Indigenous garden

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held in July each year to celebrate and recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

As part of the celebrations, a group of students formed a committee to design and build an indigenous garden.

The purpose of this student-led project is to educate ourselves around the local flora and to recognise the Wangal people as the traditional owners of the land the College is built upon. Local indigenous plants are easy to maintain, requiring less water and care, as they have adapted to the local area’s climate and other environmental conditions. The garden will be located next to the Conference Centre. The area we’ve earmarked is 15m x 17m.

Where possible we are aiming for this to be a low / no cost, recycle, reuse and a donation-based project. We are seeking donations of locally sourced indigenous plants and seed to propagate, river rocks, etc.

Once the garden is completed in 2023, the student committee (pending monies raised) might seek to organise a traditional smoking ceremony to formally open the space.

If you can assist in any way with the garden, we would be most grateful. Please get in touch with kirsty.dunk@mcdonald.nsw.edu.au

Image: A native local to the Inner West area. A climber called ‘Purple Coral Pea’ Hardenbergia violacea. (Source: innerwest.nsw.gov.au)