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On South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, children are learning from their elders as they work in the garden established at the local school.
The Point Pearce First Nations culture garden features a medicinal and ceremonial plant area, native foods a sensory garden and a dedicated space for learning and cultural practice.
Narungga elder Lyle Sansbury said while the garden is about caring for Country, it also has cultural and health impacts for the children.
“It’s passing on knowledge to children in both aspects of plants and even the animal world,” he told AAP.
“You’ve got native plants as well as the normal gardening vegetables for good vitamins for them to have.”
For decades at Point Pearce, which was first established as a Lutheran Mission, Aboriginal people were not allowed to practice culture or speak their language.
Mr Sansbury said being able to pass on cultural knowledge through the garden is important for both the elders and the students.
“It’s a sense of pride to be able to pass that on to our children,” he said.
“We’re allowed to do it now and it’s good to pass knowledge on, like in this garden with native plants and they can see their elders there, which gives them pride too.”
The project is a partnership between Point Pearce Aboriginal Corporation and Landcare Australia.
Point Pearce Aboriginal Corporation general manager Paul Hecksaid the initiative was a powerful opportunity for elders and youth to connect.
“The project will allow us to run workshops were elders like Lyle can work with the kids, exchange stories and be part of their education,” he said.
The garden is the second phase of the project, focusing on getting young people involved in cultural and land management practices.
Landcare Australia chief executive Shane Norrish said the sooner young people get involved in caring for Country, the better.
“It’s about building a strong foundation that creates further knowledge but just as importantly it helps them to make the right moves, take the right actions,” he said.
“Involving young people as early as possible is all about setting up a platform for them to take responsibility for our natural areas in the future.”
The first phase was the restoration of native habitat on the Wardang Island Indigenous Protected Area, which Dr Norrish said was a success, with re-vegetation efforts resulting in an estimated 600,000 new stems in the area.
In future, Mr Sansbury said he hopes to continue to get young people involved in caring for Country, with the community looking to establish a junior rangers program.