Caring for Country: Restoring Land and Cultural Understanding - an ecological restoration workshop at the Coorong
Caring for Country is everybody‘s responsibility and plays a key role in restoring the land and cultural understanding. Indigenous people view the land as fundamental to the wellbeing, identity and their culture. For the Ngarrindjeri people, the land is not just soil, rocks or minerals but a dynamic environment that sustains and is, in turn, sustained by people and their culture. Moreover, the Ngarrindjeri people view the land as central to their spirituality, intertwined by traditions and belief and this spirit of ‘country’ is focus to the issues of land management and are important to Indigenous people. Keeping the Coorong alive and restoring its values is a struggle to find balance between the need for water and preserving natural areas of importance for the Ngarrindjeri people, such as the Coorong Lakes.
About Coorong Biodiversity Restoration Project (CBRP)
The Coorong Biodiversity Restoration Project (CBRP) is jointly administered and operated by the Coorong Wilderness Lodge (CWL), Joan Gibbs and our dedicated volunteers. This project is entirely run by research students and volunteers. The Coorong Biodiversity Restoration Project is a research-based land restoration program developing and utilising the latest techniques in land management. The purpose of this program is to demonstrate the application of ecological principles and strategies to integrate scientific and cultural land restoration approaches, using examples of:
-Research on local ecosystems with students, lecturers and visiting experts, through a partnership with traditional and owners,
-Enhancing natural regeneration with the assistance of the local birds (emu Dromaius novaehollandiae)
-Designing sustainable ecosystems habitats for threatened species such as the orange-bellied parrot, Neophema chrysogaster, and southern emu-wren,
-Planting and monitoring a mix of local species on extensively degraded land
Objectives of this workshop
- to respect Indigenous cultural heritage including images, designs, stories, and other cultural expressions
- to facilitate cross - cultural exchange and broaden our knowledge, cultural understanding of Ngarrindjeri culture and traditions
- to give an insight into what CBRP & CWL can offer - high quality community—based cross –cultural education ecological land restoration, seed collection and plant propagation, and fire management
- to provide professional development for teachers and governments employees and members of NGO’s
- to provide on field training for students volunteers in terms of project team management, collaboration, & communication skills
- to establish and implement an ongoing cross – cultural programs and workshop in the purpose of providing another source of revenue for the Ngarrindjeri Community
Workshop Fee: $690.00 (inclusive all activities)
Workshop Fee covers: welcome to the country, notes materials, transport, camping fee, Food (breakfast, lunch, dinner – your taste bud will be entice by the delicacy of food from the orient), Field trip to the Southern End of the Coorong, Basket Weaving with Aunty Ellen, Environmental art, Kayak, Museum Cultural Tour, Bird Watching, Fire Management, and Seed Collecting
Further info please visit: http://coorongbrp.blogspot.com or http://www.jelinahaines.com
