Senior Primary Royal Botanic Gardens Excursion

Excursions offer exciting, hands-on experiences that students remember for years to come. This Connecting to Country excursion, held in the stunning Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, immersed students in Indigenous traditional cultural practices, deepening their understanding through meaningful, real-world learning. Please enjoy the following writing from our students.

The SP Team

Student reflections

Did you know? When boys turn into a man, they get naked and they climb the Bunga Bunga tree and must return 2 large pinecones. It’s a weird tradition I learnt today.

Aboriginals would kill possums and take their furry skins for warmth. When a baby will be born the child’s mum would gift them possum skin, the possum skin had 2 sides, one would keep them warm and the other would repel water. Every birthday the mum would gift a new possum skin that has drawings of parts of their life.

When an Aboriginal person dies they have their possum skins with them in the grave… Which is a bit lovely and questionable at the same time. Possum skins were a big impact for the Aboriginals.

Kem S 

“SQUARK!” screeched the cockatoo’s! Nature smells AMAZING! And the dried grass feels like plastic. I taste all the fresh air around me! I would highly recommend coming here! 

Maxwell D

I flick the strings of the silky spider web, it vibrates like a guitar. The Titanic tree tower above me like a giant standing next to an ant. This was me standing in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Jakobi, our guide for today, taught me how to make outstanding trinkets for my hat. The work was simple, but the outcome was incredible.

Matthew T

Crunch, crunch, crunch went the leaves beneath my feet, as I heard the trickling of water and the sound of birds echoing through the lush, green ecosystem, as the SPG students listened to Jakobi talking about Aboriginal weapons and tools. 

Melody M