Out of the books and into the boots for Cape York NRM Graduate Trainee

In my six months as a graduate trainee with Cape York NRM I have learned as much I did during four years at university.

It’s been a steep learning curve, but the only way to get over a big hill is to hit it at pace!

I have been lucky enough to attend a whole lot of training sessions, and have gained both knowledge and experience as a result.

At the Low-Stress Stockhandling course at Fairview Station I gained skills on how to develop the right attitude to calmly manage cattle.

At the erosion control workshop at Artemis Station I learned how to build outback roads that work. At the Cape York Indigenous Fire Workshop at Mary Valley I was privileged to receive hands-on insights into traditional burning methods.

During that week at Mary Valley I also picked up a lesson I won’t forget—don’t set up camp right next to where they are doing night burning, unless you want your swag to permanently smell like charcoal!

And, volunteering in the kitchen at the Laura Rodeo I mastered the art of making toasties like my life depended on it.

Most of all I have been blown away by the kindness and friendliness of everyone I have met on the Cape.

I can’t wait to keep meeting new people and building strong partnerships for great land management on Cape York.

“This place is incredibly special, mainly because  of the people who help take such good care of it”

The Agricultural Extension Work Placement Program is facilitated by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation with the aim of enhancing extension skills as graduates assist in delivering agricultural and natural resource management projects with landholders in Great Barrier Reef catchments. The Program is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with support from the Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program.