Ten students graduate at Melbourne Museum on 25 June

Ten students from the Warreen Beek Ranger programme graduated at Melbourne Museum on Wurundjeri Country on 25 June, marking a milestone year for the First Peoples conservation course.

The 2026 intake completed the programme as Warreen Beek celebrated 10 years since its inauguration in 2017. Over that decade, more than 80 students have graduated from the course.

Warreen Beek delivers a Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. The qualification provides conservation training and accreditation for First Peoples, and the course is free for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Traditional Owners co-designed the programme. Students complete much of the training on Country, while Elders and conservation experts lead many of the units.

Skills taught in 2026

In 2026, students learned Cultural Burning, water management, OHS, weed control, midden protection, chainsaw use, plant identification, growing bush foods and threatened species management.

Trust for Nature facilitates the course in collaboration with Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Corporation, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Taungurung Land and Waters Council.

Holmesglen Institute of TAFE provides accreditation. Meanwhile, philanthropic donors and the Victorian Government’s Port Phillip Bay Fund support the programme.

Ben Cullen, the course facilitator and South Central Area Manager at Trust for Nature, said former Warreen Beek Rangers had moved into jobs in archaeology, water management and cultural education.

Cullen said the course keeps changing with input from Elders and students. He described that ongoing input as part of a commitment to First Peoples’ self-determination and caring for Country.

The graduation ceremony in Melbourne celebrated both the 10 students finishing in 2026 and the broader reach of the programme since 2017. As a result, Warreen Beek now has a decade-long record of training new First Peoples land managers through a free, accredited conservation course.

The course is open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Prospective students can find more information through Trust for Nature’s Warreen Beek Ranger programme page.