MGC Murnong Patch Develops
On Friday we welcomed Damien Nicholson, Darren Wandin and Glen Clapton from the Wurundjeri Narrap team to complete a long- planned aspect of the Murnong bush tucker garden; carving a traditional shield and creating a scar tree to mark the significance of the site.
Picture caption: L to R: Damien Nicholson (front), Darren Wandin and Glenn Clapton holding the shield and displaying the Murnong carving in the cambium layer of a River Red gum that grows in the middle of the Murnong bush tucker garden. The team coated the carving with Ochre after completing the work with help from MGC students.
Picture caption: L to R: Damien Nicholson (front), Darren Wandin and Glenn Clapton holding the shield and displaying the Murnong carving in the cambium layer of a River Red gum that grows in the middle of the Murnong bush tucker garden. The team coated the carving with Ochre after completing the work with help from MGC students.
The shield will be used for collecting Murnong tubers during harvest ceremonies and the new scar tree is a traditional way of marking special sites. Our staff and students have worked hard this year to develop the outdoor classroom spaces. The Murnong site is accessible to the public. Community working bees are organized from time to time by the MGC Sustainability collective. For more information, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Mr. Andrew Vance avance@mgc.vic.edu.au
This project has been carried out under the supervision of Wurundjeri elder Uncle Dave Wandin and has been part of the wider Reconciliation through Revegetation project, which is an ongoing collaboration between MGC staff and students, members of the MGC Sustainability Collective team, (especially Dr Colin Hocking) City of Yarra and the Wurundjeri Council. Special Acknowledgement to Uncle Bill Nicholson and Aunty Dianne Kerr for their wisdom and guidance over the last seven years that we have been revegetating the banks of the Birrarung with Murnongs and other bush foods! We also acknowledge the financial support from the City of Yarra through providing a Community Partnership Grant to facilitate a lot of this groundwork and to embed the cultural and ecological significance of the Murnong into our curriculum.
