KJ NEWSLETTER - VOL 27 - JULY ISSN (PRINT) ISSN (ONLINE)

Transcription

1 PAGE 1 PAGE 3 PAGE 5 LOOKING AFTER OUR BILBIES INCENDIARY BURNING AND CULTURAL MAPPING MONITORING WATERHOLES IN THE DESERT PAGE 10 FROM THE SOUTH WEST TO THE NORTH EAST PAGE 13 MARSUPIAL MOLES, BILBIES AND A NEW WATERHOLE KJ NEWSLETTER - VOL 27 - JULY ISSN (PRINT) ISSN (ONLINE)

2 LOOKING AFTER OUR BILBIES KJ In May the Parnngurr women rangers went to Punmu to assist with a mankarr (bilby) survey and receive training in some scientific ways to track mankarr. Alisson Bolden from Parks Victoria also joined the team for the week as part of an exchange program. Alisson mentored Jigalong ranger Grant Finlay in Victoria over the previous summer working with turtles. It was a busy week with 15 fauna monitoring plots completed and several sensor cameras setup, checked and reset. Both ranger teams practiced both traditional and contemporary methodologies during the week. Ten of the 15 sites had fresh presence of mankarr. Several sites had tracks and scats for baby mankarr and a good range of other ages were also present. Interestingly three sites had signs of fox, which seemed to be a higher occurrence than usual. A sensor camera caught one fox visiting a burrow and the nearby feeding area of an adult male mankarr. The ranger teams will continue to monitor the mankarr populations and the presence of predators such as foxes. Cover Page: Nancy Chapman up close with a kipara. This page. Main photo: Parnngurr and Punmu women rangers camp out to monitor distant fauna plots. Above left: Sandra and Renette measure a set of mankarr tracks to determine the size of the animal. Left: Leah, Renette, Danita, Sophie, Sandra, Renette and Alisson prepare to setup a sensor camera at a mankarr burrow. Above: Mankarr and fox captured on a sensor camera. 1

3 The Martu Living Deserts Project is a conservation project of global significance with major social, cultural and economic benefits for Martu people. Spanning an area twice the size of Tasmania, the project assists the Martu people of the Western Desert to continue their remarkable connection to country by combining modern scientific land management with traditional indigenous cultural practices. A partnership between BHP Billiton (BHP), Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) and The Nature Conservancy Australia (TNC), the project conserves part of the world s most intact desert. Through the project, men and women Martu ranger teams work together with scientists to restore traditional burning practices, control feral pests, rehabilitate water holes and protect threatened species like bilbies and rock-wallabies. LAND USE OCCUPANCY MAPPING Senior Martu women and younger women in Parnngurr have been working closely with Nyaparu (Sarah) Watson collecting information about resource use in pujiman (bushman) days through to kuwarri (today). Watson is documenting the change in plants, insects and animals used by Martu around the Pintupintu Creek, Winukurrujunu, Yulpu and Parnngurr Rockhole area. Kumpaya, Ngamaru, Karnu, Nola, Noreena, Carol, EB, Lizzie and Waka all helped by taking Watson to both pujiman and modern day camps and showing her places where they have collected food species and other resources. This includes areas where there are plants that are good for food, grasses for basket making, good hunting places, and where honey bees and lunki (witchetty grubs) are collected. This information will be made into maps for Martu later this year. A PROJECT OF GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE The Martu Living Deserts Project provides significant employment opportunities for Martu to look after their culture and country. KJ is the single largest employer of Martu people and provides permanent and casual employment opportunities for in excess of 250 Martu. The strong connections that remain between Martu and their country provide a unique opportunity to preserve comprehensive, traditional knowledge of Martu culture and heritage; leave a legacy of sustainability in Australia; and achieve conservation success on a truly global scale. With support from BHP and conservation and capacitybuilding expertise from TNC, this collaboration has provided a model that can be replicated around the world. As opportunities for creating sustainable landscapes within Indigenous communities and elsewhere continue to arise, this model is successfully demonstrating that leveraging private investment in conservation can lead to favourable outcomes for all. 2 Top right: EB and Ngamaru looking for parnajarrpa. Above right: Lizzie and Carol at a nanungu (native currant) tree. Right: Ngamaru, Nola, Karnu and Kumpaya at Yulpu.

