As the summer of record temperatures comes to a close it’s good to reflect on a season of hard work by the Noongar Boodjar Rangers. The Rangers have worked outdoors all through the summer whipper snipping, mowing, raking, weeding, spraying, seed collecting and rubbish collecting. Working for both government agencies and private individuals and companies, stretching from El Caballo to York to Warralakin, Wongan Hills, Toodyay and Northam.

The collection of seed was tough this year, as many plants did not set much seed due to the dry spring. We are hoping for a better and wetter season next year.

Work involving whipper snipping and chain sawing was limited on some days due to vehicle movement bans because of the high temperatures. But even on those days the Rangers would start early to get as much done as possible, work in the shade where they could, and keep hydrated.

The high standard of work by the Rangers is leading to demand for more of their services, and the more contracts they complete, the more this momentum builds. One government agency is negotiating yet another site for the Rangers to maintain, which will bring the number of sites they maintain for that client to 5. One local government agency is recommending the Rangers to another government agency for similar maintenance work. On top of this, several other groups both government and private, are seeking to engage the Rangers to get their environmental work done.

And so, with the season changing and hopefully a good winter this year, the Rangers are looking forward to a change of work type, with revegetation work for both government and private organisations becoming more of a focus. Over the years the Rangers have planted over 100,000 seedlings on country to help rejuvenate bushland and on farms to assist with erosion and salinity control, and they look forward to planting many more to further restore country.