INDIGENOUS ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project Indigenous Ecological Knowledge

The Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project will research, discover and record traditional and contemporary Gunditjmara land management practices across the far southwest of Victoria to provide Indigenous Ecological Knowledge for land management today and into the future. The project is between the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. This four year project is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country and began in 2009.

“Listen to the land, respect it, walk softly on it and it’ll relate. If you listen to the land you’ll hear things,” - Uncle Johnny Lovett

Over the past 25 years, the Gunditjmara community has acquired freehold title over 3,200 ha along the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape.

The community also achieved a cooperative management agreement for the Mt Eccles National Park as part of the Gunditjmara Native Title Settlement in 2007.

The Budj Bim-Mt Eccles National Park accounts for 8,375 ha along the Budj Bim landscape. The Gunditjmara community work through the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (Registered Native Title Body Corporate).

The community also works closely with the Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation and the Budj Bim Rangers Program. Through these existing arrangements, the Caring for Our Country Partnership Project will promote traditional and contemporary Gunditjmara land management practices throughout the far southwest of Victoria.

Parks Victoria has become a major partner in the project. Traditional Indigenous Ecological Knowledge has been used extensively in the preparation of the South West Management Plan ‘Ngootyoong Gunditj, Ngootyoong Mara’. This plan will protect cultural heritage by providing a valuable framework for parks, reserves and indigenous protected areas in the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape. This collaboration is a positive outcome for the Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project.

Gunditj Mirring Parntership Project Video:

The major outcomes of the partnership project include:

Budj Bim Field Guide.
Gunditjmara Fact Sheets.
Gunditjmara Seasonal Calendar.
Plants on Budj Bim.
Weeds of the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment.
Yarns on Farms Extension Program and Reciprocal Visits.
Extensive Botanical Surveys and Capacity Building.
Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Literature Review and Video Documentary.
GHCMA Guide “Engaging Indigenous Communities within our Catchment”.
Research and Ethics Application.
Glenelg Hopkins CMA and Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Professional Development Bursary.

The Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project has compiled a literature of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK). This information has been used to produce a range of publications including a “Field Guide to Cultural Features on the Budj Bim Landscape” and “Plants on Budj Bim” which can be downloaded from the Gunditj Mirring Website, gunditjmirring.com.au. This video explores the importance of the literature review to the Gunditjmara people and the Project Team.