Pathways to Country

Local Land Services Pathways to Country program is reconnecting people with Country and improving connection between Aboriginal people and land managers in the Western region.

Last updated: 08 May 2025

The image shows a group of people standing outdoors in a wooded area with trees and sunlight filtering through. There is smoke rising from a small fire or smoldering object on the ground, and the people are gathered around it. Some of the individuals are standing while others appear to be observing or interacting with the fire. The ground is covered with dry leaves and pine needles, and there is a structure with a roof visible in the background on the right side of the image.
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Aboriginal outcomes
Farm management
Local Land Services Regions
Western

Project overview

Status: In progress

The Pathways to Country program is a Local Land Services Western region initiative to: 

  • lead to better outcomes for managing country 
  • increase opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to work alongside and partner with all land managers in the region 
  • provide more opportunity for diversification of income streams on properties in the Western region.

Project background 

Local Land Services recognises that Aboriginal cultural heritage is intrinsically linked to the landscape, traditions and culture of Western NSW, and that there is a need to work with the broader community to understand, value and protect important cultural assets. 

Land managers often have long, multi-generational periods of tenure on properties in Western NSW. They recognise and protect the cultural heritage values on their land but may have limited knowledge of how to identify Aboriginal cultural heritage, and the best techniques for protecting such values. 

Aboriginal communities also have long standing associations with Western NSW landscapes, and key people, particularly Elders within the community have knowledge of where important sites exist and where cultural heritage values need consideration. They also have insights into traditional land management practices which may be valuable to consider in making management decisions.

Project objectives 

This project aims to: 

  • unearth and renew old pathways to reconnect Aboriginal people with Country 
  • protect sensitive and significant sites on private land 
  • record traditional ecological knowledge and land management techniques 
  • create opportunities to share cultural stories and knowledge 
  • diversify income streams on properties in the Western region 
  • facilitate a greater connection between Aboriginal people and land managers in the Western Local Land Services region.

Project delivery 

Local Land Services supports communication, how sites can be assessed, identified and protected. Factors considered in delivery include: 

  • the cultural nature and significance of the site 
  • physical threats 
  • protection methods 
  • costs 
  • partnering with local communities and traditional owners to protect the site. 

When land management techniques are discussed between landholders and traditional owners, new knowledge may emerge about land management and cultural values.  

Local Land Services is supporting the recording and use of this information in the most appropriate way, by: 

  • recording land management information in databases 
  • trialling traditional land management techniques on private land (e.g cultural burning) 
  • mapping of traditional ecological knowledge and land use (e.g medicine plants) 
  • developing materials to share information (e.g brochure, short film). 

The Pathways to Country program will create opportunities for local Aboriginal community members and land managers to share knowledge of personal histories and stories relating to the Aboriginal cultural history of the landscape. This includes: 

  • dreaming and creation stories  
  • traditional foods and water sources  
  • songlines and landscape interpretation  
  • histories of Aboriginal stockmen and pastoral relationships  
  • understanding kinship traditional boundaries. 

How to get involved

Landholders can follow this five-step process to learn about the options available.

1

Talk to us

Confidentially – The first step is to have a confidential conversation with Western Local Land Services about it. We can discuss on the phone or visit the property. This conversation is private and there is no requirement to share any specific information.

2

Make an assessment

If the landholder wants to go further, the next step is to confirm what the proposed site or activity is. Western Local Land Services will arrange to talk with someone who holds knowledge of the sites, traditional practice, or stories such as a qualified staff member, landholder, traditional owner or custodian of the landscape the property is in.

3

Plan together

For landholders that wish to continue the process to protect sites, capture knowledge or share stories, Western Local Land Services will assist in developing a plan of action or proposal which will then be considered for funding.

4

Make it happen

If the project has been prioritised, Western Local Land Services will develop a contract directly with the proponent or assist in engaging a suitable contractor, in consultation with the landholder, to undertake the project.

5

Share the story

Western Local Land Services can help facilitate an event with landholders and key traditional owners, to share knowledge and share stories, and also celebrate and acknowledge successes. 

Find out what's happening in the Western region

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Success stories

4:18

Willandra Lakes Region - Protecting Cultural Heritage

When Aboriginal contractors employed to survey rabbit warrens for cultural heritage noticed a burial site on a private property in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area...

Read transcript
Video transcript

Willandra Lakes Region - Protecting Cultural Heritage

Having funding available to do protection works on sites
that are identified by community on private lands is
a real big bonus and it goes a long way.
This project in particular, you know, we're talking about
rabbit controls and the sort of impacts that the
rabbits are having on these sites.
I was lucky enough to be the project officer/manager
of the Willandra Rabbit Control Project
that ran from 2018 to 2023.
Got to meet some great traditional owners,
some great landholders and contractors
doing some great works looking after the outstanding
universal value in the Willandra World Heritage Area.
So initially the landholders would go out and
map their rabbit warrens on FeralScan,
and then we would engage with the World Heritage team
and the Traditional Owners to go out
and assess each individual warren.
And through that, on this particular site, they realised
that an area that had been fenced off
around a burial site on a private property,
the rabbits were actually really decimating the landscape
and causing a lot of erosion.
The World Heritage team approached us about fencing it,
potentially upgrading that fence to make it rabbit proof.
Through the Rabbit Control Project we didn’t have
any funding to actually do that sort of work,
but that's where we were able to partner up with the
Pathways to Country Program to be able to fund that fence
and upgrade it.
Part of my role is implementing our Pathways to Country Program
and the main focus of that program is getting
Aboriginal communities back out onto country and
accessing traditional knowledge and traditional resources
as well as sharing their knowledge around land management
practices and site protection and things like that.
There was this fence around this site
was about 1.7 kilometres and it initially it was
five strand wire and that was,
I think put up back in the 1980s at some point.
Then it got upgraded to ring lock mesh in the early-2000s.
This time we upgraded it to rabbit proof mesh
and it's about a 15 hectare site that's protected now.
We were able to engage the younger guys to go out
and do the actual physical work to do the fence upgrade.
But they had been out there in the landscape with the
Elders that under their sort of mentorship or guidance to
you know, what to look for in the landscape.
And they did a great job, just got in
and got that job done putting up the extra mesh
and then the skirt to keep the rabbits out.
And it looks like a really, really good successful job.
The way our communities work together
and share our knowledge,
how we include the younger people and
bring those guys into understanding
what connection to country really is and caring for country
and things, that can't happen in a classroom.
That has to happen out on country.
It all contributes to the community as a whole
and retaining that information
and that knowledge as well as passing that on.
There might be future opportunities through
works we're doing continuing on out in the Willandra area.
We might find other sites that need protection
and we'll be able to work with the World Heritage team
and the Traditional Owners and the landholders to be able
to protect more sites out there.
There's a lot of overlaps I think between
landholder views and community views.
But when you really sit down and start having deeper conversations
with people, you see that in the end,
a lot of the times we're looking for similar results.
Just seeing how they can work together and
come up with alternative ways of doing things
and benefit everyone, not only the landholder
but community as well.
Seeing the results that can come from
those relationships is really special.

Contact Local Land Services NSW

Our team welcome your enquiries, feedback and comments. 

Contact our team

Find your nearest LLS office

Local Land Services is moving to nsw.gov.au. During the change, you might find the information you are looking for at lls.nsw.gov.au

Phone:1300 795 299
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