[Speaker: Dylan Lawson]

Today we're at Musk Duck, formerly known as Tiffany's Wetland.

It's about 75 kms out of Mildura, owned by a Trust for Nature, but it's getting handed back to the First People (of the Millewa Mallee) due to post-floods here in 2022.

[On screen text: Dylan Lawson (Latji Latji – Barkindji). First People of the Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporations. Aboriginal Water Officer]

This was all underwater where we are standing around here today and it dried down. So it's been dry for 2 years now.

It's a good cause to be able to put water back in here because it does - it re-flourishes it back again, rejuvenates Country because that's what we're all about. We like to look after Country and heal Country.

I worked in with First Peoples for a little over 3 years now. They've given me an opportunity as an AWO - Aboriginal Water Officer role here within First Peoples.

It's good. It's a unique role for down here, to be out on Country and to deliver e-watering at these particular sites, it's a great achievement.

Our aspirations beyond this Seasonal Water Proposal is we want to be allocated water, we want to be water holders. That's the big main objective behind it. We're restricted from water.

So, looking forward to just keep bringing bigger projects along and getting our networking skills built up to be better delivery with the water officer role.

Brought community out, Traditional Owners out, brought them out and had their discussion and seeing if we could put native fish in there and just store them in from little fingerlings and just get them up flourishing. Growing them up and putting them back into the Murray.

It's just to get some water back in there. You can hear the bird life around and just to restore Country, you know, get up rejuvenated, flourishing back again.

And that's what our Traditional Owners - had their input strongly put in it.

So, we have one of the biggest seed banks in Victoria alone within First Peoples. What the beauty of it here is that we can be able to get our seeds out here, natural seeds.

You got your shrub bushes, your salt, your black box trees, your salt trees and all that as well. We go and plant them, we bring them back out on Country. We monitor them over time. So that's our goal.

Mother Nature is unpredictable sometimes, but we like to heal Country because also we are the oldest living culture in the world.

We just want to be able to contribute to our Country in our own backyard, just to be able to nurture it and just to be able to harvest it to the best abilities that we can.

More or less, if the Country's sick, you're sick, we're sick, you know. So, if the Country's sick, us Aboriginal people feel sick as well, you know, because it's part of who we are. It's identity, it's our home backyard.

We've just got to be able to thrive in it within 2 different worlds that we're in now today.

[On-screen text: Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria and their ongoing connection to the land and water.]

[On-screen text: First People of Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporation logo and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action logo]

Page last updated: 23/12/24