Learning conservation skills on Country an opportunity for First Peoples
Warreen Beek graduate Gemma Cadd (left) receives her certificate.
Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman Gemma Cadd already had Bachelor and Masters degrees in environmental science under her belt when she started the Warreen Beek Rangers program with Trust for Nature. It was the practical nature of the course that appealed to her after learning the theory at university.
“It was really great to get out into the field each Friday and get that experience. It keeps you engaged and makes it easier to take in information, and a lot of conservation jobs also require field experience these days,” Gemma says.
What is the Warreen Beek Rangers program?
The Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management, now in its seventh year, provides conservation training and accreditation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Developed in partnership
with Traditional Owners, the course is free for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and is largely completed on Country with Elders and experts helping to teach the units.
The course is coordinated by Trust for Nature in collaboration with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal
Corporation and Wurundjeri Narrap Rangers, accredited through Holmesglen Institute of TAFE and supported by the Port Phillip Bay Fund. Gemma is one of seven students who graduated in 2023.
Growing up around Melbourne, Gemma’s mum took the family on camping trips around the state every school holiday. Birds are of particular interest to Gemma, and she fondly remembers spotting black-cockatoos in the Grampians/Gariwerd, where the students spent two days learning about important cultural sites and rock art with local Traditional Owners.
“It’s good to learn from other cultures and hear stories from them and all the different experiences. The course was a culturally safe space because all the students were Aboriginal so we could learn and discuss Indigenous topics without fear.”
Graduates of the 2023 Warreen Beek Rangers program
Other highlights for Gemma included taking part in a cultural burn at Coranderrk on Wurundjeri Country, and surveying penguins at St Kilda pier.
“It was really cool seeing all the different environments in Port Phillip Bay and the Mornington Peninsula. It’s so diverse, and great to learn about how the Bunurong manage the land there.”
Gemma is hoping to continue using her training to work in the conservation sector and helping protect wildlife. “Being out in nature was what I always wanted to do – working with animals and helping stop extinction,” Gemma reflects.
Learning from Elders on Country
Chelsea Cooke, Conservation Officer and Indigenous Engagement Coordinator at Trust for Nature, mentors students and facilitates the Warreen Beek Rangers program. After completing the course herself in 2021, Chelsea says the course environment and how the students come together is what makes it special.
“Every year I feel like the students start a bit shy and reserved, and a couple of weeks in everyone becomes such a family. All the students have different schooling backgrounds, so it’s good to see people supporting each other to do assessments.”
Learning from Elders and Traditional Owners is core to the program.
“It’s such an honour to be invited out to properties to work with Traditional Owners. It’s important to learn
from different groups, because they all have different ways of learning and teaching, and different rules and traditions. Whether or not you come from that country, it’s part of respecting how each other works.”