THE first dedicated Perth Aboriginal ranger team has been launched in Mundaring, with the BoorYul-Bah-Bilya (BBB) rangers already working across the Helena River catchment.
Extinct fish found in Helena River (Echo News, May 29) reported the BBB rangers supported the surveys that helped find a fish previously thought to be extinct in the Perth Hills area.
The BBB Rangers are the first dedicated Aboriginal rangers team to be established in Perth, marking a significant milestone for the metropolitan area.
Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association (BNAA) said the rangers had been established to care for and restore the natural and cultural environment of the Helena River as part of its BBB program.
BNAA chairperson and Noongar Elder Walter McGuire said it was important to make a stand for the environment.
“If you got story, heart, spirit, soul…then speak yourself for the old, the now and the future. Stand for it,” he said.
“BNAA has story, song, heart, spirit, soul…we speak, we stand for this environment.
“This environment is our family, we are part of it and it is part of us…the land, rivers, springs, hills, nighttime sky, daytime sky, sun, moon, stars, rain, lightning, thunder, freshwater, oxygen, clouds, wind, all flora and fauna, everything…is our sisters and brothers…our moort (family).”
Although only operating for a few months, the team has also assisted in mapping the proposed Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) Riverpark.
The rangers work across waterways and reserves throughout Mundaring, Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill, Bickley Valley, Piesse Brook, Pickering Brook, Glen Forrest, Darlington, Boya, Koongamia, Helena Valley, Bushmead, Bellevue, Midland, Hazelmere, Woodbridge and Guildford, including Beelu, Helena and Greenmount national parks.
Their work includes land and water management, ecosystem restoration, biodiversity monitoring, weed and feral animal control, cultural mapping, heritage protection, fire management and community education.
BNAA executive director Francesca Flynn said the launch of the BBB rangers was a critical turning point for the river and the team had shown what could be achieved in a short time.
In just a few months, the BBB rangers have shown what’s possible when cultural knowledge, science and community come together to achieve the best outcomes for Country,” she said.
“The BBB rangers are already reshaping the future of this river, and we’re incredibly proud to be building a model that can inspire community-led river restoration across Australia and beyond.”
A key focus for the rangers is BNAA’s three-year Mandoon Bilya Riverpark project, which aims to establish a continuous natural parkland linking the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) at Guildford with the Darling Scarp at Helena Valley.
BNAA said the rangers were also working with local volunteer groups and collaborating with the Ballardong Corporation Rangers to coordinate activities across the wider Mandoon-Helena catchment.
BNAA are preparing to launch their new BBB Rangers headquarters in the Perth Hills later this year.
