From the Enviro Team

This term, our Year 7 students held their Murrnong Day celebrations, and on Sunday we celebrated National Tree Day along the Birrarung (Yarra River).

We were very fortunate to have Uncle Bill Nicholson return to MGC to share his wisdom about Wurundjeri culture, and we thank him for performing a Welcome to Country for our Year 7 students. Uncle Bill also performed a smoking ceremony in our Murrnong Garden, which was a thoughtful experience for the students. Throughout the day, educators from the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation ran workshops in the library, teaching us about the different seasons in Melbourne (Naarm) and agricultural practices, and showcasing various tools to our students and teachers.

In Physical World classes, students learnt about biodiversity and Australian native plants, and planted their own murrnongs and other Australian natives in our patch along the Birrarung. They also learnt how First Nations people cared for the environment through artificial selection and about the impacts of colonisation on Country.

On the Sunday, many volunteers participated in and spoke at Tree Day. Thank you to our two partner organisations that helped run the event: the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Wattle Youth Conservation. We were very grateful to experience a community welcome and smoking ceremony by Uncle Pallyan Hunter, who spoke on the bank of the Birrarung.

Thank you to the teacher volunteers who coordinated the planting and ran the complimentary barbecue, which was kindly donated in full by our friends at Give a Fork, whose mission is to improve access to plant-based food and make barbecue events more sustainable. We were very grateful to provide a plant-based barbecue for our community and volunteers.

Overall, it was a very successful celebration of National Tree Day for MGC and our community!

Tamsin Day

Environment Captain