Rangeland Champions

Scattered across the vast rangelands is a small group of people who are championing further education and are passionate about ensuring a bright future for the rangelands. They have been called Rangeland Champions. Each has experienced the rewards of tertiary education, and is keen to encourage others to pursue external study from home.

Rangeland Champions can assist you with information about:

• The benefits of study
• New educational opportunities in rangeland programs
• Pathways for entry into higher education.

Once you are enrolled in a course, they can also assist you with:

• ‘After hours' advice regarding university expectations, assignments, etc
• Learning support
• Suggestions on balancing study with everything else in your life

The network of Rangeland Champions and their Coordinator have been supported by the ...

 

Mike Chuk, Longreach, Q 07 4658 3394, mike.chuk@dcq.org.au
	Mike has spent the past thirty years working in the rangelands of NSW, SA, QLD and the NT. His background includes agriculture, national parks and natural resource management. He has been actively involved in community processes in the Lake Eyre Basin which led to the Lake Eyre Basin Agreement. Mike currently works in planning for the regional NRM group Desert Channels Queensland and other land managers in the rangelands of Queensland. His current passion is making the  Rangelands Alliance an effective voice for the NRM bodies of outback and northern Australia. Mike is an active community worker with interests in local government, Landcare and horse sports.
Joe Rolfe Mareeba, Q 07 4095 5660    joe.rolfe@dpi.qld.gov.au
	Joe is excited to be involved with Rangelands Australia as a Rangeland Champion and is keen to help people expand their rangeland education.  “I admire the skills and knowledge of many rangeland managers I currently work with.  These people are thirsty for information and innovative ideas and I hope I can encourage them to link with the courses and networks developed by Rangelands Australia.” Born and raised on sheep and wheat properties in NSW, Joe has spent the last 18 years working and living in the rangelands of north Queensland.  Joe currently works with beef producers across Cape York and the Gulf of Carpentaria. As a keen student of native pastures, land management and extensive beef production, Joe is passionate about working with and helping rangeland managers.
Richard Golden, ‘Potters Flat’ via Yuleba Q 07 4623 5228, rhgpf@westnet.com
	Richard Golden is the fourth generation of his family living and working in the rangelands. With his wife and four children he breeds cattle on ‘Potter’s Flat’ north-east of Roma in southern Queensland. Thirty years after leaving school in grade 10 he enrolled and successfully completed a Graduate Certificate in Rangeland Management, and is now studying for his Graduate Diploma. With his positive experience of distance education, he hopes to encourage and support others as they tread the same path.
Bob Shepherd , Charters Towers Q 07 4787 2891 bob.shepherd@uq.edu.au
	Bob has lived and worked in the Burdekin and Northern Gulf regions for over 20 years, and completed a Masters of Agriculture (mix of full time and external part-time) while he was working as an extension officer. He has worked with a wide spectrum of rangeland stakeholders, and has seen the value of further knowledge and qualifications. Bob has many interests, and understands the difficulties of balancing the demands of work, family, study and other commitments. He is passionate about learning, and helping people to pursue careers in agriculture and natural resource management.
Sharon Bell , Dulkaninna Station via Marree SA 08 8675 8307 sharon.bell@uq.edu.au
	Sharon has lived and worked on Dulkaninna, a cattle station on the Birdsville track, for almost 30 years. She is a strong supporter of life long learning, and has completed a Bachelor of Land Management, by distance, over a period of 11 years. She is now partway through a postgraduate course in environmental studies. Sharon understands the importance of on-going support and encouragement, has acquired many strategies for studying, and has a good understanding of many of the pitfalls of studying by distance.
Jim Cawthorne, Sandy Creek SA 08 8524 4527 j.cawthorne@uq.edu.au
	Jim returned to study when aged 30 with a wife and three young children, and is very aware of the hardships of balancing the demands of study, family and personal health. He has 30 years experience as an extension officer in country SA, and has lived in the rangelands for the past 9 years. He has managed service delivery for Primary Industries and Resources SA at district and regional levels for many years, and was involved in the establishment of Outback SA. Jim is committed to promoting further education, and to supporting people who are trying to help themselves through further study by distance.
Michelle Maunder, Orange, NSW 02 6362 0342   m.maunder@uq.edu.au
	Michelle Maunder was raised on the family property near Trundle NSW, and after nearly 30 changes of address, across Australia and abroad, she has returned to the Central West to call Orange home. She completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) in 1994 and worked throughout  central and far western NSW. After enrolling in a Masters of Adult Education she experienced the mix of emotions that seem to come with the territory when juggling study with ‘life’, in her case that included fulltime work, two changes of address, a wedding and a bouncing baby boy. One of the many benefits of the experience is that she now has a ‘bag of tricks’. Michelle believes further education is one of the ways to keep people, the communities they live in and the rangelands themselves, flourishing. Having read past students’ comments on the quality and relevance of Rangeland Australia’s education programs she is proud to be involved and enthusiastic about supporting people through this phase of their life-long learning journey.
Christine Ferguson, Wanaaring,NSW 02 6874 7853   dlcj@bigpond.com
	Christine and her husband bought Myrnong Station near Wanaaring at the beginning of 2001. Coming from “greener pastures” the learning curve has been both steep and challenging. They have benefited financially and personally from attending various training over the past six years, and, after two years of study, Christine has just completed a Graduate Certificate in Rangeland Management.  I’m motivated to study by a desire to know what makes our landscape work so we can make it work for us to its full  potential.” Christine is keen to help others realise these benefits as part of her new role as a Rangeland Champion.
Dee Wilkes-Bowes, 'Anderloose' NARADHAN NSW 02 6896 9892 karanga@aapt.net.au
	Dee grew up in western NSW, completed an agricultural economics degree, and has worked in rural advocacy and agricultural policy development. She is currently doing a Masters in Public Policy, part-time and by distance, and understands the value of education in expanding horizons and coping with change. Dee also appreciates the importance of motivation and a strong support base for success in distance education, especially when combining study with bringing up young children.

