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Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 20
Transcript
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00:20Hey, buddy.
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00:28Hello and welcome to a special episode of Gardening Australia,
00:38celebrating a milestone NAIDOC week.
00:41That's right, Costa. This year we are celebrating 50 years of NAIDOC,
00:45elevating Indigenous voices and achievement.
00:48As gardeners, we learn so much every day from the country we cultivate
00:54through the sharing of knowledge, skills and information.
00:59And what a perfect week to look back on some of our favourite related stories.
01:04Here's what's coming up.
01:07I'm on the Sunshine Coast
01:09at an annual Indigenous cultural celebration
01:12of the amazing and iconic bunya tree
01:15and the incredible nuts it produces.
01:18We head to Dubbo to visit a nursery growing plants and skills for the local community.
01:23We follow the garden path of one of the most inspiring plant people in the country.
01:29He's your friend and mine, Clarence.
01:32And I'm visiting the Bealear Regional Park in the southern suburbs of Perth
01:36to learn about the Noongar six seasons.
01:39Every year, NAIDOC selects a theme.
01:48And in 2025, it's all about looking towards a bright future.
01:52Yeah, this year, it's the next generation.
01:56Strength, vision and legacy.
01:58Highlighting the strength and innovation of young leaders,
02:01looking to the vision of communities
02:03and celebrating the continued legacy of our ancestors.
02:07Sharing knowledge across generations is key to keeping that knowledge alive.
02:13And our next story celebrates the passing down of information from mother to son.
02:20Kakadu's known for its dramatic landscapes,
02:25ancient Indigenous history and sheer abundance of plants.
02:31Aboriginal people have lived in this region for at least 65,000 years.
02:36Sourcing food from this incredibly rich land.
02:40I want to learn as much as I can about the plants that grow here
02:45from the people who know this country best.
02:48I'm heading to Mududru, or Patonga Homestead,
02:53a remote community where bush tucker and non-Indigenous crops
02:57are flourishing in the heart of the outback.
03:00So how long has the family been on this country?
03:05About 35 years.
03:07Jessie is a traditional owner,
03:09and with her son, Ben, has grown an impressive kitchen garden.
03:13It started with just three bananas.
03:16Now they have hundreds.
03:18Welcome to my garden.
03:20Oh.
03:21Thank you, Jessie.
03:22After you.
03:23Wow.
03:24These.
03:25These are chilli bush I got.
03:30There's plenty of chillies on here.
03:33Yeah, I'll give it away to people.
03:35This is my tamarind tree.
03:37Beauty.
03:38We grew it from seed.
03:41It's finally growing.
03:43Hopefully it's going to fruit this year.
03:45Yeah.
03:46What made you get started with a garden like this?
03:50My son, Ben, he came back from Sydney
03:54because he was studying down there,
03:56and he helped me start this garden up.
03:59Jessie taught Ben about traditional food from a young age.
04:03He's now a passionate cook and has built a bush food business
04:07that showcases the ingredients of their culture.
04:11We've been processing this cheeky yam, which is a bush yam.
04:14Mum got me to take it down the creek yesterday,
04:16so it's ready today.
04:18You need to put it in the running stream overnight
04:21to take out the cheekiness, the toxins,
04:23and so, yeah, so we can go down there and have a look.
04:26All right, I'm going to go and get cheeky.
04:28No worries.
04:29See you soon, Mum.
04:30Yeah, see you.
04:33Yeah, this is the office.
04:35Yeah.
04:36It's where we take all our important calls.
04:43This is one of the herbs we use for cooking.
04:45Crocodile.
04:47Oh.
04:48Yeah.
04:49Oh.
04:50Sort of lemony, menthol-y.
04:53Yeah.
04:54You've probably already heard a lot about this one.
04:56It's the green ant.
04:59We call it gabor.
05:00Gabor.
05:01Yeah.
05:02We normally eat it as a good medicine,
05:04if you've got flu or cold.
05:06So all we do is just crush the leaves in your bucket there,
05:11and we'll take them up to the table later up at the camp.
05:14Just going to head in there now,
05:15and I'll grab some cheeky yams and water leaves to bring back for us.
05:19OK.
05:20For a salad.
05:21OK.
05:22We'll get some undem here, Sam.
05:23Some more lilies.
05:24More lilies.
05:25More lilies and the cheeky yams here,
05:27Kyle.
