Hope Vale/Pelican project
2004-2015 ‘Crocodile Curriculum’ From over 10 years of Sea Country experiential learning The story of the Hope Vale/Pelican project spans over a decade of collaborative work in Guugu Yimithirr Sea Country and areas North and South of this region in Far North Queensland, Cape York. The marine and coastal experiential learning from the project will be transformed into school curriculum as both a legacy and methodology to engage school children in science and Culture. ‘Crocodile Curriculum’ will cover Ocean Literacy* and Caring for Sea Country principles illuminated by traditional knowledge and science. The curriculum will be aimed at both Primary and Secondary school contexts.
The Hope Vale/Pelican program brings together Indigenous community members with researchers, Parks managers, rangers and the broader community as part of a Caring for Sea Country and Suicide prevention project. Pelican1, a purpose-built 62 foot catamaran, cruises Guugu Yimithirr Sea Country annually and coastal communities have been invited aboard and engaged with the work conducted by a collaborative group of Elders, scientists, teachers, doctors, sailors and researchers who make up the Hope Vale/ Pelican team. The program also runs beach programs that operate alongside the ocean work. This has included sports, dance, cultural activities such as Arts and Crafts, digital story-telling and health awareness workshops
‘Crocodile curriculum’ will provide an overview of that work and will integrate subjects such as traditional knowledge and science, climate change, resource and catchment management, local history, marine debris, managing biodiversity (looking at iconic species such as the Sea Turtle and Dugong) and ecology. Wherever possible, insight from the traditional owners of Sea Country will be included and we will explore the connections between the creation stories of Guugu Yimithirr and Dingaal people and the data being uncovered by recent scientific research. At the conclusion of this curriculum, the learner will have developed a keener awareness of the principles of Ocean Literacy, traditional uses of national marine parks and active knowledge of the indigenous peoples (Guugu Yimithirr/Dingaal) of Cape York as well as a clearer understanding of the local ecologies, cultures and environment.
The content of the chapters encapsulate the work done and stories told on Guugu Yimithirr Country by Guugu Yimithirr people and acknowledges all the ancestors past and Elders present.