4 AERIAL INCENDIARY BURNING AND CULTURAL MAPPING KJ 2015 is the first year that KJ has done aerial incendiary burning from a helicopter. In June, with near perfect conditions of cool winds and still nights, all the ranger teams got a taste of how this type of burning could help to look after country that is hard for rangers to access by road. The first day of burning saw the helicopter fly from Parnngurr to the Durba Hills. This only took 45mins, when by road it takes all day! Rangers had a chance to discuss a plan over maps, and look at country before waru man and Gable went up and lit several fires from the air. These burns went well, leaving patches of vegetation behind. The fires went out on the first night, so didn t get too big in this important area. The next day, the helicopter went out with the Parnngurr rangers to Warntili claypan. The men and women camped there for two nights, and everyone got a turn in the helicopter to see how it worked. There are quite a lot of patches of old spinifex out there. There were some areas that could be seen that had been burnt by hot summer wildfires. Seeing this makes everyone sure that patch burning and putting in fire breaks in the cool months is good for country. The helicopter was also used to complete some cultural mapping. The elders made an attempt to find Jiman but unfortunately it could not be found. The group worked together and recorded a more detailed walking route for that area. With Ngamaru s help the rangers will hopefully find the rockhole on the next attempt. Last but not least, the Punmu rangers had a turn to look after the country around the salt lakes, towards Karlamilyi and around the Throssel Range area to the west. The burning went well, and the old people were very happy to see so much country being looked after. While the burning was happening with the chopper, the rangers worked to put in fire breaks around the community. 3

5 Leigh from Department of Parks and Wildlife was there to help and together with the Punmu rangers made a plan and the work was quickly done. Everyone was very happy to see one side of the community protected from fires, with plans to make sure the other side gets done soon. The Punmu rangers conducted a successful mapping exercise with Nancy, Mulyatingki, Gladys and Rena. The ladies managed to locate and ground-truth two waterholes that were important places for pujiman, Januwa and Karlajartu. Both of these places were visited by Nancy and Mulyatingki in their youth. The rangers were also able to get more detail of the waterholes surrounding both these sites, as well as some in the Duck Pool area that the rangers might be able to ground-truth in the future. Previous page. Main photo: Two fires burning into themselves, this way the fires are kept cool and less damaging. Top right: Jigalong ranger, Shannon Sampson and waru man inspect KJ s new helicopter mounted fire machine. Middle: Protection burning around Punmu community. Bottom: Parnngurr ranger team ready to do some burning. This page. Top left: Waru man and Parnngurr ranger, Lefty Robinson, inspect the fire scar map. Above left: Parnngurr rangers, EB and Jessica, provide instructions over the radio. Left: Leigh talking to the Punmu rangers about the community fire plan. Top right: Nancy mapping cultural areas in the helicopter. Above: Punmu rangers, RR, Gladys and Mudi, at Januwa. 4

6 MONITORING WATERHOLES IN THE DESERT Waterholes throughout Martu country are extremely important for Martu people culturally and spiritually as well as providing much needed freshwater for desert wildlife. The health of these waterholes is under threat from a range of factors, most significantly as a result of feral camels. All teams regularly conduct water monitoring and cleaning. The Punmu women rangers recently inspected Tuu Tuu, a spring close to Punmu. The spring was cleaned out by the men s ranger team not so long ago and has remained very clean. The women completed water testing here, with the most important test being for drink-ability. Everyone wants to keep looking after this spring regularly, along with Illyarra and Jila Jila. Main photo: An ephemeral waterway in Martu Country. Top: Punmu women rangers, Bena, Gladys and Danielle, conducting water monitoring at Tuu Tuu spring. Above: Parnngurr rangers installing new water monitoring equipment in an important water hole. Below: Punmu rangers at Kirriwirri. The Punmu and Kunawarritji men s rangers together travelled to Kirriwirri to inspect this important water source. The rangers cleaned up the mess some camels had been making. Water monitoring completed by all the ranger teams may begin to involve new methods of measuring data in the near future. Through the Martu Living Desert Project, The Nature Conservancy Australia is assisting the Parnngurr rangers with looking after waterholes through the installation of water monitoring equipment in a number of different waterholes just south of Parnngurr. With approval and assistance from the Parnngurr ranger team, TNC Lead Scientist, Dr Eddie Game recently installed the new monitors that will measure dissolved oxygen every half hour for up to six months, at which time the data will be downloaded for analysis. This initial trial is to test the equipment in the harsh field conditions. If successful, the ultimate goal is to compare the health of waterholes in country actively managed by Martu with that of waterholes in much more remote parts of Martu country with little direct management. 5

