Members and staff of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation congratulated fourteen Djurrubu Rangers who last month graduated with their Certificate II in Conservation and Land Management from Charles Darwin University.
The graduation ceremony took place at Djidbijidbi College on Wednesday, 22 September. The qualifications are a huge achievement for the Djurrubu Rangers and staff who have worked with four training organisations over the past 11 months, completing all units on Mirarr Country.
The diversity of the Djurrubu Rangers work program provided a variety of practical learning experiences supporting the students to succeed in their final assessments in many units. Elective subjects included Indigenous land management studies, fire management, weed management, operating in remote areas and many small engine and driving qualifications.
Djurrubu Rangers is a group of Bininj and Daluk (Aboriginal men and women) working on Country to provide land management services across the Northern section of Kakadu. The group is funded by Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation and works to engage local Bininj in management of land and cultural heritage and to provide ongoing training and employment.
These first-time qualifications for Djurrubu are happening as Jabiru makes the transition from mining town to regional service centre and tourism hub.
The work of Djurrubu Rangers is part of the Mirarr vision for Jabiru to become ‘nationally recognised for excellence and best practice in Indigenous land management knowledge and employment and supporting Bininj living on country’, as well as for ‘research in North Australian biodiversity, ecology, education, indigenous language, cultural heritage, and archaeology and a gateway for
education-based tourism’.
