Projects a team effort to help clean up Derby area

Four indigenous communities in the town of Derby have been working with the shire and Department for Indigenous Affairs on projects to improve their environments.

The four town-based indigenous communities, Karlmulinunga, Burnnunga, Djmund Nguda and Budulah, are located in the reserve area adjacent to the marsh.

The project they are involved in, Aboriginal Land Trust, Town Reserve Community Meetings, was originally started by Lynette Menmuir from the Department of Indigenous Affairs.

It was revived in 2009 and has since been chaired by the Shire of Derby/West Kimberley.

Chairwoman Emma Catlin from the Environmental Health Unit said a lot was being done between the group’s monthly meetings.

The team includes Emama Nuda Aboriginal Corporation, Department of Housing, Indigenous Co-ordination Centre, Department of Indigenous Affairs, Department of Health, Department of Child Protection, Derby police, Derby Youth Centre, Department of Heath and the Centre for Appropriate Technologies and FESA.

They have undertaken a number of community-driven initiatives in various stages of completion.

Refurbishment of the Stanley Street basketball courts is complete, while future stages include mural painting of toilet blocks and installation of spectator seating.

Funded by the shire and Indigenous Co-ordination Centre, the work was done by community partner Djmund Nguda.

Meanwhile, the Jealousy Creek area is being fenced off. This site attracted people from outside the local communities who engaged in antisocial behaviour, disturbing residents of the four town-based communities, especially children. A

sign will say “No grog”, with penalties to apply through police enforcement.

The site had also posed significant physical danger to anyone entering the area, with a washed-out and deteriorated culvert being a hazard, but new drainage has been installed.

Meanwhile, car bodies are being cleaned up and the conversion of scrap metal revenue is funding animal sterilisation.

The car bodies were an eyesore where snakes lived and a breeding ground for mosquitoes in the wet.

Ongoing funding by the shire in the form of quick grants will ensure animal sterilisation can continue every six months to gain an optimum long-term outcome.

Ms Catlin said the emphasis has been on working together to ensure outcomes identified by the four communities were achieved.

“Working together helps facilitate all the projects more effectively as each partner knows what the project is trying to achieve and can cooperate more efficiently in their area of expertise,” she said.