7 MARTU VISIT MOREE AS PART OF THE WE DON T NEED A MAP EXHIBITION Rena Rogers, Sophie Gibbs and Levina Biljabu joined Nancy Chapman, Mulyatingki Marney, Judith Samson, Kathleen and Katalayah Sorenson from Martumili for the opening of the We Don t Need a Map exhibition in Moree. The local Kamilaroi people welcomed Martu to their country with a song and dancing performed by the local school children. During the exhibition opening week Levina gave a presentation about bush tucker to a group of school students. The women rangers gave a presentation about their work and how they look after Martu country. The audience was captivated and asked lots of interesting questions. At a second exhibition opening at Yaama Ganu gallery, Levina translated stories from Nancy and Mulyatingki for the audience. These trips provide great opportunities for the Martu women to practice their public speaking skills. Their confidence is growing each and every time. Through the week in Moree the Martu group enjoyed basket weaving with local artists, sharing a BBQ with new friends, enjoying free oranges on the banks of the Gwydir River, a dip in the Moree Artesian hot springs and the big city lights of Brisbane. The next stop for the exhibition tour is the Gold Coast. For more details go to Top right: The Kamilaroi mob with Martu. Above right: RR looking at the land management posters. Right: Mulyatingki picking oranges at our hosts farm. Below: Levina presenting to a group of school students. 6

8 USING WARU TO LOOK AFTER COUNTRY Above: Jigalong rangers, Bimbi Samson, Clinton Samson and LJ Jeffries, working on making an edge to burn off at Kaalpi. Far left: Punmu ranger, Minyawu Miller, putting fire into country. Left: Punmu rangers, Nancy, Shaylene and Levina, tracking through fresh waru. Below: Punmu ranger, Levina points out a mulyamiji latrine that is well-protected and has been heavily used over a long period of time. Bottom: Jigalong rangers put in a fuel reduction burn on the Canning Stock Route. Good conditions for burning in April saw waru Man (Gareth Catt) join the Punmu women rangers on country to assist with planning and burning for habitat protection for mulyamiji (great desert skink), mankarr (greater bilby) and langamarlu (mulgara). The burning also creates fresh nyurnma (burnt ground) for the wilyki (seed) these animals use for food to germinate in future. One location meant an opportunity to hunt lunki (witchetty grubs) and another that was done with the men s ranger team allowed the women to do some more extensive burns with drip torches. Plenty of discussion happened around waru and mulyamiji burrow systems. A survey of old and new locations turned up a good number of freshly active burrows, almost all well-protected by large old spinifex. On close inspection an area that had been thought to have been vacated by mulyamiji a decade ago was found to have a continuing population. This made everyone very happy that there are two separate mulyamiji areas to look after now. Punmu and 33 men s ranger teams have also been using waru to look after country while they are out. The teams have been keen to keep learning how modern scientific ways can be used with traditional ways to get the best result for country. The Jigalong Rangers and waru man made a trip to Kaalpi to check how protected it was from hot summer wildfires. The rangers decided that the northern side of the range was the most vulnerable, and so made a waru break that they could burn off which meant cleaning up the track for nearly 1.5km to stop the fire jumping across in the wind. They all worked extremely hard, and the result means that this important rock wallaby habitat will be protected for the next few years. The team saw a few rock wallabies which was a great reminder that these beautiful animals are doing well. 7