05:28Yeah.
05:29We'll get some undem here, Sam.
05:30Some more lilies.
05:31More lilies and the cheeky yams here, Costa.
05:32Wow.
05:33So, uh...
05:34Wow, is it beautiful?
05:35Yeah, they're beautiful.
05:36Yeah, they're beautiful.
05:37Now that we've gathered some pretty special ingredients from the surrounding bush,
05:39and borrowed a couple of star fruit from Jesse's garden,
05:42Ben's planning a culinary meal.
05:43Here's some more lilies and the cheeky yams here, Costa.
05:45Wow.
05:46So, uh...
05:47Wow, is it beautiful?
05:48Yeah, they're beautiful.
05:49Now that we've gathered some pretty special ingredients from the surrounding bush,
06:04and borrowed a couple of star fruit from Jesse's garden,
06:07Ben's planning a culinary masterpiece.
06:12So, as you chop up these ingredients,
06:14what are you thinking, flavour, texture?
06:17So, the cheeky yam and the undem are quite neutral.
06:19We've got a bit of sweetness with the star fruit
06:22and a bit of acid with the green ants.
06:25While I think the few hundred ants on the table
06:28might end up being the heroes of the salad,
06:30the cheeky yam is going to act as our base.
06:34Ben's shaved it into fine pieces, ready to roll.
06:39So, what's the method to roll these into balls?
06:42Um, just sort of squish them together.
06:47That's a lot of the water coming out.
06:49Oh, yeah, look at that.
06:52Yeah.
06:53I've never seen the inside of a water lily.
06:58You can use it in anything.
07:00You know, salads or presentation for anything.
07:04They're very versatile.
07:06So, I'm going to put all these ants in your hands.
07:09I just want you to roll them into a ball.
07:18So, what flavour are these ants adding?
07:20I'm just going to add a bit of acid to the sweetness.
07:23Oh, look at them all in here.
07:32We'll give it a bit of a squeeze now with the star fruit.
07:39He's like the dressing.
07:40Yeah, he's like the dressing.
07:42It's like a work of art here.
07:44Yeah, and it's quite pretty.
07:46Cheeky yam with star fruit, water lily stems and seeds.
07:50Garnished with green ants.
07:53Now I'll get you to have a taste and let me know what you think.
07:55Okay.
07:56Honestly.
07:57And we'll just put this one onto that one.
08:00Yeah.
08:01Yeah.
08:02Okay, so have it as one?
08:04Yeah.
08:10Wow.
08:11That's really interesting because you get the moisture
08:14out of the star fruit and then the tang from the ants.
08:18And it just makes it all work, really.
08:21You know, really, really simple ingredients from the garden.
08:25Presentation is probably my favourite part of cooking.
08:28Like, it's where you can really get creative.
08:31I'm glad that people can enjoy it as well.
08:33You know, come and share the food from the garden and from the bush.
08:36Hopefully this will bring people back to country,
08:38to connecting to the land.
08:40When you see this land for yourself and meet such lovely people
08:46willing to share their knowledge,
08:48it'd be impossible to come away without feeling a connection.
08:53Costa, what's one of the most humbling plants you've ever met?
09:06Humbling?
09:07Well, it would have to be the river red gums in what's known as Alice Springs
09:13and the Todd River, but to the locals, it's Lura and Buntwa.
09:18I just love to go and visit them and stand with them.
09:22They're like the true elders.
09:24It's amazing when you think about some of those ancient trees in particular.
09:29I feel the same about the bunya bunya from Waka Waka country.
09:33And when you're up there, they're just amazing to think how long they've been around.
09:37They've been around since Gondwana.
09:39That's history right there.
09:42And Gerry was lucky enough, actually, to get to celebrate the bunya bunya.
09:46Here he is now.
09:51Hi Gerry.
09:52Hello Aunty Beth.
09:53How are you going today?
09:54I'm cool, thanks.
09:56What brings you here?
09:57I'm delivering a message stick to invite you to Bunya Dreaming.
10:00And I've brought a bunya cone just in case you don't have any nuts
10:03for the bunya cooking challenge.
10:05Thank you so much.
10:06Do you want a cup of tea?
10:07Oh, no, thanks.
10:08I've got more message sticks to deliver.
10:10Alright.
10:11We hope to see you on Sunday.
10:12Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world.
