Scientists contribute to Tiwi Junior Rangers Program 

The Tiwi Junior Rangers Program is an important initiative helping Tiwi College students to engage with the Tiwi Islands’ unique environment and cultural heritage. In 2024, members of RIEL’s invertebrate biodiversity group contributed to the program by sharing environmental science skills with the junior rangers.  

Over a series of four visits to Pickertaramoor on Melville Island in the Tiwi Islands, RIEL’s Prof Alan Andersen and PhD students Allyson Malpartida and François Brassard taught modules on botany, terrestrial insects, and aquatic biodiversity. They were supported by aquatic macroinvertebrate specialist Maryanne McKaige.   

In the botany module, students learnt how to recognise features of different plants and how to classify them. The module also covered traditional names and uses of common Tiwi plants. The insect module focused on the roles of insects in ecosystems, and on insect classification and identification. Students sampled insects using sweep nets and pitfall traps, before sorting and identifying specimens in the lab. The aquatic biodiversity work involved testing water quality and sampling aquatic macro-invertebrates in a local creek, then looking at invertebrate samples and drawing food webs in the classroom.   

“The students were fascinated by seeing so many different sorts of insects and other invertebrates, and for many it was their first experience with a microscope. A whole new world was opened up for them!” said Prof Andersen.   

Tiwi senior Elders and rangers were involved in all the activities, as were Tiwi College teachers. The RIEL team delivered the modules in partnership with Tiwi College, Tiwi Resources, and Calytrix Communication. This impactful program is set to continue in 2025.  

This story was originally published in the RIEL Annual Report 2024 (PDF, 4.08 MB).