Junior Rangers and the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation

Jabalbina Junior Ranger Program has seen significant improvements in school attendance for students in Years 9 and 10 who were previously at risk of disengaging from school.

The Jabalbina Junior Ranger Program is delivered by Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation in collaboration with Mossman Botanical Gardens and Mossman State High School in Queensland. It is supporting highly disengaged First Nations secondary students through a combination of classroom and on-Country learning activities.

Together the partners have co-designed a program that promotes cultural engagement, educational advancement and vocational training for First Nations secondary students. The program has been carefully designed to improve school attendance and post-school pathways into meaningful employment. As a team, the partners wanted to create an opportunity for youth to engage with community and create positive relationships.

The pilot program was offered to students in Years 9 and 10 who were at risk of disengaging from school and 10 students were selected to participate in the program.

The program started in Term 2 of 2024 with a smoking ceremony, conducted by a local Kuku Yalanji Elder, and a welcome for students and their families.

Students work to a 4-day timetable, with mornings devoted to literacy and numeracy programs, and afternoons devoted to junior ranger activities. On-Country activities have a focus on conservation and ecosystems management, including water quality testing and tree planting, as well as learning about native plants and animals.

The impact of this program has exceeded partners’ expectations. Since starting the program, the students have become more engaged in their schooling.

Mossman State High School reports significant improvement in attendance, increasing from an average of 21% in Term 1 (before the program launched) to 74% in Term 2, and 71% in Term 3 (once the program was underway). This increase demonstrates the positive impact of the commitment of partners to exploring different ways to engage students through the junior ranger program, reaping impressive improvements in attendance and overall performance for participating students.

You can find out more on the Junior Ranger activities on the NIAA website.

Photo: Junior Ranger at Wawu Dimbi assisting with tree planting at a designated revegetation site. Source: Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation.