The seeds of growth
The bush is far bigger than one haystack
The recent intense bushfires across Australia and a renewed focus in Carbon offsetting projects have created great interest in native seed collecting.
No seeds - no plants, but locating the right seed in viable quantities often is like looking for a needle in a haystack, unless you happen to have an intimate knowledge of your country that is!
Cultural Ambassador Ezzard Flowers and Ranger Team Leader Johnny Rodd collecting seed.
Bayden Smith, Senior Project Officer, Greening Australia explaining the scientific name of plant and how to collect the seed.
Bayden GPS tagging of specimens collected by Ngoolark Rangers.
BAC & Greening Australia Partnership
From December 2019 until April 2020, Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) Ngoolark Rangers are participating in the Noongar Ranger Seed Collecting Project with four other Noongar Ranger groups facilitated by Greening Australia and funded by Woodside. You can read more about this here.
Greening Australia has an ambitious target to restore 330,000 hectares of the Australian landscape as part of our 2030 Vision and support the transition to a low carbon economy. Pro-active investments from large organisations like Woodside are crucial in taking us a step closer towards this goal and our mission of creating healthy and productive landscapes where people and nature thrive.
Brendan Foran, CEO, Greening Australia.
The project itself forms part of Greening Australia's wider commitment to providing support to help First Nation Australians close the gap, their Thriving On Country program. You can read more about this here.
Our Thriving on Country program is not just a statement piece to us. As an organisation we're living it every day and are proud of the relationship we have built with Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation and the way we are able to work together to bring Thriving on Country to life in Katanning.
Anne Smith, Business Unit Leader, Conservation, Planning & Science, Greening Australia.
When collection and culture meet
The scope of works in this project include identifying botanical and Noongar names of plants and collecting rare seeds for environmental restoration projects. The seed collecting project will also entail training our Rangers in cleaning, storage and the preparation of seed for packaging in use on restoration and carbon offsetting projects.
This exciting partnership project with Greening Australia and the Tambellup Aboriginal Corporation will help lay the foundations for our Mungart Seed Orchards and Merentj Bushfood enterprise. Seeds are so important to healing the land and are even more important after this season's devastating bushfires.
Julie Hayden
Working in collaboration
As part of our ongoing commitment to evidencing best practice in partnership building BAC is also helping the Tambellup Aboriginal Corporation build their own capacity to engage in the seed collecting project ensuring that the benefits of this project are shared across our wider region.
Ranger Tristan Rodd Logging data.
Logging specimens in the online database.
Job Safety Environmental Data Analysis.
In keeping with our focus on developing wider outcomes, not just providing outputs such as lavour, Badgebup and Tambellup workers will gain access the Greening Australia Noongar Seed Collecting Training Program which will provide competencies in units linked to the AQF Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management (AHC21016) course, including:
- AHCNAR305 Collect Native Seed
- AHCPCM201 Recognise Plants
- AHCPCM202 Collect, prepare and preserve plant specimens
Enterprise development
This project marks the activation of yet another key component of the BAC Business plan in the the development of the partnership and training opportunities required to develop our Mungart Seeds enterprise.
Some of these seeds are crafty, they've got their own ways to stop animal eating them but now we know what to look for.
I don't just want to be on country collecting them and logging them on the computer we want to start collecting regularly and storing them securely so we can play a bigger part in healing the country.
Tristan Rodd. Ranger
Not only do partners such as Greening Australia and, in turn their clients, benefit from quality seed supply our Rangers receive employment and training which brings them back on country. This opportunity to connect with country and bring home a wage has an amazing and positive effect on our people and is a pleasure to see.
Our focus is to make people aware of our capacity to work in partnership and collaboration with government, corporate, community and the private sector.
It's all about engaging disengaged youth in the Great Southern back into their cultural domain. Bio-diversity and ecology play a great part in this engagement.
Ezzard Flowers, Cultural Ambassador.
Help us close the gap
BAC is always in negotiation with funding bodies and potential partners to support the capital requirements that the ongoing development of our enterprises necessitates.
If you can help with any of our requirements for storage and refrigeration equipment please contact us using the form below.
