Young ranger on mission to restore Walgett waterways

Walgett’s Vincent Hill has stepped into the Rangers team. Photo: Dhariwaa Elders Group

Story: Kristin Murdock kmurdock@outbackradio.com.au

A new generation of Aboriginal rangers is helping restore the health of Walgett’s rivers and wetlands while ensuring cultural knowledge is passed on to future generations.

Local school leaver Vincent Hill is the newest member of the Dharriwaa Elders Group’s Ngarrangarra-li Walaaybaa Rangers team.

And Vincent recently has the four-person ranger team as its youngest member, stepping straight into full-time employment after finishing school.

Water and Country Co-Lead and Ngarrangarra-li Walaaybaa Rangers Project Officer Zoe Sands said creating meaningful employment opportunities for local young people was a key aim of the program.

“We want to build up our young people in Walgett,” Zoe said.

“It was a good opportunity to employ Vincent and give him those skills to enter the workforce straight after school, so our kids know there is something to go onto once school is finished.”

Working alongside young fellow ranger Isaiah Gordon and two other rangers, Vincent is helping care for Country through a range of environmental monitoring and conservation projects.

The Ngarrangarra-li Walaaybaa Rangers program was established in 2022 after Dharriwaa Elders Group secured funding from the National Indigenous Australians Agency following years of community advocacy. […]

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