Indigenous students gain practical skills in woodland workshop in Myrtleford forest

THE Cultural Heritage Consultancy Group (CHCG), an independent, Indigenous-owned consultancy that provides assistance to the Dhudhuroa Corporation, ran a week-long course covering drone training and the safe operation of chainsaws with the help of local farmers near Myrtleford last week. The Dhudoroa Corporation aims to equip traditional owners with the necessary skills and qualifications to protect Dhudhuroa Country through waterway assessments, forestry, cultural heritage and more. The chainsaw component held last week from Monday to Wednesday focused on forestry and providing safe and certified training to members who aim to contribute to cultural heritage management for the community, developers and rangers. "The main aim is to educate the participants to care for and maintain forest tracks," said course facilitator Ralf Boyke. "They'll also learn about managing non-native plants and planning regeneration work." Nwayi Moore, from the Wambawamba and Dhudoroa people, was looking forward to get some experience to safely harvest firewood out in the bush. "We all think we know what to do with a chainsaw," said Brayden Williams, from the Waradjuri, Gunai and Yorta Yorta people. "But there's more involved than you think! "I hope to gain a better understanding of working with a chainsaw and get a bit of life experience; the course will help open up more job opportunities, too." Danielle Mullins, from the Wurundjeri people, was grateful for the opportunity to get out onto Yorta Yorta country. "We can spend some time with other family and bond while we gain some more knowledge of modern environmental care," she said. Alpine Logging managing director, Dale Mitchell, said this course has been in the works for approximately 12 months. "We often help the CHCG by providing some services, in this case, some forest areas to do their training in," Mr Mitchell said. "Other times it's to provide advice for environment and forest-harvesting management. "It's good to give the students the opportunity to get some practical experience so they can get training for their licences." The course also included a drone training workshop, held from Thursday to Saturday last week. This enabled Dhudhuroa members to learn how to capture aerial photos of the land: essential for cultural heritage mapping and reference. "Dhudhuroa has been a significant pillar of movement in the North East, striving to bring a fresh wave of tourism while also boosting employment opportunities," said CHCG consultant, Tekiri 'Tee' Whana. "Dhudhuroa has been working closely with us to reduce wait times and costs of cultural heritage management plans while ensuring the protection and respect of traditional owners’ heritage. "The community has been incredibly supportive, as shown by Dale’s assistance and the ongoing support from the Wodonga region, who have consistently provided accommodation. "We feel this is a great opportunity to highlight the progress being made, especially in preparation for treaty talks in 2025. "Dhudhuroa is hopeful through treaty negotiations that they'll be able to increase employment and economic opportunities for the region. "This has been proven overseas, where a recent bank of Canada study found that those regions that had First Nations Treaties in place had higher rates of economic growth and importantly, high minimum wages than those that didn't."

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