Ranger training at Gnowangerup

Input from the TAFE point of view

TAFE Lecturer Jake Crowe, who delivered the course said the training was a success and he was keen to do more of these on-country courses: 

"We've tried to tie the teaching into Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation as much as possible. I would say the course delivered has been a success. It's a class of 10 and the attendance has been between 7 to 9 students most days, Monday to Friday. Pretty much everyone is turning up. 

Tomorrow they're going to Badgebup and doing the training there and they're going to get some Cultural Awareness Training from the Elders. That's important for these students as they're from the Central Great Southern and their culture has been lost to some extent so if they are going to be out on country working with the environment then they may as well be working with restoring their culture as well, it's just as important as restoring the environment. 

It's also important to get a good balance between the 2 activities and not just get them out there cutting down weeds and collecting seeds but trying to re-ignite their cultural learning through this course." 

Jacob. Lecturer, South Regional TAFE. 

The student perspective

The training is a part of BAC's 'Social Return on Investment Strategy' and we like to monitor the progress and capture the thoughts of the trainees to ensure we are making a positive impact on their lives. 

Student Roxanne Woods expressed her thoughts about the course: 

"What this course has given me, it's given me purpose you know, every day to get up to look forward to doing something, going out on land, learning new things, gaining new knowledge from the Elders. Also, I like the diversity of the students that we work with, it's been really good." 

"What I enjoy about this course the most, is creating relationships with the other students, also Johnny and Julie and getting to know them better, hearing their stories and them taking us to land where they grew up, showing us different places where we haven't been before." 

"Culture to me is really important, it's always important to get back to Country and learn how to do the things that old people did back in the day, the backburning side of it, collecting the native seeds, being able to look after the land because that's really important. Learning, just learning, gaining the knowledge of the people who have already studied, who know how to do things and to install that in us for our future generations to come." 

Roxanna, Student. 

An outside look from the project officer

Dr Peter Twigg also provided his feedback about the first intake of trainees from the Central Great Southern Region: 

"There's a real readiness and an opportunity for the communities to work together here and Badgebup Tambellup and Gnowangerup have a history of interconnection but also a history of doing stuff together." 

"One of the really good things about this project is it has given people from three communities the chance to meet up and work together on projects that are different but very interrelated, seed collecting and now growing plants here in the nursery and ultimately doing landscape restoration and revegetation projects." 

"… we've had Badgebup students come in through the seed tunnel and now here in the nursery which has really turbocharged this project and led to a lot of learning about the ins and outs of seeds and growing seeds and, as we grow them up in the Nursery there'll be a lot more to learn." 

This particular group, they're good to work with, and they have a good TAFE lecturer, all the key ingredients are there for a very successful project." 

"I think that this particular region has really got a fantastic chance to show a way to take some of these resources that are coming through and doing something that's actually beneficial for the communities. I think that if it's going to happen somewhere it's going to happen here." 

Dr Peter Twigg. Project Officer, South Coast NRM.