Tuesday, 1 September, was a momentous occasion for the Northern Gulf Indigenous Savannah Group as they watched their first group of trainees graduate with a Certificate III in Land Conservation and Management. The course, run by the TAFE Cairns campus, was specially adapted for Indigenous conservation knowledge capture, and traditional conservation of Indigenous country.
Ricky Archer, Traditional Knowledge Project Manager for the group, mentored and assisted with on-site training. “The students of this course picked it up easier than in other training I have been involved in,” said Ricky. “This is because it was tailored to be done on country, with a hands-on approach.”
The 14 students that participated in the course were from six different traditional owner groups from across the Northern Gulf region. The subjects that were studied covered such topics as basic computer operation, GPS mapping, site identification, first aid, video editing, camera operation, and workplace health and safety.
John Bethel, chair of the Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, presented the graduates with their certificates. “These young people have taken a very important step,” he said.
This training will now mean that representatives from local traditional owner groups will have the skills and training to conserve culturally significant sites, and record the wealth of traditional conservation knowledge that exists in the community.
Photograph: Janette Owens and other trainee recording traditional knowledge
13 November 2009
