Healing Country in Woorabinda

Recently, the Woorabinda community came together to celebrate the launch of the Woorabinda Healthy Country Plan and the appointment of a team of five local rangers.

Greening Australia spoke to community members and other representatives from the Woorabinda Project Reference Group in the lead up to the event, to gather their reflections on the progress being made towards co-designing pathways to First Nations-led employment, enterprise and healing Country.

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This event celebrated milestones that have been achieved as part of the Queensland Indigenous Land Conversation Project (QILCP), which sees First Nations Peoples, Greening Australia and BHP/BMA collaborating to heal Country in the Great Barrier Reef catchments.

To date, the QILCP has achieved the following milestones for Woorabinda:

• Established a project reference group in the Woorabinda community.
• Undertaken a Healthy Country planning process with the Woorabinda Project Reference Group to create a management plan for the Woorabinda Rangers Program.
• Secured funding from the Queensland Government for five local ranger positions.
• Undertaken works within Woorabinda to fix eroding gullies on pastoral properties as part of the Fitzroy Water Quality Project.
• Organised for Central Queensland University to deliver accredited training in conservation and ecosystem management and weed management for the Woorabinda Rangers.
• Delivered a series of workshops with the Woorabinda community on Traditional Fire Management, in partnership with Firesticks Alliance.

Newly appointed Woorabinda Rangers taking part in a cultural burning to help launch the Woorabinda Healthy Country Plan. Credit: Melissa Mills.

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