TRACKS
Stories on Country. Held by Community.
A national storytelling platform celebrating Australia’s Indigenous Protected Areas.
Every Country. Every River. Every Hill. Every place has a story. TRACKS is a storytelling platform developed by BushTV to celebrate the people, Country and communities caring for Australia’s Indigenous Protected Areas.
What is an Indigenous Protected Area?
Indigenous Protected Areas are one of Australia’s greatest conservation success stories, yet many Australians have never heard of them. This feature explores how the IPA movement began, what makes an Indigenous Protected Area unique, and how Traditional Owners continue to care for Country through one of the world’s largest Indigenous-led conservation networks.
Explore the interactive map below to discover Indigenous Protected Areas across Australia. This demonstration map currently displays all declared IPAs and marks the beginning of a growing national storytelling platform. Over time, each location will become a living profile featuring Indigenous stories, photographs, films, interviews, community news and links to local organisations. Find Borroloola (Yanyuwa) to see how the stories sit on the map.
Follow the journey as TRACKS grows into a national collection of stories celebrating Indigenous-led conservation, culture and caring for Country.
About Indigenous Protected Areas
Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) form one of the world’s largest Indigenous-led conservation networks, protecting millions of hectares of land and sea while supporting culture, biodiversity and caring for Country.
To learn more about the Australian Government’s Indigenous Protected Areas Program, visit the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website.
Then explore our growing collection of BushTV films showcasing Traditional Owners and communities caring for Country. Click below to watch Right Way Fire filmed in Northern Australia during the cool burning period.
What began as a documentary about a traditional shelter became something much deeper. It was about cultural memory, intergenerational knowledge, language, Country and the remarkable determination of Olkola Elders to ensure an important part of their cultural heritage was not lost.
At Yawardani Jan-ga, healing doesn’t begin with a conversation. It begins with presence.Out on Country, among a small herd of horses, Aboriginal young people are learning something that can’t always be taught in classrooms or clinics. They are learning how to regulate, how to trust,
A sealed road would not just take people away from Wadeye. It would allow people to return, to homelands, to family, to places where identity is not under strain. It would ease the pressure that has built up in one place for too long, and
Yamatji family, domestic and sexual violence subject matter expert Kyalie Moore is taking her fight against Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence (FDSV) across Australia A few kilometres out from Dunham River, the road gave way. Soft mud. No warning. Kyalie Moore’s D-MAX sank deep, wheels spinning,
The road back to Carnarvon was never just another stop on the journey. It was home. The place where Kyalie Moore from Boomerang Consultancy was born, where she grew up, and where so much of her story began. But this time, she returned not just
Yamatji leader Kyalie Moore is taking her fight against family violence across Australia. At first light in Geraldton, high on a windswept lookout above Chapman Valley, Kyalie Moore stood alone with her tripod, waiting for the sun to lift over Country. She had planned to film
Warning: Aboriginal Viewers are advised that this story contains images and videos of a deceased person. The featured person gave consent for this story to be told. Sometimes we don’t realise what we’ll wish we’d kept until later. A voice. A memory. A story told in
By Melissa Mills My name is Melissa Mills. Legally, my surname is Lawton, but I work under Mills. I am a Ghungulu, Garingbal, and Bidjara woman from Central Queensland, and I am preparing to begin a PhD that did not start with academia. It started in childhood. I
Carol Thompson built a quiet legacy of service on Thursday Island, turning up for her people with steadiness, humility, and a heart for the work. This is her story. By Tom Hearn The tide is low on Thursday Island, the sea pulled back just enough to expose
Story by Tom Hearn WARNING - The following story and video contain images, video and voices of deceased persons. Permission has been granted for the publication of this story. History doesn’t arrive neatly in this country. It doesn’t come as a timeline or a lesson plan. More