Connection to Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Workshop
Client: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Service: Social Impact and Engagement
Climate change and environmental degradation has been a constant fixture in our lives for many years and is one of the most significant challenges we face collectively.
Being the longest living culture on earth, Australia’s First Nations people have unique lived experiences and knowledge systems that can critically inform and guide future climate adaptation efforts. It is vital to not just consult with First Nations people, but to enable proactive engagement and participation in climate adaptation policy.
Driven by a desire to change, the NSW Environmental Trust (the Trust) identified Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes as one of four priority themes for consultation to inform the development of a new strategic plan which was launched by the NSW Minister for the Environment on 15 August 2024. This is a first step to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s unique position in the climate conversation – opening the door for their voices to be heard.
The Trust
The Trust is an independent statutory body that supports projects that enhance the environment of New South Wales. It was established under the Environmental Trust Act 1998 and administers grants across a diverse range of programs. To ensure these grants focus on the most critical environmental issues across New South Wales, the Trust approved the creation of a new strategic plan.
The Project
As an Aboriginal owned and operated business, Murawin was proud to be commissioned by the Trust to develop and run the Connecting to Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes Workshop. The project involved designing and facilitating a workshop with First Nations people and delivering a report of the findings.
As with all workshops that Murawin facilitates, it was a culturally safe space that promoted the First Nations participants to take ownership of the agenda, leading to a rich and meaningful engagement.
Throughout the workshop, many topics were discussed which Murawin categorised into four key themes. From workshop discussions it was evident these four themes form a never-ending circle, intertwining and interacting with each other in a web of meaning. The diagram below and participant comments helped to create an impactful report which foregrounded the barriers and the challenges, as well as the hopes and aspirations the First Nation participants hold for Caring for Country.
Image source: Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Workshop, Visual Report, pg. 2: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-10/nsw-environmental-trust-murawin-final-report.pdf
Theme 1: First Nations Identity
A foundational theme that weaved throughout the workshop was that of cultural identity. For the First Nations participants in the workshop that sense of meaning centred on their relationship with Country.
Theme 2: Acknowledgement, Representation and Inclusion
There was a strong sense amongst participants that they lacked acknowledgment, were not valued and that there was a failure of understanding of Aboriginal ways of being.
Theme 3: Barrier and Empowerment
‘Barriers’ and ‘empowerment’ were placed together because for every barrier identified, a solution to that barrier was also expressed. The participants were frustrated by what they viewed as a lack of government action and wanted to be empowered to contribute to solving issues before it’s too late.
Theme 4: Healing
Healing, the final theme, connects each of the above themes and distils many of the statements made by participants throughout the workshop. This journey to healing is not simply for Aboriginal people alone but rather a journey done together.
Image source: Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Workshop, Visual Report, pg. 2: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-10/nsw-environmental-trust-murawin-final-report.pdf
Murawin is proud to have used our engagement expertise to support the Trust to deliver the Connecting to Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes Workshop. The key to the success of the workshop lay in maintaining a culturally safe environment for participants to express their thoughts and feelings in an organic and meaningful yarn format. In delivering the report, Murawin wanted to reflect this format directly in the report, taking a storytelling approach over a detail-oriented style.
Change is happening
Across the environmental and government sectors, despite significant pushback, there is a broad move to recognise First Nations knowledge, world views and experiences.
Though small in the context of the challenges faced, this project contributed positively towards organisational change at the Trust which will subsequently flow on to their grant programs and future projects. These changes are made possible because of a genuine desire and commitment by the Trust to listen and enact the feedback from the First Nations participants of the workshop. This commitment can be seen in the fact that off the back of the report’s recommendations, the NSW Government has amended the Environmental Trust Act 1998 to establish a First Nations representative on the Trust Board. Prioritising healthy Country and recognising Aboriginal peoples, their traditional knowledge and practices and connection to Country is one of the Trust’s new strategic priorities, posted publicly in their Strategic Plan 2024-2029.
The Aboriginal Cultural Landscape Workshop provided a genuine opportunity for affecting change, allowing participants to voice their vision for the future. A future where First Nations knowledge and experiences are not marginalised but recognised as a vital part of the conversation, the action and the solution moving forward to a better future together.
This is the time we need to come together.