Vanessa Walsh Vanessa Walsh
Sea Country Facilitator
Started With Dhimurru:
 2008
   
Background:
 Vanessa has lived in Gove for nearly 6 years. She moved from Darwin with her family on the promise of beautiful beaches, clean water and flourishing indigenous culture, and they have not been disappointed. During her time in Gove, Vanessa has partaken in numerous activities including managing her recreational and commercial diving business, raising two small children and managing the Town Pool. Around this she has also been studying for a Batchelor of Environmental Science at Charles Darwin University. She is a SCUBA Instructor, commercial diver and coxswain.
Role at Dhimurru:
 Vanessa’s role at Dhimurru is to facilitate the implementation of the Sea Country Plan. She works closely with the Sea Country Rangers; Balupalu Yunupingu and PJ Patrick White to ensure sea country is managed according to the wishes and concerns raised by the Traditional Owners. Current projects include Marine Debris cleanups, ghost net cleanups, turtle recovery, turtle tracking, coxswain training and foreign fishing vessel debris monitoring.
Comment:

The role of SCF is both challenging and extremely rewarding. Since commencing this position I have been exposed to fantastic, knowledgable and generous people, both Ngapaki and Yolngu. I am humbled by the depth of understanding of land management practices the traditional owners hold and still practice today, and I consider this experience a privilege. “Both ways” management is a relatively new concept, but it is a concept which is practiced seamlessly on a daily basis at Dhimurru, and is well and truly woven into Dhimurru’s philosophy.