Torres Strait Islander rangers Alice Manas, Ethel Anau and Tanya Anau work to preserve the region’s stunning environment while inspiring the next generation. Photo: Supplied.
In a traditionally male-dominated field, 18 female Torres Strait Islander rangers are inspiring generations of girls and women in caring for land and sea.
On the back of World Female Ranger Week 2025 (23-30 June), the women of Australia’s northernmost ranger program were celebrated for their role in preserving the Torres Strait region’s beautiful natural environment.
Ranger Alice Manas, who first joined the team on Boigu 10 years ago before rising the ranks to senior ranger and cluster supervisor, said she believed the work they did was special and meaningful.
“We are helping bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and Western science to give Traditional Owners a full picture about land and sea management,” she said.
“Our female ranger group is like a family; we work across many islands, but we live, breathe and strive to achieve the same dream – for our environment to be here for future generations.”
Torres Strait Regional Authority (TRSA) rangers undertake activities such as pest and weed control, marine debris removal, dugong and turtle management, seagrass monitoring, protection of cultural heritage sites, and preservation of traditional ecological knowledge.
The organisation started in 2009 with one ranger group on Mabuiag, and has grown to 13 ranger groups across 14 Torres Strait communities.
Today, female rangers work across the majority of TSRA’s ranger teams.
TSRA environmental management program manager Billie Roberts said women, who made up about a third of the local ranger workforce, played a vital role in empowering local decision-making around land and sea aspirations.
“Female rangers share a different lived experience and lens; this diversity of perspectives, ideas and approaches is invaluable for environmental management across the globe,” she said.
“TSRA has one of the most unique and successful ranger projects in the nation, empowering rangers to combine traditional wisdom and western science to care for Country in the best ways possible.”
