Greening Australia, TAS

Project Profile

Issues

In response to a significant loss of Indigenous ecological knowledge in Tasmania, Greening Australia (Tasmania), in partnership with Weetapoona and the Indigenous Land Corporation delivered a three year National Landcare Program (NLP) project. The project aimed to engage young Indigenous Tasmanians and improve their ecological knowledge as well as tapping into their existing knowledge to incorporate into future land management activities.

Project Detail

The Greening Australia (Tasmania) team has been nominated for a National Landcare Award for its work in coordinating and implementing a National Landcare Program to protect the Indigenous heritage of Murrayfield, Bruny Island.

In response to a significant loss of Indigenous ecological knowledge in Tasmania, Greening Australia (Tasmania), in partnership with Weetapoona and the Indigenous Land Corporation delivered a three year National Landcare Program (NLP) project. The project aimed to engage young Indigenous Tasmanians and improve their ecological knowledge as well tapping into their existing knowledge for future land management activities.

The project ‘Implementing Sustainable Productivity on a Unique Aboriginal Farming Enterprise’ was carried out at Murrayfield, a sheep farming property, owned by the Indigenous Land Corporation on Bruny Island, on the south-east corner of Tasmania.  Between 2005 and 2008 an area at Murrayfield, home to many members of the aboriginal community who have lived in the area for several generations, some six hectares of land was worked on to halt erosion on cultural sites and mitigate the effects of salinity.

Key initiatives included the fencing of eight kilometres of remnant vegetation from grazing sheep, management and fencing of unproductive saline areas, direct seeding of eight hectares with native species, general revegetation of the area and the management of six hectares of exposed cultural artefacts using jute and brush matting.

The NLP project tied in closely with a Conservation and Land Management Training program to train young aboriginal people in the areas of agriculture, land management, cultural heritage management, and infrastructure maintenance in preparation for employment in these industries.  Aboriginal trainees and community members engaged in Landcare activities through tree planting days, seed collecting and fire management workshops and the creation of a weaving garden. These events were also attended by local landowners and Coastcarers, as well as members of local Council, State Government, schools and the broader Natural Resource Management (NRM) community.

The NLP project was successful in bringing together aboriginal and land management groups to achieve significant NRM outcomes for the benefit of both the environment and the people who visit and care for the property.

The Greening Australia 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

Greening Australia, TAS