Healthy Country Services & Consulting (HCSC) is an Aboriginal-owned land management company on the Central Coast of Tasmania, providing expert services in land care & management and leveraging traditional practices with a deep connection to Country.
Tully, Hudson, Zac, Aran and Joseph all work as rangers for HCSC. A normal working day can include anything from weeding, planting, putting up fences, removing rubbish and more.
They describe their work as ‘caring for Country’. Tully, operational manager for HCSC, says caring for Country means having a positive impact on everything around them.
“Caring for Country is just so broad because Country is everything, right? From the people, the skies, the lands, the mountains, waters, everything is Country. So I think with our work, that's always in the forefront of what we're trying to achieve, positive outcomes for Country. We don't want anything to negatively impact Country, whether that be how we're practising now or five to ten years down the track. It needs to be a positive outcome. And I think if we can continue to work in that framework and that mindset around caring for Country, we're going to see some really good outcomes.” - Tully O'Neil
Aran says caring for Country is about community as well.
“Caring for Country for me, it's a broad thing. It doesn't have to be just putting in the elbow grease to pull weeds. It can be a community thing as well, how we talk about it, what we do on Country.” - Aran O'Neil
For Zac, caring for country is connected to his appreciation for the natural world.
“If I want the country to appreciate me, I've got to appreciate the country. I don't want to see rubbish and beat-up places. I want to be walking around looking at lovely country and make people feel like it's a place to be, not just a place to dump their rubbish.” - Zac Kennedy
Hudson agrees, describing a sense of pride and enjoyment when he sees the improvement they have on the nature they work with.
“It feels good to be able to come back in a year or two and see that the landscape has changed dramatically and it's gone back, as close as it can be, to its natural state and all the wildlife's come back.” - Hudson O'Neil
The guys all feel a responsibility to take care of the natural world. Joseph hints about the connection between people and nature, if nature isn’t healthy, people won’t be healthy either.
“You see the plants having a hard time and you feel like you need to help them. What else, who else is going to help them? You have to do it. Otherwise they're going to just sit there and struggle. Saving the plants, saving yourself really.” - Joseph Kennedy
“What everyone's hinting at is the connection. It's just the connection. You're the caretakers. You see a plant struggling, that's you. You've got to help yourself and then that'll help you. It's just a deep connection,” Zac adds.
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A working group is bringing together a community-led vision for the Coast to Cradle Wild Country, and are inviting the community to drive and shape this vision so it captures their dreams for the future of this very special place.
Have your say by filling out the community survey: https://kuno.earth/articles/community-survey-coast-to-cradle
Tilde Bergström
Conservation Stories Editor
Healthy Country Services & Consulting (HCSC) is an Aboriginal-owned land management company on the Central Coast of Tasmania, providing expert services in land care & management and leveraging traditional practices with a deep connection to Country.
Tully, Hudson, Zac, Aran and Joseph all work as rangers for HCSC. A normal working day can include anything from weeding, planting, putting up fences, removing rubbish and more.
They describe their work as ‘caring for Country’. Tully, operational manager for HCSC, says caring for Country means having a positive impact on everything around them.
“Caring for Country is just so broad because Country is everything, right? From the people, the skies, the lands, the mountains, waters, everything is Country. So I think with our work, that's always in the forefront of what we're trying to achieve, positive outcomes for Country. We don't want anything to negatively impact Country, whether that be how we're practising now or five to ten years down the track. It needs to be a positive outcome. And I think if we can continue to work in that framework and that mindset around caring for Country, we're going to see some really good outcomes.” - Tully O'Neil
Aran says caring for Country is about community as well.
“Caring for Country for me, it's a broad thing. It doesn't have to be just putting in the elbow grease to pull weeds. It can be a community thing as well, how we talk about it, what we do on Country.” - Aran O'Neil
For Zac, caring for country is connected to his appreciation for the natural world.
“If I want the country to appreciate me, I've got to appreciate the country. I don't want to see rubbish and beat-up places. I want to be walking around looking at lovely country and make people feel like it's a place to be, not just a place to dump their rubbish.” - Zac Kennedy
Hudson agrees, describing a sense of pride and enjoyment when he sees the improvement they have on the nature they work with.
“It feels good to be able to come back in a year or two and see that the landscape has changed dramatically and it's gone back, as close as it can be, to its natural state and all the wildlife's come back.” - Hudson O'Neil
The guys all feel a responsibility to take care of the natural world. Joseph hints about the connection between people and nature, if nature isn’t healthy, people won’t be healthy either.
“You see the plants having a hard time and you feel like you need to help them. What else, who else is going to help them? You have to do it. Otherwise they're going to just sit there and struggle. Saving the plants, saving yourself really.” - Joseph Kennedy
“What everyone's hinting at is the connection. It's just the connection. You're the caretakers. You see a plant struggling, that's you. You've got to help yourself and then that'll help you. It's just a deep connection,” Zac adds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A working group is bringing together a community-led vision for the Coast to Cradle Wild Country, and are inviting the community to drive and shape this vision so it captures their dreams for the future of this very special place.
Have your say by filling out the community survey: https://kuno.earth/articles/community-survey-coast-to-cradle
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