Buran Nalgarra

A Geographical Investigation – leaching contaminants into a wild river

In our Geography fieldwork, we investigated the leaching of heavy metals from the abandoned Canyon Colliery, into the headwaters of the Grose River. This river is a significant part of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

We collaborated with scientists, conservationists, Dharug Elders and community, to urge the NSW EPA to end the contamination from this mine. We also came to understand a First Nation’s perspective, that this is Bulgamatta, mountain water place. The ancestral presence is strong and this is a place of great significance culturally as well as environmentally.

This presentation was part of a Connect to Protect community event, held at Govett’s Leap to inform the community of the concern and of the significance of this place.

What matters…..

Senior students recently conducted a small survey of staff and high school students.

We asked: How connected to place are you How does connection to place influence your life?

Additionally, we wanted to find out if there were differences between generations?

In this reflective poem, Rose explores the nuance of “Not too Late” in her thinking about how we are learning and living with a changing climate.

“Without camping, life is flavourless” (Haley, class 7)

Three very different voices respond to the recent big rains…..

Biting down on wet shoes….an over ripe orange that the dog peed on is all I can smell……..

Warami, We would like to acknowledge that we live on Country…….

In tending the woundings of power imbalance, we delve into the deeps of a Dionysian story, of a god who was girl-faced, strangely dressed, who had the power of tree and the ambiguity to scramble any either/or, this/that binary….

Mycologist, Merlin Sheldrake, argues our identity as individuals shapes the way we form relationships with one another, and affects how we share resources and responsibilities. It also justifies exploitation and extraction of the ecosystems that sustain us.