Joint Management Stories
Indigenous Ranger Achieves Personal Milestone
An Indigenous ranger keen to become a role model for his people has celebrated one of his proudest moments.
Warumungu man and Parks and Wildlife Service ranger, Jeremy Dawson, recently completed a Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management through Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, graduating in Tennant Creek on 22 June 2007.
Mr Dawson is a T1 ranger based primarily at the Davenport Ranges and Devils Marbles in the Barkly District, and his duties include flora and fauna surveys, guided walks and camp fire talks for visitors, fencing to manage feral animals and burning to prevent or limit destructive wildfires.
He and two other Indigenous rangers were part of the first group of Indigenous rangers to come through the Territory’s new Joint Parks Management arrangements, which began just over a year ago.
“I felt really good to be graduating,” Mr Dawson said.
“I just love working with Parks and Wildlife and working on my own country.
“I want to be a role model for my people and encourage other people to become a park ranger.”
Barkly region senior district ranger Jim Cruise said Mr Dawson had been great to work with and mentor.
“From our point of view it is great that we have got a traditional Warumungu man who has progressed through many different jobs to work on country and realise his ambition,” Mr Cruise said.
“We hope that Jeremy will become the role model he wants to be and gets more people to become a ranger with either the Parks and Wildlife Service or the Central Land Council so more of the younger people start working on country.
“As the opportunities come up it is vital that people make the most of them and have a go, much like Jeremy has done.”
People from the Warumungu, Kaytetye and Alyawarra clans as well as representatives from the Central Land Council and Parks and Wildlife Service attended this important day at Battery Hill.
Among the 34 people attending was Traditional Owner Lesley Foster (aka Blackhat) who spoke about the pride Mr Dawson’s achievement brought him and how he would like to see more people follow in Mr Dawson’s footsteps.
Mr Dawson’s graduation secured him a permanent T1 ranger position with Parks and Wildlife, meaning he will now take on more responsibility, such as conducting and supervising the flexible employment program, as well as mentoring a CLC ranger for the next six months.
