Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association (BNAA) is celebrating the launch of its new Rangers team - the BoorYul-Bah-Bilya Rangers.

The BBB Rangers are the first dedicated Aboriginal rangers team to be established in Boorloo / Perth, marking a significant milestone for the metropolitan area.

Although only a few months into operations, the BBB Rangers are already making major contributions. From discovering the "locally extinct" Balston's pygmy perch in the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River), to mapping the proposed Mandoon Bilya Riverpark, the team has hit the ground running.

The Rangers' core purpose is to care for and restore the natural and cultural environment of the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) catchment as part of BNAA's BoorYul-Bah-Bilya program.

BoorYul-Bah-Bilya (BBB) is BNAA's community-led program for healing Country. BBB is using the Mandoon Bilya to develop a transformative new model of river catchment management, with an ambitious vision not only to restore one river, but to create a transferable model that inspires the revival of rivers across Australia and beyond.

The BBB Rangers are working along waterways and in reserves across Mundaring, Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill, Bickley Valley, Piesse Brook, Pickering Brook, Glen Forrest, Darlington, Boya, Koongamia, Helena Valley, Bushmead, Bellevue, Midland, Hazelmere, Woodbridge and Guildford, including National Parks such as Beelu, Helena and Greenmount.

BNAA Chairperson and Noongar Elder, Walter McGuire OAM, encouraged people to stand up and protect Country.

"If you got story, heart, spirit, soul; then speak yourself for the old, the now and the future. Stand for it," he said.

"Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association has story, song, heart, spirit, and soul. We speak, we stand for this environment.

"BoorYul-Bah-Bilya is reconnecting the magical essence that this land has for all peoples."

Mr McGuire emphasised that people are connected with their natural environment.

"This environment is our family, we are part of it and it is part of us," he said.

"The land, rivers, springs, hills, nighttime sky, daytime sky, sun, moon, stars, rain, lightning, thunder, freshwater, oxygen, clouds, wind, all flora and fauna, everything; is our sisters and brothers, our Moort-Family."

The BBB Rangers are involved in a wide range of land and water management activities, including monitoring the Perth Hills quokkas and black cockatoos, protecting cultural sites, and working alongside local community groups, schools and businesses to help rebuild connection to Country.

A priority focus for the BBB Rangers is BNAA's Mandoon Bilya Riverpark initiative - a major three‑year rehabilitation project that will create a continuous natural parkland linking the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) in Guildford to the Darling Scarp in Helena Valley.

BNAA has established several stakeholder groups to share knowledge and ensure the local community remains at the heart of this work, and the BBB Rangers have been supporting local volunteer groups along the river, including preparations for recent planting events.

The team is also collaborating with the Ballardong Corporation Rangers to align activities across the entire Mandoon-Helena Catchment, ensuring outcomes at a landscape scale.

Rangers activities include:

· Land and water management - on-ground care of rivers, wetlands and bushland

· Ecosystem restoration and conservation - revegetation, habitat repair and erosion control

· Weed and feral animal control

· Biosecurity and pest management

· Biodiversity monitoring and surveys

· Fire management

· Cultural mapping

· Heritage site protection

· Cultural activities

· Community events and education

The Rangers can also undertake fee-for-service work, including landcare, fire mitigation, education activities and community events. BNAA encouraged any interested organisations to get in touch if they have a project the Rangers may be able to support.

BNAA are also preparing to launch their new BBB Rangers headquarters in the Perth Hills later this year.

BNAA Executive Director, Francesca Flynn, said the launch of the BoorYul-Bah-Bilya Rangers marks "a critical turning point for the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River)".

"In just a few months, the BBB Rangers have shown what's possible when cultural knowledge, science and community come together to achieve the best outcomes for Country," she said.

"The BBB Rangers are already reshaping the future of this river, and we're incredibly proud to be building a model that can inspire community-led river restoration across Australia and beyond.

"We're hugely grateful to everyone who has supported this momentous outcome - our partners, collaborators, community, family and especially our Elders and the old people who are no longer with us. Their guidance and legacy will always continue to shape this work."