Taking the Ranger Roadshow across Country
Our journey as Ranger Coordinators began with a big task: taking the first WA Mirning Ranger Roadshow on the road.
We set out across WA Mirning Country to invite expressions of interest from community members who wanted to become land or marine Rangers. Nothing like this had been done for WA Mirning before, and we felt proud and excited to be part of such an important moment.
Our first stops were across the border in South Australia. In Ceduna and Port Lincoln, we met with community members and shared the opportunities that were on the way. Everywhere we went, there was a real sense of excitement. People were enthusiastic about seeing mob return to Country and take an active role in caring for land and sea.
On the journey back, we stopped at Wanteen Reserve to collect cameras that had been left in the field to record local fauna. Looking through the footage was a highlight. The cameras had captured dingos, turkeys, feral cats and foxes, as well as several birds and marsupials. These were a glimpse of the wildlife moving across Country when no one was watching. We took the time to put some cameras around Weebubie Cave to start some data collection to work towards a management plan in the future and check in on the Elders that were involved in whale monitoring along the coast.
The final stretch of the Roadshow took us through Western Australia, with visits to Kalgoorlie, Norseman and Esperance. Once again, the turnout was strong, and many WA Mirning members expressed an interest in working for WA Mirning. While in Norseman, we also had the opportunity to head out on Country with the Ngadju Rangers and see their program in action. We joined them for the pre-start, checked waterholes and watched how they logged off at the end of the day. It was inspiring to see a well-established Ranger program operating on the ground. It’s something we can learn from and aspire to. The Ngadju Rangers welcomed us generously, and we are sure there will be much more to share and learn together.
By the end of the Roadshow, we had engaged with more than 37 WA Mirning members and received over 20 applications for land and marine Ranger positions. At every stop, our message was the same: this is only the beginning. We encouraged anyone who was not successful this time not to lose heart, because more opportunities will open as the program grows.
Very soon, WA Mirning Rangers will be out on Country, caring for land and sea and building a program for the future. This Roadshow marked the first step in that journey – and it is an exciting time for all of WA Mirning.
– Andrew Beck, Ranger Coordinator