Celebrating our Aboriginal Visual Identity
We are excited to celebrate the release of our beautiful Aboriginal Visual Identity. The journey to develop this identity involved input from more than 200 staff in 18 online yarning sessions to create a collective story of what an Aboriginal Identity means to us.
Nyuragil Barray Yawutung Warri’ Spirited Country Journey Now reflecting the EPA's co-care for Country from desert to sea
Worimi artist Gerard Black was then commissioned to develop the piece for us. It depicts sky, desert, mountains, rivers, and sea.
The title of our EPA Aboriginal Identity Artwork is in the Gathang language of the Worimi People. It is a reminder to embark on a healing journey on Country (meaning all the countries in NSW) each day moving forward with respect, and having yarns, listening and acting for a stronger future together.
EPA Lead for Aboriginal Initiatives Kylie Jacky said the EPA acknowledges Aboriginal people as protectors of Country from the beginning and the continuous connection Aboriginal people have to Country.
“Country includes land, sea, waterways and sky – and Country is still there in our cities and urban areas,” Kylie said.
“These are the places the EPA looks to protect for our whole communities, and the artwork depicts their beauty and importance from the deserts to the sea.
“We respect Aboriginal people, their cultures and traditions and we will learn from and listen to Aboriginal people.
“We will tread lightly on this journey and will act boldly and brave in order to play our part to mend and heal Country together.”
The EPA is working with Local Aboriginal Land Council at Mogo to help clean up
EPA connecting with community on-the-ground
We have been working closely with Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALC) to deliver our Aboriginal Land Clean-up Program.
Manager of our Aboriginal Lands Bushfire Recovery Program Amber Escott reported that the team’s visits with partners in the second half of 2021 took us to Illaroo Farm, Bathurst, Brungle-Tumut and Cobowra LALCs.
“We saw the progress of works to protect cultural and natural resources from illegal dumping through clean up, prevention and deterrence,” Amber said.
“An example is the recently completed clean-up works at Eden LALC, showing the importance of partnerships and the role we played together.
“Whilst Covid-19 restrictions mean fewer opportunities to get out and about, we hope to have more opportunities to connect with Aboriginal communities and LALCs in 2022.”
The EPA is proud to encourage a diverse workforce, particularly in field and operations work
EPA Aboriginal recruitment video
We have developed a recruitment video to increase Aboriginal employment, particularly on Country, in regional NSW. As part of this initiative, we filmed a video to showcase the EPA's work with our Operations team and across many landscapes in NSW.
Our regions are actively seeking to recruit people of all ages and diversity, and acknowledge Aboriginal Peoples’ ongoing connection to Country, rich cultures, and knowledge of the environment that will support the EPA to deliver on what it means to be a world class regulator.
The resulting video titled "A day/week in the life of an Ops Officer” captures many magnificent moments of our Aboriginal staff performing routine tasks that translate well to the work of an EPA Operations Officer. Watch the videos