The Australian Botanic Gardens serves, among many things, as a living classroom, inspiring awe and wonder for future scientists, conservationists, leaders and decision-makers, with a respect for First Nations cultures and the natural environment. Our pilot programs, conducted with schools located on Dharawal lands, provided valuable insights. Feedback from teachers and students has been crucial in shaping our inquiry-based learning models.
The aim of our First Nations education programs is to capitalise on our living collection to inspire awe and wonder in students, deepen understanding of plants, develop critical inquiry skills while supporting teachers to bring appropriate First Nations content into their classrooms through practical and engaging experiences.
Learning from and collaborating with First Nations people and communities ensures that we highlight how conservation efforts are enriched by diverse perspectives and grounded in a deep understanding of the natural world.
Quotes
‘Students really enjoyed the hands on activities, such as using the paper bark as a cooking method.’
‘They really liked the connection back to Aboriginal knowledge. They liked getting to touch and smell certain plants.
‘I didn’t know plants were so cool!’
‘We have that tree in our front yard, I didn’t know it did all them things’
This abstract relates to the theme ‘Branching Out’ to illustrate the benefits of providing quality inclusive education programs for schools that link the NSW syllabuses with First Nations knowledges of the environment, in particular plants, with the science and conservation efforts of the Botanic Gardens of Sydney community.