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FOUNDATION PROJECTS

Capacity development for desert rangers

Ngururrpa Rangers

The Indigenous Land Management sector in the desert comprises ranger teams that range from well-established groups with nearly 20 years of experience to those that are just beginning their journey.

Our goal is to elevate every ranger to provide the best possible environmental stewardship of the desert. We aim to foster a best-practice network where rangers can exchange knowledge, build relationships, and support each other to strengthen the sector.

Our primary strategy for achieving this is through facilitating local peer-to-peer learning through supporting Indigenous ranger exchanges and bringing rangers together from across the desert for significant professional development events, such as the annual Indigenous Desert Alliance conference.

Outcomes of these initiatives are seen in enhanced professional networks of rangers, ensuring that they have access to the relationships and best practices required for effectively managing and protecting our desert landscapes.

Project Profiles

What it takes to build a thriving ranger program

What it takes to build a thriving ranger program

In September 2024, Barra Parrapi Aboriginal Corporation launched its first-ever ranger program, beginning with a workshop at Morapoi Station that brought together 19 participants, including 12 Traditional Owners.

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Tjiwarl Drone Training and Mapping Project

Tjiwarl Drone Training and Mapping Project

How do you create good, smooth video content with a drone? How do you use drones to make 3D models of rocky outcrops and other landforms? What do Malleefowl nests look like from the air, and how can you capture coordinates to later inspect on foot? These are some of the questions the Tjiwarl Rangers had answered during three on Country drone training workshops with a land management technology specialist Right Place Geo.

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  • Birriliburu Rangers

    Desert Internship Program

    The Indigenous land management sector needs good people to support rangers to continue to lead the way up. As Indigenous ranger programs have grown across the desert, rangers and their organisations have identified the need for better recruitment and training of ranger coordinators to support ranger team development, leadership and operational capacity.

    The Desert Internship Program responds to this challenge through providing a dedicated entry pathway into the sector that aims to attract a broader pool of talent into the sector and train interns with foundational skills to work in ranger coordinator positions.

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  • Indigenous Desert Alliance Conference

    The annual Indigenous Desert Alliance Conference is the largest annual gathering of desert rangers in Australia. At the conference we focus on strengthening our alliance, discussing matters of regional importance, sharing information, regional project development and stakeholder engagement.

Related Stories

“Learning from our neighbours” - Warnpurru Ranger Team Exchange

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Speaking up for desert Country: Desert Women Rangers Leadership Exchange

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Cultural Sharing: A two-way learning exchange

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Indigenous leaders speak up for land and water at UN Biodiversity COP15

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"This project is about helping rangers achieve and gain skills. Not ones they already know"

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