From the Primary School – Xanthorrhoea Tree comes to SCEGGS

The common name for this plant is the Gadi tree or the Grass tree. The Gadigal people are known as the people of the grass tree and SCEGGS is located on Gadigal country. This tree was very important to the Indigenous peoples of this area.

Wednesday morning, March 9, the Kindergarten girls arrived in their bright yellow raincoats to witness the planting of the tree. They said a beautiful Acknowledgement of Country over our Grass tree, but the three weeks of torrential rain meant the garden bed on top of the Primary school was too sodden for a successful planting.  The skies were grey last Wednesday. The rain held off for our second special planting and ceremony with the Kindergarten girls.

This time they came armed with knowledge about the special qualities of the tree for the Gadigal people. Some of the things they remembered were:

• A drink was made by mixing the flowers with water
• The seeds could be ground to make a flour
• The fronds were soaked in water and then used for making dilly bags
• The base of the tree was used as a glue
• These trees attract wildlife and are good for insects
• It grows at 1cm a year

The girls were so respectful of the tree. They repeated their wonderful Acknowledgement of Country and blew kisses for a safe journey of growth and success in its sunny position on top of the Primary school roof. They are coming back, in 2034, when they are in Year 12 to measure the Gadi tree’s growth. Hopefully, they will remember this special day and it will become part of their Old Girls’ reunions!

Heidi Anderson (Kindergarten Teacher) and Sue Zipfinger (Sustainability Co-ordinator)