aboriginal young people. We are inviting applications for the position now and will be conducting interviews in early December. Please find a copy of the job advertisement and job description attached which is also advertised on SEEK https://www.seek.com.au/job/54733932.

Applications close Friday 19th November 2021

Nature Foundation is growing its Kids on Country team which has led to a new part-time Youth Programs Officer position becoming available in January 2022. We are seeking an enthusiastic person to join our Kids on Country team who is passionate about increasing the capacity of young Aboriginal people...

11/05/2021

"The Gawler Ranges Aboriginal Corporation (GRAC) has finally gained ownership and control of the Working on Country Ranger program which was previously run by South Australia Native Title Services (SANTs). The National Indigenous Australian Agency (NIAA) has negotiated a contract with GRAC to deliver WoC to the region in the Gawler Ranges as defined by the boundaries outlined in the original Consent Determination for Native Title deed.

At present there are 4 WoC Ranger positions that operate out of the Gawler Ranges and Lake Gairdner National Park of which we as Traditional Owners co-manage with the Department of Environment & Water. Lindsay Browne has been the Head Ranger in the National Park for the last 5 years and has been actively progressing infra-structure development in the park which aims to make the natural environment and beauty of the landscape more user friendly to the many visitors who visit the region.

One of the important functions of the WoC Ranger program is to identify and assess the number of cultural sites that are located throughout the traditional lands of our mob. Recently under spent funding from the WoC budget allowed the GRAC Board of Directors to support a joint initiative between GRAC and NIAA to undertake a career pathway strategy that aimed to give young Nyungas whom are members of the GRAC to undertake cultural heritage assessment and management training with a couple of anthropologists ,a couple of trained and skilled GRAC members and the WoC Rangers ,to give the young Nyungas an experience of field work as trainee Rangers for a week.

The focus was to go out in the field with the anthropologist and learn about the stories that are encapsulated within the some of the more significant cultural sites within the Park ,and use that experience to assist in the development of a specific GRAC WoC Ranger program cultural heritage assessment framework.

The field work was undertaken between the 3rd- 7th of May 2021,and by all accounts ,especially the personal reflections of the significance of the fieldwork process was shared when the young women gave a visual and oral evaluation of the process ,an assessment process which was managed by the anthropology team member. Overall the experience was very positive and the young women derived a lot of personal and professional understanding of the importance of Caring for Country.More particularly the young women's love and of Gawler Ranges Aboriginal culture grew as did their confidence and awareness of their cultural identity."

03/03/2020

26th February 2020, was an amazing opportunity to get on country with the Chairperson John Reid to meet the rangers from the Working on Country program at Paney near the Shearing Quarters. (Commercial Manager HDF Corp) and Lindsay Thomas (Ex AFL Footballer North Melbourne & Port Power) tagged along to the Gawler Ranges to sit down on John Reid’s wealth of knowledge Cultural training workshop with the Working on Country Rangers.

Meeting the new rangers and hearing their experiences on where they are from and what they enjoy about being a ranger on Gawler Ranges country. We all followed head ranger Lindsay to Old Paney Homestead and shared some stories.

Amazing experience to meet the rangers and share stories of the beautiful Gawler Ranges. – GRAC Board Member: Chris Warrior