The Peel-Harvey Catchment Council recently held a cultural induction for two Green Army teams at a significant indigenous site near Pinjarra.
Mark Salmon and Karrie-Anne Kearing of the Murray Districts Aboriginal Association provided an audio tour along the banks and foreshore of the Murray River, the location of the 1834 Battle of Pinjarra/Massacre Site.
The tour ended with the team members making an offering a handful of sand into the river to introduce themselves to the Waugal (spirits).
The audio recounted the significance of the river and the site, particularly the battle which took place between European soldiers and the Bindjareb tribe.
Green Army team member Martin Nilsen said the content of the audio tour had impressed him.
“Personally, I found it rather moving because my mum had an adopted Aboriginal brother who died before I was born,” he said.
“I’m from Rockingham, and to learn about something like this so to close home is very important to me.”
The Green Army teams, made up of young people aged 17 and 24, gain practical training and experience in Natural Resource Management while being paid to work in local environments.
The Green Army is a nation-wide program run by the Department of Environment (DoE) which provides practical, hands-on environmental services in communities.
Community organisations, Landcare groups, natural resource management organisations, environment groups, Indigenous organisations, local councils and others can apply for a Green Army grant to start new teams.
PHCC chairman Andy Gulliver said the Bridging the Gap Green Army teams will work on nearly 100 projects within the Peel-Harvey region from May 2016 to June 2017 comprising wetlands, bushlands, estuaries, foreshores, public land and private property stretching from Serpentine-Jarrahdale down to Harvey.
Some Green Army projects will aid efforts to repair the landscape following the recent fires in nearby Waroona.
The project is supported by PHCC through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.
Round five Green Army grants are now open, and close on Thursday June 16.
Organisations are able to apply under Stream 1 (multi-project proposals) which assesses three to 15 projects, while Stream 2 assesses one or two potential projects.
More informaiton can be found at the Green Army website, www.environment.gov.au/land/green-army.
