Aboriginal Partnerships Program

What is the Aboriginal Partnerships Program?

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program aims to increase the participation of Aboriginal people in managing landscapes, improve awareness and understanding of Aboriginal culture, and protect Aboriginal heritage. The program works closely with a range of partner organisations to deliver activities across the region.

Working with Traditional Owners

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program works with Traditional Owners in the Murraylands and Riverland region through the establishment of working groups with Aboriginal organisations like Mannum Aboriginal Community Association Incorporated, River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, and Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation.

Aboriginal training and employment projects

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program works with a range of Aboriginal, government and community group partners to support a range of Aboriginal training and employment projects across the region. These projects aim to build people’s skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience, and provide employment opportunities for Aboriginal people to participate in managing the Murraylands and Riverland landscape. These projects include:

• Riverland Rangers Program
• Gerard Country Rangers Project
• Monarto Zoo Aboriginal Learning on Country Project

Riverland Working on Country

The Riverland Rangers Program is a project based at Calperum Station that employs Aboriginal rangers to undertake land management activities and training.

The results of a recent evaluation found that rangers have developed increased capacity, pride and confidence, their families have experienced an increased sense of pride and financial security, and the rangers have become positive role models within the wider Riverland Aboriginal community. Watch some of the stories by clicking on the below links:

• Troy: Working on Country - 2017
• New Rangers at Calperum - 2019

Tours and workshops

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program supports workshops and tours with Aboriginal community members to provide opportunities for input into Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board projects and processes. A range of tours and workshops have been held focusing on topics such as pest control techniques, wetland management planning, environmental watering, Mallee heritage issues and local community group projects for threatened species conservation.

Turtle project

A recent focus for the Aboriginal Partnerships Program has been engaging Aboriginal community members, groups and project teams in a large project focusing on River Murray turtles which includes community turtle mapping using the TurtleSAT app.

Raising cultural awareness

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program aims to increase the awareness and understanding of Aboriginal culture. This is important to ensure landscape managers can work effectively with Aboriginal people and groups, understand the importance of Aboriginal knowledge and involvement, and consider issues such as Aboriginal heritage protection when planning and implementing projects.

A range of activities are undertaken to increase awareness of Aboriginal culture and its links to landscape management, including coordinating cultural awareness training which is delivered by Traditional Owners, cultural sessions with schools, and supporting other programs and projects to engage and work with Aboriginal people and groups.

Protecting Aboriginal heritage

Protecting Aboriginal heritage from landscape issues and activities is a key aspect of the Aboriginal Partnerships Program. This is done by ensuring all projects consider risks to Aboriginal heritage during the earliest stages of project planning, facilitating Aboriginal input into planning processes, and supporting staff to work with Traditional Owners to manage these risks.

Lead agency

Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board

Funding partners

The Aboriginal Partnerships Program is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the Australian Government and the landscape levies.

The Riverland Rangers Program is a partnership with the Australian Landscapes Trust and is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the Australian Government.