Traditional Owner led caring for Country activities

Published on 12 February 2026

Last Spring Council supported a small mosaic burn along the Rail Trail at Bowser led by the Ngalan Bitja Rangers from the Bangerang Aboriginal Corporation. Ngalan Bitja is Bangerang language for ‘Our Fire’. The purpose of the burn was to work in partnership with Bangerang Aboriginal Corporation to care for Country with Council staff working alongside the experienced Ranger crew. The burn will have ecological benefits for the Grey Box Grassy Woodland site including reducing ground layer fuels, weed control and stimulating germination of indigenous native plants. The site currently supports patches of native Kangaroo Grass, Dianella, Orchids and Herbs amongst the introduced grassy weeds. This burn was the second Council supported burn by the Ngalan Bitja Rangers and we are grateful for the generous sharing of Bangerang knowledge and opportunity to continue to walk side by side caring for Country.

Following the Rail Trail burn Council again partnered with the Ngalan Bitja Ranger team to conduct ecological thinning of a dense Eucalypt regrowth thicket at Kaluna Island in Wangaratta. Ecological thinning is the removal of a proportion of trees within a thicket to increase resource availability to remaining trees and achieve conservation goals. Where eucalypt thickets dominate, they can threaten woodland ecosystem health. Trees are thin and even aged, limited understorey regeneration occurs, development of large old hollow bearing trees is reduced, and logs are rare resulting in declines in native wildlife. Thinning works were approved by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and a conservation work exemption was provided.  

The Ngalan Bitja Rangers recruited a team of enthusiastic young Bangerang men to undertake the thinning. They worked tirelessly while enjoying learning new skills on Country from the more experienced Rangers. This work was a continuation of caring for and healing Country activities following a cultural burn undertaken by the Rangers at Kaluna Island in 2024. The thinning has opened up a section of this beautiful ancient woodland and will improve habitat value by allowing growth and germination of native ground cover vegetation and increase the number of hollow bearing trees into the future. Careful ongoing management of weeds and top up planting of native ground covers will ensure positive environmental outcomes.  

Timber generated from the thinning works has been salvaged for use by Bangerang Aboriginal Corporation for traditional woodworking, to construct wildlife hotels and will supply some firewood for the Council run community firewood depots. Small branches and leaves were mulched and will be used onsite for weed suppression and to retain moisture around new plantings. We look forward to working alongside the Ngalan Bitja Rangers again later this year.

Above: Mosaic burn occurring in Bowser, November 2025

Above: Kangaroo grass bouncing back one-month post-burn, December 2025

Above: Ngalan Bitja Rangers and RCoW Environment & Sustainability staff after a successful burn at Bowser, November 2025

Above: Before and after the ecological thinning at Kaluna Island, late 2025

Above: Proud crew, post-ecological thinning at Kaluna Island, late 2025.