27 May 2021

Delegates from the Bunuba, Gooniyandi, Walalakoo and Yanunijarra Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and staff from the Kimberley Land Council enjoyed the handover of tools and data from Fitzroy River research projects at a workshop from 29 March to 1 April in Derby, Western Australia.

 

Official handover of the computer, interactive projector, and spatial data to be housed at the Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council and partnering PBCs of the hub projects. Photo: Ro Hill.

The Hub’s multi-objective planning project, led by researchers from James Cook University (JCU), and knowledge brokering for Indigenous land management project, led by researchers from CSIRO, worked together to deliver useful research products to Traditional Owners groups through the workshop.

JCU handed over a computer with GIS capacity and a sophisticated set of spatial data, while CSIRO provided an interactive desktop projector. Together, these tools and data allow Traditional Owners to discuss and interact with maps of threatened species habitat, water sources, historical fire scars, roads, bores and a wealth of other data for planning and evaluating development opportunities.

Traditional Owner participants found the workshop, data and tools very useful.

The workshop provided a vision for the future in several ways … highlight ongoing skills transfer needed to fully utilise the tools.

– Robert Watson, a director and Chair of Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation

Workshop participants and researchers using the tabletop interactive projector to examine the spatial data. Photo: Ro Hill.