TRANSCRIPT
In the glistening waters off Great Keppel Island on Woppaburra Sea Country, First Nations rangers are jumping into inflatable pools to collect coral larvae.
It's all part of a program allowing traditional owners to learn coral spawning techniques from scientists... to help protect the Great Barrier Reef
One of the participants is Woppaburra woman Tshinta Barney.
"My mob, we were born on the islands. We are practically a part of sea country in every way. It's part of our DNA and for me it was most important to get into this, not just to better myself, but to better my community, my mob, and be the lead for future generations to come and hopefully make it a bit better for them."
This pilot program is aiming to upskill rangers from six different traditional owner groups in coral larval restoration.
While reef restoration is the focus, Tshinta says being part of the program has been healing for her.
"Being around mob and being supported in the best way. Being able to meet all these new rangers and learn from them. I would want others to get involved in whatever they can and take that journey."
These 20 rangers are the custodians of sea countries stretching from Cooktown to Bundaberg, and are learning how to use different monitoring devices.
Kelvin Rowe is a Taribelang Bunda ranger from the southern end of the reef
"Seeing young rangers is that makes me wish that I had the same opportunity when I was younger to do it. If I would've seen things like this when I was younger, I would've might've gave it a go and don't steer myself in a bad direction. And it also helps the younger ones stay on path to their own culture."
He believes initiatives like this allow traditional owners to keep strong connections to culture.
"When I first started doing it, I used to talk to my grandmother about it. She used to grow up on the reef and the more she see me doing it makes her more happy and that somebody in the family loves working on the reef as she liked to do when she was younger too."
This pilot program is one of the largest reef restoration trials to date.
Rangers are learning how to collect coral spawn and put these into pools to develop into larvae
The annual event where corals reproduce only happens on a few nights after full moons in October and November, leaving a narrow window for restoration work.
Jordan Ivey, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, is leading the Indigenous Futures Project.
"It's super important to include traditional owners at the table when they're having these conversations about protecting the reef protecting environment. Obviously Western science knows a lot, but there's been traditional owners and their families been around for generation and there's a lot of knowledge that we can learn from to learn from them about how we can protect the environment"
Climate change is one of the biggest threats to the reef.
Last year, a fifth mass coral bleaching event impacted huge parts of the reef, including around the Keppel Islands.
Mr Ivey says says scientists are seeing the effects of this event first hand.
"If the reef disappears, a lot of species that are connected to the reef also disappear and that means we'll lose our sense of identity and connection to culture and cultural practices. So it's a big thing to potentially lose a reef. So that's why we're trying to develop these interventions so we can help make a difference into the future."
A key objective of the recent United Nations climate summit is building on efforts to preserve and restore our oceans
This program is teaching techniques around the management of the reef in the hopes of showing the possibilities of collaboration
Eastern Kuku Yalanji ranger Natalie Friday says working together is the best way forward.
"It's about inspiring the next generation to be involved, for them to have confidence in knowing that their traditional knowledge has a place in marine science."
In the hope of preserving the reef... for future generations.
