Aboriginal rangers from the southern half of the Territory and beyond will blend traditional knowledge with the latest technology at this week’s annual Central Land Council ranger camp at Ross River.

This year, rangers will split into gender groups as they learn to fly drones to capture images of sites and landscapes for their monitoring programs.

The accredited training includes night-time demonstrations of infrared drone sensor technology which can capture 3D footage and conduct surveys both day and night. 

The rangers will also practice using software to manage data from plant and animal surveys, produce maps of country for conservation and cultural significance and use digital mapping to virtually bring traditional owners out onto country.

Warlpiri ranger Travis Penn, from Yuendumu, looks forward to building on his experience using Google Earth Pro and other programs to produce maps of country.

“It will be good to use this new technology to show elders the work we’re doing on their country. We need more practice in our region, and I hope we can do more of that this year,” he said.

For the first time, female rangers will train in women-only groups to ensure they all gain hands-on experience with digital tools.

“This ‘by women, for women’ training empowers female rangers to develop their skills in a supportive environment,” CLC general manager Mischa Cartwright said.

The rangers will learn how to collect, analyse and share land management data with the technology.

They will install and use sensor cameras to photograph threatened animals and their predators, digitally map populations and distribution areas and conduct site surveys sites with drones.

The training sessions will blend traditional land management skills, such as cool season burning and animal tracking, with western fire and feral animal management techniques.

The rangers will practice how to bait and trap feral cats and foxes.

First aid, snake handling, 4WD operation and the use of weed killing chemicals will also be covered.

The camp, from Tuesday 25 March until Thursday 27 March at the Ross River Resort east of Alice Springs, is the CLC’s main professional development event for its 14 ranger groups.

Rangers from the NT Parks and Wildlife Service, the Newhaven wildlife sanctuary and the Ngaanyatjarra Council are also attending.

On the Tuesday the Batchelor Institute will celebrate rangers graduating with conservation and land management certificates.