Yakanarra Community School students have been participating in two-way science, or '2WS', learning alongside Ngurrara Women Ranger group leaders in the Kimberley's Great Sandy Desert.
2WS teaching and learning occurs when traditional Indigenous knowledge is used to teach the contemporary science curriculum.
As part of the program, students were taught about the use of camera traps and surveys as well as native and feral animals.
Students learned about local Walmajarri names for animals, predicted quantities of animals observed and categories them into either native or feral species.
Participating in the fauna survey also saw student inspired to produce a mural of the animals they encountered through the 2WS experience.
Local Senior Walmajarri Elder and language teacher, Jessica Moore, said the 2WS program gave students the opportunity to study less familiar science concepts.
"I reckon this project was really good because they are learning about different animals that live out bush and the ones that we don't see them much, the ones that come out at night," Ms Moore said.
"I also liked that we did culture way by setting up a smoking ceremony before we went out onto Country. The rangers showed the kids how to set up the camera the proper way so they can't be damaged."
Elders conducted a smoking ceremony on Country which included telling stories about local tribes coming together to perform traditional dance and exchange cultural items.
Ms Moore said she expects the 2WS program to expand in future years.
"This project might get better and better by bigger kids keeping on using that equipment on their own and taking more photos," she said.
The program exposed students to the work undertaken by the Ngurrara Women Rangers with the hope of encouraging the next generation of Indigenous rangers.
Ngurrara Ranger Sumayah Surprise said the program was a very successful.
"The kids learnt so quickly about setting up the camera baits and buttons in the different locations and water holes. It was very impressive to see how well language translated into some of the scientific words," Ms Surprise said.
"The kids also learnt to identify what was native and not native and how to identify the tracks of different animals on the night walks."
The Kimberley Land Council supports the 2WS project by rolling out the program to school students in remote Aboriginal communities, aiming to support intergenerational knowledge transmission, keep culture and Country healthy and improve student engagement, achievement and wellbeing.
The program aligns with both the Western Australian curriculum and the CSIRO's two-way science model, with the program funded through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy 1.2 Children and Schooling.
