From the Enviro Team

Tree Day

On Sunday the 28th July, the MGC Environment Team in alliance with the Australian Conservation Foundation (inner Melbourne and Borondara branches) participated in the national Planet Ark Tree Day at our very own Murnong Patch. Alongside MGC staff members and students and ACF volunteers, were hundreds of willing and green-thumbed community members eager to lend a helping hand towards fulfilling our ecological vision. We had the pleasure to meet Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Wandin Murphy who welcomed us to Country, and generously shared with us part of her story, reaffirming the significance of sustainability not just in the present day, but throughout the enduring history of the Kulin Nation. 

We were delighted by the presence of two inspirational female environmentalists - Greens senator Janet Rice and independent member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, who shared their valued perspectives on biodiversity. Following the uplifting speeches and smoking ceremony, enthusiastic volunteers lined the recently steam-weeded river bank with newspaper and mulch, with newspaper minimising interference from exotic weed species. 

After planting indigenous trees and grasses across the sloping river bank, we retired to a delicious vegetarian BBQ stall, generously managed by MGC staff, parents and SCF volunteers. In light of the continuous decline of native biodiversity in Victoria and across Australia, to see the community unite over the shared passion for ecosystem regeneration boosted everyone’s spirits - the bank of young seedlings, our beacon of hope. 

Murnong Day: Wednesday 2nd August

Our 13th annual Murnong Day was marked by a brilliant sunshine that crept through the cracks of the canopy, illuminating our Murnong Patch. To begin, Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Bill Nicholson welcomed the year 7 cohort to Country, and generously shared the stories of his ancestors survival and perseverance in the face of brutal colonisation, and how it continues to impact on the generational transfer of cultural knowledge and practises. Uncle Bill Nicholson emphasised the importance of alliances and friendship between non-indigenous and Indigenous peoples’ to not only reconcile the injustices of the past and present, but as the key to effectively tackling Australia’s ecological and climate emergency. 

Aligning with Uncle Bill’s talk, in the preceding week, Year 7’s engaged in eco cultural workshops, where they learnt of the sustainable land management of the Wurundjeri People through their cultivation of the Murnong plant, and further the disastrous effects of European colonisation and inappropriate agricultural management on Victoria’s land, indigenous biodiversity and First Peoples’. Following the smoking ceremony, Year 7’s made their way down to the Murnong Patch where they were given the opportunity to plant their own indigenous and culturally significant plant, choosing from a variety of grasses, succulents, lilies and climbers. Just some of these plants, referred to in Woi wurrung language include; Murnong (yam daisy), Pike (bulbine lily) and Ban (kangaroo grass). 

After planting, Year 7’s wrote their name and the name of their plant on a rock, which they placed beside their plant, in the hope they return throughout their MGC journey to water and watch grow. Year 7’s also participated in cultural workshops conducted by Uncle Bill… Ending on a high note, with over 200 native plants grounded in the Murnong patch and new understandings of how to plant and the cultural value of biodiversity shared amongst the year 7’s, the day was not possible without the passion and hard work of the Environment Team and MGC Staff. A special thank you to Tamsin Day and Maggie Grossbard who led a fabulous team of MGC Enviro reps teaching how to effectively plant and explaining the value of the plants to the year 7s! 

By Sophie Hart

MGC Environment Captain: Biodiversity