 

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Feedback on the Value of the Champions Network

A 2008 survey of Rangeland Management students has highlighted the importance of the Champions in improving participation and retention in tertiary study in rural and remote Australia, and demonstrates that the Champions network is a welcome and valued initiative.

All of the respondents who had interacted with a Champion thought that the Champions were accessible when they (ie the students) needed them.

Fourty-three percent of the respondents who had used the Champions had done so 'once or twice', 30% had used them '3-5 times', 23% '6-10 time', and 3% (ie. one person) had used them more than 10 times since first contact.

The assistance given was overwhelmingly rated ' very helpful', with the remaining (~10%) rating the assistance as 'helpful'. Ways in which the Champions had been able to assist students were, in declining order of importance:

• "Helping me to think about things differently"
• "Study tips"
• "Explaining options for futher study"
• "Preparing an RPL case"
• "Clarification of University requirement/expectations"
• "Comments on draft assignment"
• "General ecouragement and motivation"
• "Organising a 'Getting into Further Study' course"

There would seem to be a good case for expanding this initiative, as evidenced by the responses to a question about the 'overall impression' of the Rangelands Champions initiative.

Comments included:

• "Given me the confidence to accept the challenge of further study"
• "Without the Champion's support and encouragement, I would not have commenced (further) studies"
• "Invaluable - boosted my confidence when I was unsure about my progress"
• "Very important part f achieving (success) in distance study"
• "Great idea - students in remote locations need the support that an experienced student can provide through advice and mentoring"
• "A great initiative, especially for thos who have not been in formal education settings for many years"
• "Very important to anyone considering (further) studies"
• "The style and mode of the (RM) course is creating a practical and accessible avenue for higher education, and the Champions are much needed mentors in this process. If the course is a piece of cloth, and the student is a piece of cloth, thn the Champions is the thread that pulls them together"
• "Brilliant concept that is proving its value in practice"
• "If it wasn't for the Rangeland Champions initiative I would not be involved with this (the RM program) at all"

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