One major project that the unit is currently undertaking is the facilitation of traditional owner intergenerational knowledge transfer.  This includes the documentation of cultural heritage sites, places and story lines as well as traditional resource use and in particular the uses of plants, whether they be for medicines or art and craft.  Girringun has set up several relational database which store and allow the information to be retrieved and/or graphically displayed in a GIS.

Two of the main databases are the cultural heritage database and an ethnobotanical information database. Information on cultural places are recorded using archaeological and anthropological techniques which lately have been expanded to include the adition of digital media. Digital photos of places are linked to site details in the database and can be embeded in site reports, while digital video and audio files can be linked to the database using HTML. This database is a constant work-in-progress as new sites are recorded or new information is acquired for known sites. Locational details like site coordinates are also being improved.

The ethnobotanical database was created using data sourced from Dr. Irvine (CSIRO) who was given the information by Aunty Bessie Jerry, a Girramay Elder. The database lists: family, scientific name, common name, Aboriginal language name where known in up to five dialects, Traditional use, and calander information. This list is also being expanded and photographs of the species are added as they become available.  

Information from traditional owners is documented by various means –audio, photo, video, film and DVD recordings for use by the groups.

The unit has an extensive cultural heritage database with Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities. Enquiries should be addressed to the Senior Archaeologist, Girringun Aboriginal Corporation, PO Box 303, Cardwell, Queensland 4849.

Read about the services provided for traditional owners and other community groups