Year 6 Excursion

On Friday the 29th of July, the Year 6 students went on an Indigenous Immersion Day Excursion during which we learned about Indigenous culture and sustainability. We began at the Royal Botanical Gardens where we would be led on a learning about Indigenous connection to the land called ‘Connection to Country’. To begin with we met Jakobi who is an Indigenous man from Gariwerd country (Grampians area). He asked us to stand in a circle altogether and led us in a Welcome to Country. He spoke to us about how Indigenous people have such a strong connection to the land and taught us that as children our name is “boop boops.”
- Jaimi Dimtsis-Draskas
Jakobi took our class group over to a tea tree where he asked us to take some leaves, scrunch them up and smell them. He spoke to us about the beneficial healing and antibacterial properties of the tree and explained how it was used to clean wounds. Jakobi showed us a range of traditional Indigenous tools such as the boomerang and the club which both had multiple purposes such as; catching animals or digging. He taught us how to throw a boomerang and explained the ground effect. Jakobi allowed us to examine a possum skin which we learned is linked very closely to life and death for the Indigenous people.
- Thenuja Fernando
For our second activity, we went over to the lake and saw a range of waterfowl. Our guide explained that many many years ago, the lake used to be joined to the Yarra River. We were greeted by some chatty swans at the lake.
She showed us the Cockatoo Tree which was a 350-400 year old Gum Tree and explained how it represented the elders or grandparents in the Indigenous community. This tree was referred to as the ‘biel.’ Following this, we ventured over to the Banya Banya Pine. We learnt that when young Indigenous men come of age, they would have to climb all the way to the top of the tree and cut down all of the Banya nuts (which weigh up to 8 kg). We even got to walk underneath the spiky leaves and into the middle of the tree. Our whole class fit in the tree together - how cool!
Christian Khreish
Our third activity allowed us to explore how the Indigenous people used plants to create many different things including whistles, baskets and mats. We were taught how to create string using dried rafia. I got to demonstrate to the class with our presenters how to twist the rafia to create string and then in pairs, all of my classmates were able to create string together. This was such a cool activity and we were able to take some rafia back to school so we could practise the skill of making string.
Torah Rentoulis
When we finished our Indigenous Immersion experience at the Royal Botanical Gardens and decided it was time for lunch. As a group, we walked over to the Shrine of Remembrance where we ate our lunch on the steps. After a quick lunch break, we embarked on our walking journey from the Shrine all the way to Federation Square. What a beautiful day for a walk! It was awesome to admire our beautiful city as we walked through the gardens.
Jaden Lim
After our walking adventure through the city, we arrived at Federation Square. We admired the strange sculptures before going into the Ian Potter Centre. There were three galleries that we looked at. The first gallery we explored was the Indigenous Art Collection. There was a range of amazing artwork created using a range of techniques. This particular exhibit was very bright and colourful, featuring many dot and Indigenous symbols. We walked away with fantastic insight into the different types of Indigenous art and the stories that are often depicted through art. Following this, we went upstairs to the ‘Who Are You’ gallery which explored different artist’s portrayal of Australian identity and its meaning. We were fascinated by the clay model depictions of different faces and marvelled at how realistic they were. The final exhibit was the 20th-21st Century art. This gallery included a really cool red string illusion piece and some trendy fashion pieces. The art gallery allowed for us to explore and discuss different art techniques and materials that artists use as well as the many creative interpretations of a particular theme.
Mia Hammond
This excursion was very different to anything we had done before but we loved the fact that it was such an interesting and immersive learning experience. I never knew plants could be so interesting and that they could have so many uses. How cool!
Florence Dyson