Gordonvale
- Ranger team
- Jawajawa Rangers
- Host organisation
- Dulabed and Malanbarra Yidinji Aboriginal Corporation
The Jawajawa rangers care for their traditional country, a cultural living landscape, around Gordonvale, within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, They have a cultural obligation to make sure that spiritual, physical and social wellbeing is intricately interwoven with the landscape, to ensure a sustainable, healthy and prosperous future for younger generations.
Jawajawa rangers’ work includes:
- documenting and recording cultural knowledge from collected field data and other sources
- cultural burns and fire management, and monitoring cultural indicators consistent with the Buri (fire) plan
- recording and managing cultural sites such as bora grounds and cultural tracks, and documenting cultural values of significant sites for future management and tourism opportunities
- monitoring pest plant and animals, including Siam weed and gall fly, implementing control methods, and monitoring the health of Country
- undertaking fauna surveys including camera trapping and spotlighting
- engaging with young people and Elders to transfer traditional knowledge through a language program in local primary schools, and on-country activities focussed on language and culture.