Working with Traditional Owners and communities
Genuine co-design and co-delivery partnerships with Traditional Owners and Reef communities result in better, stronger and more enduring outcomes.
Reef Traditional Owners have been caring for land and sea Country for more than 60,000 years, using Traditional Knowledge passed down through ancestral lines for millennia.
#Our 2030 ambitions
Elevate the role and influence of First Nations Peoples and local communities in Australia, the Pacific and beyond.
Create sustainable, long-term funding for Indigenous-led conservation work on the Great Barrier Reef.
Amplify the critical contribution Indigenous women make as knowledge-holders and caretakers of Country.
#Our impact so far
We've engaged 30,000+ community members via 46,000+ volunteer hours in Australia's largest community Reef effort.
We've partnered with 49 Reef Traditional Owner groups managing COTS, improving water quality and planting corals.
We've formed partnerships in Belize, Palau and New Caledonia to help Traditional Custodians and communities protect reefs.
#It's time to act
We're deeply committed to supporting the rights and ambitions of Indigenous Peoples and communities and the invaluable contributions their voices and actions make to conserving life on Earth.
#Healthy Water Toolkit
The tide is now turning to re-assert the leadership of Traditional Owners for answers on how to heal and restore the flows of Country.
Since 2020, the Traditional Owner Healthy Water Technical Working Group (HW TWG) have been playing a leadership role in informing pathways for strengthening Traditional Owner engagement and involvement through the Reef Trust Partnership (RTP).
Drawing from our technical and professional expertise, and experiences and knowledges as Traditional Owners, we have created and advanced opportunities for Traditional Owner leadership, direction, and shared learning that benefit Traditional Owners in working towards healthy water and cultural flows.
Responding to the need for a ‘Water Literacy Program Toolkit’ the HW TWG co-designed resources over five years with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Over the years, the toolkit objectives and materials have been refined with the input of Reef and Catchment Traditional Owners participating in RTP workshops and Forums. The Healthy Water Toolkit aims to strengthen Traditional Owners leadership in managing water on Land and Sea Country by supporting the creation of learning resources and ongoing skill development.
The tide of Indigenous-led management is pushing future horizons forward, healing and restoring the flows of Country.
The Traditional Owner Healthy Water Technical Working Group
Cass Hunter, Chair
Ben Gertz, Deputy chair
Samarla Deshong
Jade Gould
Jacob Cassady
Allira Alvoen
#Healthy Water Toolkit Resources
Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Notice: This work includes Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) of First Nations Peoples. All rights are reserved. Dealing with any part of this knowledge for any purpose is not authorised by the custodians and may breach copyright laws and any customary law which cannot be protected by copyright. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) acknowledges that Traditional Owners have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage in accordance with Article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. GBRF ask that you properly acknowledge and attribute who and where these resources came from, that you respect it, that you maintain its integrity by keeping the material intact and accurate and not use it out of context or in ways that may cause harm or disrespect.
#Support our work with Traditional Owners and communities
#Featured stories
#Repair a Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is under more pressure than ever. Rising temperatures, cyclones, and compounding threats are pushing it to its limits but proven solutions are already working in the water. Your donation today helps scale them further, faster.