Blog Articles

Country Needs People: Request For Expressions Of Interest for Indigenous land and sea management (ILSM) staff and contractors. About Country Needs People: Country Needs People (CNP) is a small non-profit organisation that supports Indigenous communities to protect, maintain, and restore biodiversity and sustain, strengthen, and pass on cultural practices on Country. We advocate for strong Indigenous Land and Sea Management (ILSM) support from state and federal governments and provide practical assistance to Indigenous peoples managing or aspiring to manage their Country. Working with Indigenous organisations We work together with an extensive ...

The ALA hosted by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, worked with Yugul Mangi Rangers in South-East Arnhem Land and Macquarie University on the project, adding language words in eight local languages and descriptions for 295 species to the ALA. ALA Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Program Lead Nat Raisbeck-Brown said the new Indigenous names and transcriptions would increase data accessibility and strengthen researchers’ and Australians’ connection to Traditional Owner knowledge and language. The Atlas of Living Australia’s Indigenous Ecological Knowledge program has been strengthening researchers’ and Australian’s connection to Traditional ...

Native grass farming puts Indigenous food on Australia's fine dining map Australia could be sitting on a sustainable agriculture gold mine as Indigenous farmers flock to harvest native grass grains. Black Duck Foods, a small social enterprise committed to promoting Aboriginal food sovereignty, is at the forefront of processing Australia's native grains into flour. Started by Uncle Bruce Pascoe, author of best selling book Dark Emu , and Uncle Noel Butler, Black Duck is based at Yumburra farm in Victoria's east Gippsland. "[Traditional foods are] deep rooted, they're perennial, they're self-generating, self-sustaining; they produce their own seed ...

“If we're going to reverse the damage that's done to this country, if we're going to bring back the old growth in forests – if we’re going to bring back one of the oldest cultures in the world to be strong in every part of this country, then we all need to work together.” Victor Steffensen, Lead Fire Practitioner of Firesticks Alliance and author of “Fire Country”, is changing the Australian landscape, one Indigenous Fire Practitioner at a time. As Australia suffers from biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and cyclical natural disasters, Victor implores us to restore the Australian Country identity: by putting Indigenous land managers back in charge, ...

The ACT Government has released a draft 20-year plan for Canberra’s natural resources including our biodiversity and Aboriginal cultural heritage. The community is encouraged to provide feedback over the next six weeks The draft plan, Caring for Dhawura Ngunnawal: A Natural Resource Plan for the ACT 2022-2042 , has key focus areas of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and habitation functions, sustainable agriculture and Aboriginal cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. “Plans like this are important in setting a vision for the protection and sustainable use of natural resources across our region. They identify and prioritise our goals, targets ...

A landmark report calls for serious leadership and investment in the agricultural potential of the First Nations estate, especially if governments are serious about closing the gap and unlocking north Australia’s development potential The report, commissioned by the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and led by the First Nations Portfolio and researchers from the Fenner School of Environment and Society at The Australian National University (ANU), is the first study to examine the agricultural capacity of the First Nations estate, which covers more than 57 per cent of Australia’s landmass. The study identifies that: ...

On Saturday 4 December 2021, the Werribee River Association hosted an in-person cultural-educational walk and talk with a Wadawurrung Traditional Owner at Presidents Park, learning about the landscapes, culture, and traditions of Wadawurrung people, who lived and cared for the Wirribi Yaluk for tens of thousands of years. Wadawurrung People are the Traditional Owners of the land at Presidents Park. Wadawurrung Country covers over 10,000 square kilometres from the Great Dividing Range in the North, to the coast in the south, from the Werribee river in the east, and to Aireys inlet in the west, which includes Geelong and Ballarat. We visited Tarneet Islands, ...

Owners Jane and David Vincent along with their son Sam are Landcare Award winners and long-time contributors to the movement. They have been farming at Gollion in Sutton on the NSW/ACT border for 37 years. During that time they've introduced regenerative practices to the property where they run Angus cattle and are also moving into Black Genoa Figs; Sam's new venture. In recent years the family engaged with Ngunawal and other Aboriginal people in a bid to see if there were any significant Aboriginal sites on their farm. An ochre quarry was discovered which holds significant meaning for the local Aboriginal community. In partnership with the community, the Vincent’s ...

As part of the Regional Land Partnerships program, the 'Managing vegetation on farm and targeting pollinators and farm resilience' project has engaged dozens of farmers in the South West of Western Australia to learn how Cultural Land Management and Traditional Ecological Knowledge can enhance biodiversity and increase pollination of crops on-farm. In February 2021, nineteen producers gathered at Ridgewood farm in Balingup, where Andrew and Nuala Scott produce avocados and olives, for a unique workshop. Farmers had the opportunity to hear from Undalup Association’s Zac Webb, a Wadandi-Pibulmun man with continuous connection to country. Zac creates strategies ...

We began 2021, by working collaboratively on a number of cultural projects and programs to help us better understand Aboriginal culture in the Hunter region past and present, and to see how we can incorporate this knowledge into our everyday Landcare operations. Our Landcare community want to learn more about our Aboriginal cultural heritage of the Hunter region, particularly in relation to their Landcare sites or farm property. The challenge was knowing where and how to start this journey of learning and understanding - who to contact, how to obtain advice, protocols for inviting Elders to Welcome us to Country, and appropriate material to use for workshops ...

By Alinytjara Wilu r ara Natural Resource Management Driven by love of country and culture, and the desire for a better future for the young people living on their homelands, members of the all-Aboriginal Alinytjara Wilu r ara Natural Resource Management Board sought to find a way to share their world with the wider South Australian community. This shared desire led to the Board opening its doors in March 2018 to the “Adelaide Meets the Bush” exhibition, where it succeeded beyond expectations in bringing together the people of Adelaide and the people and country of the Alinytjara Wilurara (AW) Region. AW NRM board members Debbie Hansen (left) from ...

By Christopher Gillies For over 50,000 years, Australia’s Indigenous community cared for country by using land management that worked with the environment. Using traditional burning, fishing traps, and sowing and storing plants, they were able to create a system that was sustainable and supplied them with the food they needed. When Europeans arrived, they brought farming practices suited to an environment very different to Australia, that in the long-term caused erosion and salinity. While many historical European accounts of Indigenous land management have faded, today there is a shift to recognise that Indigenous people had sophisticated sustainable ...