[on screen text: Riparian land runs alongside rivers, creeks and wetlands.]

[Talking: Aaron Morgan, Senior Budj Bim Ranger - Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation: Lake Condah is the home of the Kerrup-Jmara people of the Gunditjmara nation, so home of my people. We spent the last 7,0000 years here with evidence of management and trapping eels and other fish and we got permanent house sites that are recorded around here.

It's good. Yeah, lots of cultural significance to to Gunditjmara people.]

[on screen text: Tyrendarra IPA (Indigenous Protected Area}

[Talking: Jarred Obst, Senior NRM Planner- Coastal Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority: The RAP is a regional riparian action plan funding through the state government of Victoria, which we're using as a CMA to do some really targeted and priority on ground works on the Fitzroy and Darlot Creek.]

[on screen text: The Budj Bim Landscape Program was one of the many projects undertaken as part of the Regional Riparian Action Plan. The Plan aims to protect and improve riparian land in Victoria. The Victorian Government is investing $40 million dollars for riparian works. There's a whole river of stories. This is just one... Fencing and tree planting Glenelg Hopkins CMA and Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation.]

[Talking: Jarred Obst: The area where we're working in it. Varies a lot basically from Lake Condah down to the coast. And we're really targeting the riverbanks along that area and working with different land managers to try and connect the area. But this landscape is an absolute national treasure. It's been managed for thousands and thousands of years through the indigenous communities. And we're still trying to combine our environmental knowledge with their cultural knowledge to have a win-win situation for all land managers involved.]

[Talking: Aaron Morgan: So we revegetate and plants that are native and local to the area because I know the land so well. By doing that, we're enabling the native animals and that to come back. So we encourage them to come back into landscape. Yeah. We've been on this land for a very long time so, you know feel like there's lots of responsibility there to look after land and as my ancestors have.]

[Talking: Jarred Obst: So one of the big aims of this program is to get people involved to learn about the waterways and to learn about the cultural values of the area. We recently had a community planning today. Fantastic day. Fantastic kids. Just learning about the area and really getting people involved and engaged and just interested in the environment. So, through this RAP funding, it's actually giving us the ability to get out and do direct works particularly willow works. And this funding is allowing us to get out and target these known areas and basically maintain a healthy environment all the way along the system.]

[on screen text: This work is happening all over Victoria.  It is funded by the Victorian Government's record $222 million investment into waterway and catchment health.]

Page last updated: 22/11/23