Come and see our new Indigenous Garden
The planning stages involved consultation with local indigenous people, visiting numerous Indigenous gardens in other schools and advice from an Indigenous nursery called Indigegrow at La Perouse, where we acquired many of our plants. The garden is centred around a Yarning Circle made from Sandstone Blocks. In the Yarning circle, all participants are provided with an opportunity to have their say in a safe space without judgment. Each participant speaks, one at a time, is heard and not interrupted. This is a process that involves and develops deep listening, sharing of knowledge, development of higher order thinking skills and establishing rules of respect. Many of the plants are Indigenous to the region and have some use as a food source, for soap or for basket weaving. It will take some time for the plants to get established, but we look forward to when we can use the garden.
To celebrate our new garden, on Friday 9 November, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Our Lady Of Fatima Primary School came over to share a BBQ lunch. Also in attendance were Mrs Karen Horder from Sydney Catholic Schools and Jacqueline Pribilovics, Assistant Principal of Our Lady of Fatima. The students had the opportunity to sit in our new Indigenous Garden and water the plants, which we hope will grow big and healthy.