9 EIGHT FOCUS AREAS The Jigalong women s ranger team held planning discussions early in the year to define their work for Eight different works areas were identified: 1. sharing their work with Jigalong community; 2. fire management training; 3. threatened species tracking and monitoring; 4. waterhole maintenance and monitoring; 5. flora and seed camp planning and preparation; 6. pest animal monitoring, especially camel; 7. weed management and training, especially buffel grass; and 8. junior ranger program From these discussions the women are becoming more conscious of a broader range of activities and are constantly on the lookout for feral animals, buffel grass and bush tucker. The women rangers invited one of the primary school teachers along on a trip as part of the community engagement focus. The teacher asked lots of questions about the program and the women told her all about the water monitoring process, what they are looking for and what the results mean. The Jigalong women rangers have also been very keen to bring on board the community s HAAC workers to assist with some of the elders on country. SHY LITTLE QUOLLS This support for the more Senior Martu, will enable older Martu women to get out on country, allowing Martu and country to be healthy. Both opportunities have and will provide important opportunities for others living in community to see the great work the Jigalong women s ranger team do. Top: Jigalong women rangers, Louise, Moranda, May and Charmaine, conducting water monitoring. Above: Water testing with KatMac, Delphine, Kathleen, Pamela, Rangelina and Beth. Below: Parnngurr ranger, Jarrod Kadibil, checking a wuminji trap. The Parnngurr men s ranger team went on a joint trip with the Department of Parks and Wildlife to trap wuminji (quolls) which were caught on cameras late last year. The weather was very challenging and it rained for several days. However, the rangers stayed in good spirit and carried on with the work. The team set up about 30 traps with bait which had to be checked for wuminji early in the mornings. Unfortunately no wuminji were trapped. It might have been a bit too wet for them too, and they preferred to stay in their ngurra (home)! Another trip will be planned to see if the shy little wuminji can be trapped and monitored. 8

10 WILYKI CAMP KJ All three women ranger teams are getting excited about a four day camp in August. The camp will be an invaluable opportunity for Martu women to share knowledge associated with flora, including knowledge to do with certain plant seed and medicine plants. All three teams have been collecting a variety of seed which will be used to demonstrate pujiman preparation and processing practices at the camp. The Punmu ladies will be bringing kalaru (Tecticornia verrucosa) seed, the Parnngurr ladies lungkurn (Acacia dictyophleba) seed and the Jigalong women will take walpurin (Capparis lasiantha) after a request from some of the Parnngurr women as it is more endemic in Jigalong country. The Jigalong ladies have also harvested warnta (Corymbia sp.) and parlpirr (Acacia ancistrocarpa). A great proportion of the work this year for the Jigalong women rangers has centred on finding and preparing for this camp. Four walpurin plants were harvested over three months, and warnta was gathered from a few sources. Parlpirr is very abundant and need only be gathered at the time when it is needed, as it is used relatively fresh. Fiona Walsh (Ethnoecologist, CSIRO) will be attending the camp, bringing her specialised skills and knowledge to facilitate the workshop and share her knowledge from working with the Martu back in the 1980 s. Top left: Jigalong women rangers, Tanisha, Quanita and Pamela, collecting walpurin. Above left: Punmu women rangers, Sophira, Mulyatingki and Nancy, collecting kalaru. Left: Kumpaya and Ngamaru preparing lungkurn. Below: Punmu women rangers Cynthia, Danielle, Levina, Julieanne and Debra check the buffel site. Bottom: Punmu women rangers, Janelle, Shaylene and Mulyatingki, hand-pull buffel grass. BUFFEL GRASS BE GONE! The Punmu women rangers travelled back to a test area that had been hand-cleared of buffel grass one year ago during a recent visit on country. The team were pleased to find that the 3m2 area was surprisingly clear, though there were some small plants returning. Completed as a test site, the women will continue work here in future to try and rid the area of buffel. 9

