Gunditjmara man Jackson Chatfield is the Victorian statewide Aboriginal Landcare coordinator for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Being the first person in the job, Mr Chatfield said the new funding was a big step forward.
“I think this will make a massive change in Victoria and how Aboriginal people engage with Landcare, so there is some big stuff on the horizon,” Mr Chatfield said on a recent Landcare webinar.
Craig Aspinall works in a similar coordination role for Landcare NSW, where community-based Aboriginal Landcare officers are already active.
“It has been a struggle to meet the demand, it’s fair to say, being one fella for the whole state,” Mr Aspinall said
“That’s led to — within a short amount of time — two regions putting on Aboriginal Landcare officers. The north coast region and Riverina Murrumbidgee region has just advertised as well. Heads up to any potential candidates for that position.”
Mr Aspinall said the one thing which constantly surprised him about the role was that “just being there” gave Landcare people the confidence to engage with Traditional Owners where they previously wouldn’t have.
There is particular interest in increasing connections between Traditional Owners and Victorian farmers.
Mr Chatfield said there was a lot of misconceptions holding landowners back.
“Native title and cultural heritage have scared a lot of farmers and local people from wanting to engage because they think ‘what if they are mad at us?’ or ‘what if they want the land back?’,” he said.
The webinar titled Landcare and Traditional Owners can be viewed on the Landcare website.
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