Paving way for Aboriginal career in resource management
Indigenous Australians in the Mid West are being offered a leg-up to equip themselves for a career in natural resource management.
The Northern Agricultural Catchments Council is delivering a round of grants that will waive the tuition for a plant identification course at Central Regional TAFE.
The two-day course, delivered in partnership with NACC, will teach participants how to identify, collect, prepare and preserve plant specimens.
“We hope it will give Aboriginal people the skills, training and qualifications they need to develop a long-term career in natural resource management,” NACC biodiversity co-ordinator Jessica Stingemore said.
“This is the first time these grants are being offered, but we hope to offer similar grants in the future, perhaps on an annual basis.”
NACC Aboriginal program co-ordinator Bianca McNeair — a Malgana woman from Shark Bay now living in Geraldton — encouraged indigenous women particularly to apply.
“Aboriginal people have a lot to offer when it comes to caring for country,” she said.
“These training grants will allow them to broaden their employment opportunities and also add to their knowledge about caring for country.”
The course, which will be held on June 22-23, will include field trips to Chapman River Regional Park and study at Geraldton’s Batavia Coast Maritime Institute.
The grants are part of a wider project dubbed Gnow or Never: Supporting Communities to Save Melleefowl.
The cut-off for applications is May 31. To apply, email jessica.stingemore@nacc.com.au or call 9938 0106.
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