welcome
We're trying to build the next generations as eco warriors. We're
looking at sustainability. (As) the next generations come up, they feel that sense
of family and responsibility for country and they're going to listen and hopefully
those messages land within them, and they know what to do, how to put those messages
into action for caring for Guula (koala) caring for Birpai Barray (Birpai country).
Today has been totally awesome. So (the) Guula Gimbay program grew from — I think — my passion
to go out into the community and talk caring for Guula and Country up. And if you really
want to teach the community — I believe — is that you start with the little ones. So we had
this opportunity to run the program through the preschools and that was totally awesome.
One that I had did some research at a preschool in regards to children learning Gathang language
with gesture, so it was an opportunity also to bring that into the program.
Well we can't teach looking after a country in a classroom, we have to actually be on Country
so the children have that sensory experience with country, and it's the way that we teach language.
So the sounds come from country and I believe that their children
really connect to it in a deeper way.
So this program really focuses on nurralun deep listening to country and allows younger people to
have that experience of relating to the sounds. We have been practicing whole body listening. We say
nurralun and we've also been practicing whole body talking through our dancing and singing.
We really have to engage a lot with our community and education is a key part of
that so we're trying to get people to understand how important koalas are in our in our landscape.
Also the status of koala populations at the moment and how their populations are rapidly crashing at
the moment. So it's just amazing that — you know — we're embedding this and planting that
seed so to speak, in little kids, but also the physical planting of seeds as well is awesome.
It's good to be able to learn to respect the plants and the animals and the land and the
country and actually learn about it and not just walk on it. We know that children are the next
generation and the next generation of custodians in koala country and we're really thrilled that
they can be learning both in culture about the importance of koala or Guula to this
area — the Port Macquarie area — and yeah we're really thrilled to have been able to work and
support it as well. The Indigenous approach to caring for country is just beautiful. I
mean it's been it's been harnessed and finessed over hundreds and hundreds of years. To engage
with young people from such an early age and to embed that understanding is really really
key and really key to changing the culture as well. I think so it's fabulous I just
love the whole idea of it and yeah to get them involved in it at such an early age is the way
to go for the future. You know you've got wildlif warriors pretty much for the rest of their lives.
[Music]