The painted trees immediately signal you are on Aboriginal land. The trees form a natural sitting area, and the coffee is heating on the modest fire in the middle. Before we even begin the conversation with Uncle Chris Tobin, we know something significant will come of this.
Throughout the year, Buran Nalgarra senior students have been journeying upstream with Bulgamatta (the Grose River). This term, they find their way to the headwaters which is also the place where an abandoned mine, Canyon Colliery, continues to leach zinc and nickel into these living waters, and in a World Heritage Area.
To begin our geographical investigation, we reached out to water scientist, Dr Ian Wright, so that we might understand the scope of the issue and access data. We spent time with Chris Tobin at the Dharug Art Camp, which is on land adjacent to the abandoned Canyon mine. We asked him what he wanted to see from our investigation. Chris spoke of the value of contributing to the body of knowledge that cultivates responsibility to the Bulgamatta River Valley. He also encouraged us to use the name Bulgamatta, translated as “mountain water place”, toward the healing of relationship with this place that was never ceded nor settled by colonists, and is still resonant with Dharug ancestral presence.
Bringing the data and the scientific understandings that should underpin restorative action, together with the living custodial wisdom expressed to us by Uncle Chris, is characteristic of how we are learning in our Buran Nalgarra Senior School program. We are weaving together strands that enable Buran Nalgarra - “strength in learning through togetherness”.
We are also in conversation with Will Goodwin, another water scientist. We want to do fieldwork with him to understand experientially how the macro-invertebrates cue us in to the health of waterways.
We are still in the early stage of our investigation, but we have our hearts already set on using our findings and proposed actions to create a community event, Connect to Protect to be held at Govett’s Leap on Sunday 8th December.
We want to invite families to connect with water in our WHA, particularly Bulgamatta (the Grose); to listen in to the many voices of Blue Gum, Glossy Black and Bulgamatta; and with a view to encouraging community engagement in caring for our environment.
