The Badimia Bandi Barna Aboriginal Corporation Elders, Directors and Members respectfully acknowledge our Badimia Ancestors on whose country we conduct our business
Warbarl (Malleefowl) Project
Who: Northern Agricultural Catchments Council WA, Rangelands NRM, Western Mulga Rangers, Bush Heritage Australia, Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Where: Ninghan Station, Charles Darwin Reserve, Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary
The launch of the BBBAC Healthy Country Plan, initiated a really exciting project that allowed BBBAC to work in collaboration with organisations Rangelands NRM and Western Mulga Pty Ltd, with support from the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC), Ninghan Station IPA (Indigenous Protected Area), Bush Heritage Australia and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
Starting with a brainstorming session in January 2022, supported by a facilitator, Hamish Morgan, the BBBAC Board started to set goals to achieve Healthy Country Plan targets that could be carried out on barna, and that offered opportunities for young ones.
Out of these discussions, work started across three properties – Ninghan Station, Charles Darwin Reserve and Mount Gibson Sanctuary - with four Aboriginal Rangers from Western Mulga Pty Ltd led by a Badimia person as supervisor, working for one week at each location on wabarl habitat protection activities.
Key works included fire management and mitigation (to manage fire risks such as long grass), invasive species trapping and support for improved management through monitoring work for the protection of the wabarl.
Western Mulga is an Aboriginal Business which has the systems and equipment to ensure a quality safe service to complete the project, and BBBAC is grateful for their work.
The Rangers also worked to support conservation of heritage sites at each of the locations.
With positive feedback from participants, there are now discussions on a new stage for this project, which further continues the important relationships BBBAC has developed with the partners on this project.
When reviewing their link to the Wabarl project, the BBBAC have noted alignments with their Strategic Plan and Healthy Country Plan. Below is a brief snapshot of their journey so far.
With the wabarl being a threatened species, this work is for the Badimia kids, so they will be able to see the wabarl in its natural habitat rather than as an extinct species in a glass case!
The cultural Badimia site protection and conservation projects support healthy country and culture and has strong links to the Healthy Country Plan.
This project supports the Healthy Country targets of Badimia culture and cultural places and Badimia people, by having Elders on site when out on barna and discussing site and land management. It also supports targets Plants when talking about management of invasive weeds and Animals, as the Project Team’s purpose was protection of the wabarl and its habitat, as it is an animal/bird that is threatened and in need of special conservation.
Supporting key strategies for BBBAC, two Badimia Elders (BBBAC Board Members and Members) were engaged with the Rangers at each of the locations, demonstrating good governance through commitment to the project, partnerships and people visiting our barna, a strong Badimia voice in asserting an interest in barna and sharing the Badimia story and cultural knowledge but also connecting with the work being done by Teams of young Aboriginal Rangers and Supervisors, and guiding cultural safety. There was also an opportunity to support jobs and business development towards sustainability by encouraging the work done by Western Mulga and learning what would work for Badimia people.
'Gnow or Never: Supporting Communities to Save Mallefowl'.
The work done by the Rangers and BBBAC, links back to a larger project ‘Gnow or Never: Supporting Communities to Save Malleefowl’.
NACC through funding from the Australian Government, are working towards securing the stability of the wabarl in it’s natural habitat, by engaing with local communities to promote conservation.
What makes work for the wabarl so important is its status as a threatened species.
NACC has funded additional camps on barna for Badimia people, that focussed on the wabarl in the wild, and offered really important educational insights for participants.