10:14Thank you, Gerry.
10:15You take care.
10:16Yeah, I shall see you.
10:17Bye.
10:21Bunya Dreaming is an annual event on Queensland's Sunshine Coast
10:25that celebrates the indigenous cultural significance of the bunya tree.
10:30I've been coming for years and I love that this wonderful and imposing conifer is getting the attention it deserves and it's a fun day out too.
10:43It's organised by Cubby Cubby elder Aunty Beverley Hang.
10:47Hi.
10:48Bunya Dreaming, it's about community coming together and sharing and caring.
10:54The bunya tree in itself is a very significant tree to Aboriginal people.
11:01It was one tree where we had a law that you were not allowed to harm it in any way.
11:08When the first settlers got here, they saw these beautiful trees, these straight, non-buttressing, tall trees.
11:22You wouldn't hit your first branch for 20 metres.
11:25And they thought to themselves, this is great timber tree.
11:30And they began harvesting the trees.
11:33But they only ever took from the ground to the first branch.
11:38And they would leave the rest of the 40 metres of tree lying on the ground.
11:44And when Aboriginal people saw their trees lying on the ground, they began to cry.
11:50They cried for months and months and their cries could be heard for miles and miles.
11:57Because the tree is such a significant tree.
12:02It's a very important tree.
12:04At Bunya Dreaming, what I try to do is uphold those cultural traditions around protocols
12:11and caring and sharing for one another, but in a contemporary manner.
12:18This is a bunya.
12:20And pretty much everything about these trees is remarkable.
12:24Bunyas belong to an ancient group of conifers, the Orocarias.
12:28And when the supercontinent of Gondwana existed, they were very widely distributed.
12:34Today, bunya is restricted to a few locations in Queensland.
12:39As a species, the bunya has been around for 200 million years.
12:44It was once food for dinosaurs.
12:47Bunyas are not for the average garden.
12:50A mature bunya can grow to 60 metres.
12:54And at the moment, one of the record heights is just slightly under that at about 51 and a half metres tall.
13:00It's a giant amongst forest trees.
13:03They live between five and eight hundred years.
13:08This is a bunya nut.
13:10It's about half the normal size of a mature one.
13:12They can get to 10 kilos.
13:14And inside here, well, there's plenty of nourishing food.
13:18These cones break apart often when they hit the ground.
13:22And it's quite easy to retrieve the seed.
13:25These plants are not dangerous in themselves.
13:28But you can imagine if one of these is dropping 40 metres to the ground,
13:33it's a bit of a risk to yourself.
13:35So it's a good idea to fence off a tree just as we get into summer.
13:40More people are becoming more aware of bunyas because of bunya dreaming.
13:48It just keeps getting bigger and bigger, which is lovely.
13:53But it can also mean that I'm going to have more work.
13:57The day is filled with a series of challenges,
14:03all centring on the incredible and enormous bunya nut.
14:07I've entered the bunya gathering competition.
14:11I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt because if you haven't gathered a bunya before,
14:15they're prickly and they're covered in resin.
14:18Mark, get set, go!
14:22Nuts are placed in the centre.
14:24Each competitor stands in their own circle.
14:27The challenge is to gather as many nuts as you can within a minute.
14:32And the person who gathers the most nuts, not the biggest or the best, is the winner.
14:39Ready, set, go!
14:43For the shucking challenge, competitors have to separate as many nuts as they can from a cone inside a minute.
14:50Then we have the bunya storing challenge because when we did gather, we would store cones as well.
15:00The young people call it bunya bowling.
15:02They get a bunya cone and they've got to toss the cone and get it in the hole.
15:07That was the traditional way of storing in holes or in bags in the air.
15:16We started coming to these events when we were very little.
15:20It is very important to us, celebrating our culture together with family and friends.
15:25The bunya tree, it runs deep and it's connected to all of us.
15:29It's our family, it's our heart, it's our spirit.
15:32Bunya dreaming is much more than a celebration of a landmark Australian tree.
15:39Aunty Bev has a big picture view of its place in the natural and cultural landscape.
15:46I'm hoping they take away a vision of a brighter future and that they live with a very full heart and hope and joy.
16:05You know Clarence, in all the travels that I make around the country, I really love learning about the plants wherever I go.
16:13And in many cases, there's local nurseries growing them.
