Year 9 Murnong Day

On December 5th 2017, MGC hosted its first ever Murnong harvest celebratrion!

After 7 years of planting, weeding, tending and caring for country the MGC Sustainability Collective decided it was about time for our year 9 students to harvest some of the Murnongs (or Yam Daiseys) and cook them in a traditional earth oven. The year 9 students study an indigenous unit in their World of Ideas subject.

The day began with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony performed by Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Bill Nicholson. Our year 9 students then participated in a day of activities focused around bush tucker, biodiversity, Wurundjeri culture and aboriginal art (both visual and performance based). Students got the opportunity to dig Murnongs using traditional digging sticks, throw spears, use fire sticks, weave string and baskets using natural materials and to try some bush tucker (Murnongs, Kangaroo, wallaby and Emu!). Our day concluded with a group reflection, followed by a comedy performance by Steph Tisdell, a young aboriginal woman and winner of the “Deadly Funny” award.

We would like to sincerely thank the education team from the Wurundjeri Tribe and Land Council, led by Uncle Bill, volunteers Angela Foley and Pascale Pinnot from MECARG, City of Yarra Councillor Chen Yi Mei, Meccarg members Angela Foley and Pascale Pitot, La Trobe Wildlife Sanctuary educators Andrew and Sophia, Jane Urqhart and our volunteer year 11 students who came back from their break to assist the running of the activities, Monique Burns, Laura Walsh, Hannah Carlisle, Maddie Hanns and Jacqueline Waters.

In 2017, MGC was awarded a Community Partnership Grant to strengthen partnerships with the Traditional owners of our land, the Wurundjeri People with a specific goal to develop our community bush tucker garden on the banks of the Yarra. We have developed a tradition over the past 7 years where year 7 students participate in a Welcome to Country Ceremony on Tree day and they plant their own bush tucker plant into our reconciliation garden. The space is open to the public, located on the eastern fence of the boundary between the bike path and the main building.

MGC would like to acknowledge to ongoing support of the Yarra Council in facilitating this habitat restoration and cultural awareness work and invite you to share in the knowledge we have developed since we first started planting Murnongs on the site seven years ago.

If you would like to learn more, contact Andrew Vance @ avance@mgc.vic.edu.au or view the Sustainability Collective page: http://mgc.vic.edu.au/community/sustainability-collective/

Andrew Vance

Sustainability Coordinator