FOUNDATION PROJECTS
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Established by desert rangers for desert rangers, the IDA Foundation supports Indigenous-led land management and conservation initiatives grounded in cultural knowledge and local expertise. The Foundation’s flexible funding model ensures resources go where they are most needed, strengthening ranger capacity and community-led solutions.
This round of funding will support six Indigenous-led projects that reflect the vital work Indigenous rangers carry out every day to keep culture strong, care for Country and pass knowledge on to future generations.
Buffel grass is transforming desert homelands into dangerous monocultures that burn hotter, faster and more often, it's also choking waterholes, crowding out native species and impacting cultural sites. To combat buffel grass, the FWCAC Rangers will purchase and install a dedicated chemical storage shed at their ranger base, along with battery powered backpack weed sprayers. Rangers will prepare the site and install the prefabricated structure, improving safety and efficiency in weed management activities.
Tjamu Tjamu will embark on a nationally significant cultural mapping initiative focused on identifying and recording site-based knowledge held in archival materials. The project aims to strengthen Pintupi knowledge systems, including knowledge of sites, Tjukurrpa, and the travels of Elders during precontact times. It builds on earlier work returning historic recordings made in the 1970s and responds to the urgency of preserving Elders’ knowledge for future generations.
Five APY Indigenous Ranger Group Steering Committees will undertake governance training, the groups include Warru East and Warru West, Walalkara IPA, Wattaru IPA, Cave Hill project, and Apara-Makiri-Punti IPA. Training will be held in Umuwa and will support steering committees to develop governance rules and meeting procedures that align traditional decision-making processes with contemporary governance requirements.
Tjuwanpa Women Rangers will purchase and transport a compliant chemical storage facility to support their expanding buffel grass control activities. This facility will improve safety and support increasing invasive species management, particularly buffel grass which is spreading across the land, through significant sites and communities, and covering places where wildflowers and bushfoods once grew.
To address an infrastructure funding shortfall, this grant will contribute to the installation of two modular buildings to complement the existing Ngururrpa ranger shed and establish a complete ranger base. The facilities include an office, accommodation for the ranger coordinator and a central location for ranger operations and Ngururrpa mob to gather.
The emerging Barra Parrapi ranger program will develop their right way desert fire management capacity, combining on Country learning, safety preparation, and practical fire skills. The project aims to build confidence and capability in delivering culturally informed fire management. Additional support will also be provided through the IDA’s Right Way Desert Fire Program.
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