The TIMME team recently joined Aboriginal leaders and conservation professionals in Lutruwita/Tasmania for Healthy Country Planning training focused on Indigenous-led land and sea management.
Pictured above: Aboriginal participants from all over Australia
Landscape planners, Brooke and Mitch from Mulloon’s TIMME project team, headed to Lutruwita/Tasmania recently to join professionals from all over Australia for a week of Healthy Country Planning training.
Aboriginal representatives from the Top End, Northern and Southern WA, APY lands and South Australia were joined by non-indigenous individuals working in and with Aboriginal communities. Together they created a community of varied experiences and perspectives that brought comradery, depth and often laughter to the room.
Sticky notes were absolutely the theme of the week, as each small working group worked to make order from the chaos that emerged from each stage of the creative process. Healthy Country planning (HCP) is an indigenous led, structured approach to land and sea management, that has been developed to adapt the international Open Standards for the Practise of Conservation for application by Aboriginal Communities.
Pictured at right: Brooke presenting her teams vision and scope for their HCP
Wakawikiwayna (Maria Island) was used as the case study for the week, with each group developing an abridged HCP for the island. A mid-week field trip to Wakawikiwayna provided a welcome break from the classroom and an opportunity for deeper understanding of the natural and cultural values of the Island. Miraculously, there was not a wombat in sight, but Tasmanian devils and stunning Cape Barren geese were welcome replacements.
Over the course of five days, each team was gently guided through the steps of the planning process by the expert facilitation of the Our Common Place team. The final day was celebrated by creative presentations from each team showcasing their weeks work.
Pictured at right: Sticky note flow charts dominated the week.
This project received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
Pictured at right: Organisations working together for Healthy Country: L to R – Jim Underwood (Gondwanalink, WA), Robbie Miniter (Gnowangerup Aboriginal Corporation), Brooke Cunningham (Mulloon Institute), Mitch Lennon (Mulloon Institute).
