Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation

Project Profile

Issues

Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation (BADC) was established in 1998 to provide a range of community support and development opportunities for the ACT Indigenous community. Located on 2.4 hectares in Holt, BADC undertakes a number of initiatives which deliver NRM outcomes whilst providing a supportive environment for Indigenous people to develop their skills. Through extensive engagement with and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses, government and community organisations in the ACT to promote cross-cultural understanding and reconciliation, BADC has developed over the last ten years to become an important and recognised Indigenous community organisation providing access to a wide range of inclusive activities and facilities.

Project Detail

The Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation project has been nominated for a National Landcare Award for its role in building the capacity of the Indigenous community in and around Canberra and its ongoing contribution to the sustainability of the area.

Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation (BADC) was established in 1998 to provide community support and development opportunities for the ACT Indigenous community. Located on 2.4 hectares in Holt, BADC delivers NRM outcomes by providing a supportive environment for Indigenous people to develop their skills. Through extensive engagement with and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses, government and community organisations in the ACT, BADC is now an important and recognised Indigenous community facility.

Following the Canberra bushfire in 2003, BADC established the Jumby Mulla (Friendly Hand) Native Seedbank and Native nursery and developed seed collection activities in collaboration with Greening Australia, the ACT NRM Council, Natural Heritage Trust and Caring for Our Country to provide local provenance native plants for broad scale revegetation on degraded lands. Aboriginal owned and operated consulting service, JONMAR Consulting, prepared a business plan for the nursery to provide guidance on expansion of these activities with the aim of developing a self-supporting NRM business enterprise which builds the capacity of the local Indigenous community.

BADC has hosted two Greencorps teams and Indigenous youth at risk through the ACT Youth Justice and ACT School systems and Indigenous organisations. The Greencorps teams have undertaken training on-site at the BADC facility, completing Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management and Certificate II in Information Technology. These youth have also gained hand-on experience in tree planting, landscaping, weed control, native seed collection and plant propagation activities.

Over the years, BADC has worked to reduce its ecological footprint through a number of activities including the use of recycled water to increase irrigation and propagation capacity without drawing on the ACT’s portable water supply. Billabong has also upgraded its septic system and built its own Biolytic recycled sewerage system to recycle water back through the block and is now working on a Bio Diesel plant to supplement and augment the power supply needs at the facility. Billabong has recently received a Community Energy grant from the ACT Government DECCEW to install a 3.5kw solar voltaic array to feed electricity into the grid receiving offsets and significantly reducing energy requirements and costs.

The Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation project is one of 88 finalists in the National Landcare Awards to be announced in Canberra on 24 June 2010. Commencing in 1991, the Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups that make a valuable contribution to the land and coast where they live and work.

Photography

Billabong Aboriginal Development Corporation