The recent Queensland Indigenous Land & Sea Rangers Conference, hosted by Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations, saw over 100 Indigenous rangers attend the event, including 20 TRACQS Community Development Program (CDP) participants.

Photo Credit: Supplied by Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations.

Today is World Ranger Day, which is an opportunity to celebrate and raise awareness about the pivotal role of an Indigenous Ranger.

As a part of our services for the Community Development Program (CDP), we currently have 20 Participants who are actively engaged in the CDP Activity project, Djabugay Bulmba Rangers, which is hosted by our proud community partners, Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations.

Funded by the Department of Environment and Science under their Queensland Indigenous Land and Sea Rangers program, our participants are proudly supported by both the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) and by TRACQS through our services for CDP.

As we are so closely connected and proud of the work of the Djabugay Bulmba Rangers, World Ranger Day is an initiative dear to the hearts of both the TRACQS team and our participants.

The Djabugay Bulmba Rangers do fantastic work in a wide range of environmental and cultural heritage conservations, land management and community activities. As Rangers, our participants undertake training in the specialised skills required to successfully implement traditional land management practices, outlined in Djabugay’s Bama Plan.

The opportunity for our participants to join the Djabugay Bulmba Rangers, has been nothing short of an incredibly positive, fun, educational and cultural experience that continues to benefit the community greatly.

Recently, the Djabugay Aboriginal Corporation and the Djabugay Bulmba Rangers proudly hosted over 100 Indigenous rangers at this year’s Queensland Indigenous Land & Sea Rangers Conference. All 20 of TRACQS participants were in attendance, alongside TRACQS staff where we took part in this year’s conference theme, ‘More than a Ranger’.

The conference was a major success, bringing together ranger teams from across Queensland to share and broaden their understanding of conservation and land management approaches.

We were lucky enough to be included in a special training & development session which saw over 25 Rangers visit Nyawarri Estate in Kudranda for the “From Bush to Buffet” session,  showcasing aspirations for a bush food and resource garden to retain cultural practices and explore culinary opportunities.  The session opened with a ‘Welcome to Country’ by TRACQS Participant Errol Hunter, and TRACQS Supervisor for the CDP Activity, ‘Keeping Our Culture Alive’, Rhonda Brim.

At TRACQS, we are proud to be celebrating World Ranger Day, as it encapsulates our connection to Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations, and highlights the tremendous efforts and passion that our CDP participants have displayed during their journey.

Indigenous ranger projects such as the CDP Activity, Djabugay Bulmba Rangers which we provide in partnership with Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations, is a government-funded initiative by the National Indigenous Australians Agency which supports Indigenous people to combine traditional knowledge with conservation training to ensure we’re continuing to protect and manage our land, sea and culture, while also allowing for the sharing of skills and increases in outcomes and jobs for environmental, biosecurity, heritage and other sectors.