11 KJ LEADERSHIP PROGRAM: FROM THE SOUTH WEST TO THE NORTH EAST Above: First day of the hike cruising on the beach. Below: Talking with the Western Bulldog Football Club board of directors. Bottom: Presenting at the National Native Title Conference. It has been another busy three months for the KJ Leadership team. It started with another hike in the Southwest with Mclean and Lefty taking the newest members of the leadership program on what s become the right of passage for participants. The group walked 30km with fully laden packs, bed rolls and hiking food over three days, heading south from Yallingup. Not long after returning, Stewart, Butler and PJ headed back to Perth to deliver some cultural awareness for the staff at Freehills, Herbert and Smith Lawyers. Twentyfive lawyers attended the course which ran for two days. The course covered Martu history and the KJ Leadership program. The feedback was very positive. Next it was off to Melbourne. Last year the leadership group visited Melbourne to learn about Not for Profit companies. This year it was all about profit companies. During the week they spoke with people from companies like: Geelong Football Club, Western Bulldogs Football Club, BHP Billiton, Newcrest Mining and Jetstar. It was a busy week with meetings every day. Often the group were meeting with the directors and senior managers for these organisations. They learnt a lot about directors for companies. The group asked questions such as: What sort of people do you need to be on a board of directors? and What sort of skills do you need to make sure you have amongst any board of directors?. The group presented on several occasions and also showed the KJ 2014 movie to a large audience at the BHP Billiton headquarters as part of Reconciliation week. At the end of the week they got to walk with Michael Long onto the MCG before returning to their seats and watching Essendon play Richmond as part of the Dreamtime series. It was a great way to finish off a very busy week in Melbourne. The bags were barely unpacked before some of the team were joined by the second leadership group bound for Cape York. After arriving in Cairns the group gave a guest appearance as speakers on leadership at the National Native Title Conference. This year s theme for the conference was Leadership, Legacy and Opportunity. Seven of the team representing the KJ Leadership program stood up in front of a large audience and delivered an impressive presentation. It was the story of what the leadership program represents to the guys so far. 10

12 People from everywhere turned up to comment on how well these guys told their story. It was a big recognition for the group and the journey they are on. After the conference the 12 participants travelled from Cairns to Hopevale (north of Cooktown) visiting four different Indigenous ranger groups. They had a chance to tell their story again, but also to listen to the many ideas that other groups are developing. The leadership participants were taken to see some spectacular country by these groups. Everything from Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs), ranger work, tourism opportunities to junior ranger programs were talked about. The group were made very welcome wherever they travelled. We would like to make a special notes of thanks to the GRMPA staff and Brian Singleton, the Kuku Yalanji mob and Yabalbina rangers, in particular Alf, Robyn and Phil, the Archer Point, Yuku Baja Muliku Rangers, in particular Larissa and Mick. The trip ended with a final visit to the Hopevale Congress Rangers, where Harold and his team treated us to a feed of turtle before we had to dash off back to Cairns to catch the plane back to Newman. Above: Leadership group with the Western Bulldog Football Club. Below clockwise from left: Kuku Yalanji Rangers showing the leadership group how they run their guided walks for tourists; Nyari Morgan thanking Brian Singleton from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA); Yuku Baja Muliku rangers showing the group their turtle rehabilitation facility at Archer Point; the leadership group with the Hopevale Rangers on their last day in Far North Queensland. 11

13 HOW DOES MARTU HUNTING AND BURNING AFFECT LIFE IN THE DESERT? Anthropologists and Principal Researchers Rebecca Bliege Bird and Doug Bird with students from Stanford University USA, are working together with Parnngurr community and the women s ranger teams to carry out research looking at Waru-kungurra How does Martu hunting and burning affect life in the Desert? In April, and coming up in July, the women will participate in various parts of this research, mostly in completing plot surveys looking for threatened species, reptiles and feral animals. The plot surveys are different to the current surveys the teams complete using Cybertracker. In the surveys conducted for Stanford, women go hunting and different software and hardware capture data about animals and country. Martu and the researchers have chosen varied hunting areas to be monitored, including areas that are heavily used and areas that are rarely visited in different habitat. LOOKING AFTER TOURISTS Early in the season the Parnngurr men s ranger team visited a number of Canning Stock Route camp sites to get them ready for the tourist season. The activities involved pumping old water out of the wells in order to let fresh water flow back into them and also weed management. Water samples have been taken from several hand pumps and wells in the area and were sent to Perth to be analysed. The tourists camping at Pinpi (Durba Springs) were invited to a movie and information night hosted by the Jigalong rangers. Everybody loved this special night under the desert stars. Top right: EB and Shaggy with a lunkurta. Above left: Parnngurr rangers pumping out the well at Tiwa. Above: Tourists enjoying the hospitality of the Jigalong rangers at Pinpi. 12

