Students around Townsville are learning about the important relationship between Traditional Owners and sea turtles through a series of school presentations called ‘Safeguarding the Gungu (Sea Turtle)’.
NQ Dry Tropics Project Officer, Sam Savage, said the education program teaches kids about the cultural connections Traditional Owners have with the sea.
“Traditional Owners have a long standing relationship with the sea and with sea turtles.”
Traditional hunting of sea turtle and dugong has been a point of recent contention between some Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week, which begins on Wednesday, NQ Dry Tropics is launching an educational film that explores the significance of the relationship between Traditional Owners and sea turtles.
Traditional Owners are the traditional custodians of land and sea country and hold cultural and generational knowledge spanning over 40,000 years. Traditional Owner management of land and water is holistic and is underpinned by the concept of ‘healthy country, healthy people’.
There are 16 Traditional Owner groups in our region.
NQ Dry Tropics supports 16 Traditional Owner groups to access information and funding for land and sea activities.
We have helped over 15 projects in the last couple of years including; introducing a cultural education program to school children and the Townsville region, a two-day workshop of Traditional Owner women at Cape Upstart just outside of Bowen, weed management projects on Palm Island and Magnetic Island.
NQ Dry Tropics supports 16 Traditional Owner groups to access information and funding for land and sea activities.
