Out and About with Kulin Seasons
The Project
Out and About (now Learning with Place ©) is created by Associate Professors Jeanne Marie Iorio and Catherine Hamm from the University of Melbourne. Out and About is our action towards hopeful climate change. We know there is a lack of connection between humans and the environment. We go Out and About to build deep relationships with local places, trees, bushes, animals, insects, and waterways. Central to this work is foregrounding Aboriginal Worldviews and the stories and histories of Place. These relationships inform how we make decisions that consider the environment and all with whom we share the planet.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have always been in relation with their Ancestral lands and connected with environmental changes since the beginning of time. Out and About with Kulin seasons is a teaching and learning project with preschool children, their families, teachers, local Aboriginal artists/educators, and researchers that took place over 2018-2019. The project focuses on paying attention to Creek, Park, Lorikeet, Magpie and others. We document the local seasonal shifts from a First Nations worldview, rather than the traditional Northern Hemisphere understandings of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. We walked together with Wurundjeri Country, noticing the changes to plants, animals, waterways, and Sky Country. As we walk, we connect deeply with our local Place.
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We invite you to find out more about Learning with Place by watching our video. And as you connect deeply with Creek and Park, you might also like to share images and thoughts about the connections you make to our Instagram page @learning_with_place
Enjoy!
Project Team: Annette Sax (Taungurung), Jenaya Serra ( Gunditamara), Catherine Hamm (Settler heritage from the UK) and Mim Brown (Settler heritage from the UK).
This project was inspired by conversations with, and teachings from:
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Aunty Dr Sue Atkinson (Yorta Yorta), who through the Possum Skin Pedagogy teaches us that First Nations people have been teachers of environmental knowledges since the beginning.
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The Welcome to Country picture book by Aunty Joy Murphy (Wurundjeri) and Lisa Kennedy (Palawa). This beautiful book generates much teaching and learning with Wurundjeri Country.
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Uncle Bill Nicholson (Wurundjeri) whose important knowledge of the Kulin Seasons provided inspiration for the project.
To engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educational services and resources, please visit https://www.yarnstrongsista.com/
This project was supported by the following organisations:
Yarn Strong Sista, Association of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies, Melbourne Water, and The University of Melbourne