Kleinfelder and Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council (WLALC) established a traineeship program to provide Worimi Rangers with training in land management, flora and fauna survey and identification, GIS and cultural burning. The traineeship program has now been running successfully for 3 years.

Developing the Program

Kleinfelder Ecologists developed the program to communicate the local ecology whilst developing the Rangers skills and interest. The program’s primary focus has been to provide the Rangers with the skills necessary to understand the ecology and to manage their lands in perpetuity as they see fit. Of prime importance is the development and implementation of a Dune Rehabilitation project. The local dunes are being eroded due to the destabilisation of the fore, hind and fixed dunes, possibly starting from vehicular tracks and exacerbated by a catastrophic historical fire event.

Implementing the Program

Kleinfelder has developed a range of ecological projects that have helped to develop skills and understanding of the management of the local ecology. These include:

• Dune rehabilitation project
• Flora and fauna survey methodologies and assessment
• Data management and GIS
• In house botanical library, microscope and identification tools
• Anabat analysis, infrared camera trapping and analysis
• Cultural burning
• Weed management identification and treatment methods
• Seed collection and storage
• Plant nursery hygiene and plant propagation

Project Results

The traineeship program has been successful in teaching the Rangers a range of skills, enabling them to make the most informed decisions about the ecology of their lands. Kleinfelder professionals and Worimi Rangers worked to erect sand trap fencing in strategic locations to restrict access and encourage regeneration.  Installed Jute and brush matting and planted 500 tubestock on the dune face. Photo monitoring points were installed with a management plan detailing future monitoring requirements to ensure that the dune continues to improve.

Project Details

Location:
New South Wales

Owner:
Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council (WLALC)