Land and Sea Planning
Land and Sea Planning articulates how an Aboriginal Community perceives its obligations to Care for Country and integrates broader social and environmental outcomes that meet Aboriginal Community objectives and Cultural Obligations.
The framework which underlies a Land and Sea Plan is integral to the success of the program. Development of the corporate framework through Aboriginal Community based Social Enterprises, the support framework with cultural, financial and career mentoring, and integration with grant based projects, Social Procurement based commercial projects for Government and private sector land managers and corporate philanthropic involvement support Aboriginal Communities to achieve their Cultural objectives and obligations while delivering social and environmental outcomes. The use of this process allows for Cultural Heritage, Social and Community values, to be incorporated and valued as part of the implementation of grants and commercial contracts.
Caring for Country has extensive experience in development and implementation Catchment wide Land and Sea Plans with Aboriginal Communities that allow for the integration of Social, Cultural and Environmental outcomes and reporting. Caring for Country utilises innovative ways to integrate Social and Cultural outcomes reporting with environmental outcomes reporting using Geographic Information Systems and databases that provide support for integrating Aboriginal Community Social and Cultural outcomes into grant and commercial contract development and implementation.
Aboriginal Ranger Programs
Aboriginal Peoples Social and Cultural wellbeing is supported and enhanced through access to Country and opportunities to engage in Cultural supportive activities. As Aboriginal People participating in Aboriginal Ranger Programs make the connection between the work they undertake as part of an Aboriginal Ranger Program and their Social and Cultural responsibilities and obligations, they develop a stronger sense of identity and the value of work they are undertaking and gain a greater sense of Social and Cultural Wellbeing.
Caring for Country recognises the need to provide a more holistic approach to the implementation of these programs to not just have Aboriginal People planting trees, but provide opportunities for Aboriginal People to reconnect with Country in their own time and way. The provision of Culturally appropriate Cultural Mentoring, Career Guidance with the integrated support of innovative Culturally based training to support Aboriginal People to achieve their Cultural Obligations and Community objectives in Caring for Country.
Culturally Appropriate Training
Training that is socially and Culturally supportive and delivered on the job and in the bush is essential to the success of any Aboriginal Ranger program. Usual training delivery methods don’t support Aboriginal ways of learning and sharing knowledge and don’t usually deliver learning materials that support development of a Cultural understanding of Aboriginal Cultural connections to the learning outcomes.
The approach to training that Caring for Country has developed is based in delivery of culturally embedded learning materials that integrates TAFE Learning Outcomes with Work Health and Safety inductions and processes, creating a cost effective and integrated work place based training programs that go beyond building work place skills, but reach into supporting identity, life skills and realising cultural obligations to Country.