Local school students recently took part in a series of activities along the banks of the Lachlan River at Condobolin to understand and learn about the traditional knowledge and values of looking after country.
Students from Condobolin Public School and St Joseph’s Parish School Condobolin took part in the Junior River Ranger Program, held at the SRA Ground, where they learned about taking care of local rivers.
The pilot program has been developed by the River Dreaming Aboriginal Corporation (RDAC), a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting these values to improve the overall health of inland waterways.
It has a focus on nurturing students to become custodians of Inland waterways and has the goal of achieving four key outcomes.
These include:
•An awareness of current environmental issues impacting our inland rivers and what they can do to bring back native fish.
•Knowledge of traditional cultural fishing practices and how this is linked to current day management to protect native fish.
•An understanding of the cultural significance of Inland rivers.
•Students also get the opportunity to actively contribute to a habitat project that integrates traditional land management values to boost biodiversity and improve the health of local waterways.
The day included discussions about the cultural significance of rivers, riparian habitat and why biodiversity matters, as well as a tree planting session supported by Landcare NSW.
The program trial is also to be rolled out at Lake Cargelligo.
Students have access to online learning activities through Junior Landcare Australia, to ensure learning continues (https://juniorlandcare.org.au/learningcentre/).
The pilot project is supported by the Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund.
River Dreaming Aboriginal Corporation is dedicated to promoting the traditional cultural knowledge and values associated with ‘looking after country’.
“We are committed to developing programs that provide opportunities for all Australians to come together to learn about our first Australians intimate connection with country, and how they have sustainably managed our unique landscapes for thousands of years,” www.rdac.org.au said.
“With a focus on creating custodianship of our Inland waterways and exploring opportunities to integrate traditional cultural knowledge into current day management practices to improve river health, our aim is to empower and support communities to improve local waterways for future generations.
“At the heart of our work is a group of dedicated volunteers who are determined to ensure country remains as it always has, a connection to the past and the place we borrow from our children.”