14 MARSUPIAL MOLES, BILBIES AND A NEW WATERHOLE One of the highlights of the Parnngurr ranger season so far this year was a visit to Warnturr rockhole. Four vehicles with 21 people went cross-country to an area which hasn t been visited for a very long time. The driving was quite challenging at times with long days in the cars. The aim of the trip was to create a track so that, in future, a return to country trip with the elders could follow. Along the way the group visited Kalypa, Jilpil and Jaturti. At Jilpil the rangers managed to locate a pujiman soak. Late one the afternoon waru man (Gareth Catt) and Jarett, Parnngurr ranger, went to light some small fires around Jilpil. As they were walking, Jarret called out that he had found some strange tracks. They were interesting tracks and the elders came to have a look. They confirmed them, as karrakatul (marsupial mole). These are rare animals that don t come to the surface often, but may have popped up because of the recent rain. Lots of people have been talking about these tracks, it was a good find. The rangers also found some fresh mankarr (bilby) diggings and burrows on the way to Warnturr which will be monitored in the future Many old campsites were found along the route, with many beautiful jiwa and wakura (grinding stones) spotted by rangers. Between Jilpil and Warnturr claypans the teams also found a new waterhole, which was exciting and the team will be working to identify the place in the coming months. The trip went exceptionally well and everyone worked very hard in camp and on the road. The teams did some burning work along the way as well and eventually reached Warnturr rockhole for a refreshing swim on the fourth day. Top: Happy group at Warnturr. Below left: EB and Carol with a jiwa and wakurra. Below: Parnngurr ranger, Cameron, digging out Jilpil soak. 13

15 JIGALONG RANGERS WELCOME NYAPARU TWIGG Nyaparu (Peter) Twigg has recently joined the Jigalong ranger team as their new coordinator. Nyaparu has spent the last 20 years living with and working for the Spinifex People in Great Victoria Desert with the last 13 years living at Tjuntjuntjara and at Ilkurlka, an outstation to the north. Nyaparu has been excited to get to know the rangers and their extended families and the rangers have taken him out on country. The team went an overnight trip to Puntawarri and on an eight day trip to Pinpi where the team worked on the warru (rock wallaby) project as well as using a helicopter with the new incendiary machine to put some waru (fire) into the country. The ranger team has a very busy few months ahead with many more trips out on country. Welcome Nyaparu Twigg. Top: Jigalong ranger team out on country. Bottom left: Justin Watson and Errol Samson with a legless lizard. Below: Fuel reduction burn along the Canning Stock Route. 14

16 ELDERS OPENING UP COUNTRY Punmu elders together with the Punmu ranger team have made a new road that goes down the yapurra (west) side of Lake Auld, passing Mukurtu and coming out on the stock route near well 28. The old people were so happy to see country they remember from their pujiman (bushmen) days and the rangers can now get in and start to make that country healthier. Back in community the rangers spent one day with the elders making a map of country. The map was used to locate where the elders thought it was most important for the rangers to do their different types of work. This assistance from the elders is invaluable as it helps set the direction for the ranger team. KJ KULYAKARTU KALYUKU NINTI Top left: Minyawu and Nancy on the edge of Lake Auld. Above: Punmu rangers standing in their country on a map they made to talk about ranger work. The Kulyakartu trip that was planned for April was postponed as the oldest member of the family for the Kulyakartu area sadly passed away just before the trip was due to begin. This trip is now scheduled to begin on the 24th August. 15

17 TRAINING The Parnngurr women rangers have completed a number of training courses during the first half of Courses include weeds training with Greening Australia, First Aid training with St John s in Newman and firearm training with Newman Gun Club. The women will complete their weeds training in August. WANYJA Top left: Parnngurr women rangers taking part in weed training. Top right: Cleaning up around GJ Bore on the Canning Stock Route. Above left: Parnngurr women rangers completing a first aid course. Above: Proud team with their first aid certificates. Below: Mark D Lima, GIS Officer, holding a printed version of Wanyja. The Puntura-ya Ninti team has been busy entering information into Wanyja, the waterhole database. The ranger teams will be able to look at this information on their computers and print it out to take on trips. A big map of all of the waterholes in the database, over 600, has been printed. There are still many more waterholes that the rangers have to visit to record the location with a GPS so that we can make sure we have the correct location for future visits. 16

18 FUNDERS, PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS 17