Cross-cultural map is as functional as it is beautiful

But the work that's emerging on a large expanse of canvas is a cross-cultural map that is as functional as it is beautiful.

And while it's far from finished, it's already aiding landscape management efforts on traditional lands in the Northern Territory desert.

The Ngalurrtju Aboriginal Land Trust is a 323,128 hectares tract of land on the edge of the Tanami Desert that abuts the Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

For 50 years it was a cattle station but it's now back in the hands of traditional owners who are working in partnership with AWC to manage its unique biodiversity, using traditional and Western knowledge.

"Our catch cry that one of our traditional owners has come up with is that we work in two ways to protect country and culture," AWC operations manager at Ngalurrtju Steve Eldridge says.

But given the sprawling area is home to four kinship groups who speak three Indigenous languages, the collaboration demanded a different approach - and that's where the map comes in.

"English is probably a third or fourth language for many of the people, so writing a standard management plan full of jargon and scientific language is just not going to be accessible to the owners," Mr Eldridge says.

"The landscape map we've been doing, it replaces that.

"It's something we can use as a focal point of our discussions, something visual ... for interpretation on both sides."

About 30 contributors gathered for a recent workshop to create the base layer of the map.

A topographic base map of Ngalurrtju was projected and painted onto the canvass, with traditional owners adding representations of landscape features, wildlife, dreaming stories and sacred sites.

Records of threatened and culturally significant animals and plants will also be added to what will be a forever-evolving document.

It can be painted over to change with the landscape and reflect the work being done to manage fire, for example, to protect pockets of vulnerable species like the great desert skink.

"The traditional owners have got a really intimate knowledge of the land, a very strong connection to the land, and a responsibility to the land," Mr Eldridge said.

"This is about putting two heads together to achieve our goals."

The practice of two-way mapping is an emerging approach but traditional-owner rangers Terence Abbott, Gilbert Wako and Taylor Dixon say its value is already clear.

They've watched as elders have added their knowledge to the map and have been better able to understand what landscape management work is planned in which locations, thanks to the inclusion of their own reference points.

"It's new to us. It's never happened before like that," Mr Abbott says.

Mr Wako is among those who've added detail to the map and Mr Dixon says he's learned more about country while watching elders work on the map.

"It's giving me new knowledge about things I didn't know, things I'm still learning about out here," Mr Dixon says.

Mr Eldridge says there's communal pride in the map, which will aid discussions when stakeholders gather to discuss what work needs to be done to keep the land healthy.

"It is a work of art. And people are really proud of it."