16:17It's so true. It doesn't matter whose country you're on, there are so many unique species.
16:22Let's head to Wiradjuri country.
16:24Check out a nursery that are growing some of their local native plants.
16:43I talk about my life in two halves.
16:49So, previous to what I'm doing now, I had a life where I had the perfect lifestyle.
16:56Traveled the world, bought what I want, could do whatever I wanted, but I was never happy.
17:04And at the end of that came a really bad divorce.
17:09The worst day of my life.
17:12Over a two year period, I looked at the world differently and thought money isn't everything.
17:18I hadn't been happy for a long time.
17:21And so I thought, what I'm going to do is do whatever I want that's going to make me happy.
17:27My name's Robert Riley.
17:29I'm a proud Wiradjuri man, born and bred here locally in Dubbo.
17:34I own ICANN or Indigenous Concepts and Networking.
17:40ICANN started in 2012.
17:42My brother and myself started the business.
17:45The nursery is 100% Aboriginal owned.
17:48All our staff are Aboriginal.
17:52The value that we saw in the nursery was it was an outdoor learning environment.
17:57So, whether it be our education programs, our disability programs,
18:02our long-term unemployment programs.
18:05The main focus of ICANN is about creating opportunities for Aboriginal people.
18:10A lot of people don't understand how big the population is in Dubbo of Aboriginal people.
18:15So, we are the largest population in Australia outside of the whole of Sydney.
18:24So, if you look at Aboriginal people and all the reviews,
18:27they talk about loss of identity, loss of self-worth.
18:31The native nursery is the ideal vehicle.
18:34It's native plants.
18:35It's taken people back on country if we're going to propagate seed
18:38or do seed collection or do some of our cultural burns.
18:42The key for us is giving Aboriginal people a learning environment
18:47where they can enhance their skills.
18:50So, for long-term unemployed people, the real outcome for us
18:54is getting them into a routine.
18:57Darryl, what have you been up to?
18:58In a place where we can maybe improve the learning ability of Aboriginal people
19:03and maybe give them a better chance at making a start in life.
19:07So, how are you finding the program so far?
19:10Pretty good.
19:11Anything else we can do to make it better or are you happy with it?
19:15Happy with it?
19:16No, I'm happy with what's been going on so far.
19:19Yeah.
19:20I've only been here for about two weeks.
19:23Yeah, this is my second week.
19:25The best thing about just out and about, meeting new people,
19:30didn't know much about any plants or trees,
19:34but as time goes on, just learning more and more each day.
19:46All the plants that we have on site are going to be hardy.
19:49They're going to need less water than most of your non-native plants,
19:53but then we also understand that people want to have something nice
19:57in their garden.
19:59It's all about sustainability,
20:02but also the other side is culturally,
20:06it's about bringing things back into people's lives
20:09that had meaning to us for thousands and thousands of years.
20:15Here we have like a whole tray of bottle brush.
20:18So all these are natives to Australia.
20:21This one in particular is native to this area.
20:25It's the Callistamon brachyandrus.
20:28So as well as having a really nice red bottle brush for four
20:33or five months of the year, culturally this one was used
20:37because it attracts small birds and small animals seek shelter in it
20:43because it's quite a spiky little plant.
20:46This also has a modern day use.
20:48Many people come and say, oh, I can't keep the dogs
20:51or can't keep cats out of the garden.
20:54So this particular variety, dogs and cats don't like it
20:57because it is so spiky.
21:02Here we have a whole range of native grasses.
21:06This grass in particular, the Dianella longifolia,
21:09they have a multitude of purposes.
21:12We get a lot of landscapers coming in and using them in car parks
21:18or hospitals or the council comes and buys a lot of these as well,
21:23purely because of their hardiness, their low maintenance
21:27and the fact that they don't need much water.
21:30Culturally, the reeds have like a silk-like fibre,
21:34which makes them very strong.
21:36So they were used for basket weaving.
21:39And also certain times of the year there would be blueberries
21:42and those berries were edible.
21:47Another part of our program,
21:48which has probably become the number one, is education.
21:53So come with me boys.
21:54We'll go up the back here and we'll grab some plants
21:57and we'll do some potting up.
21:59With our primary school program,
22:01everything is mapped back to curriculum.
22:03That's the only way to get into schools.
22:05So part of what we do is we build gardens.
22:08So with those gardens comes mathematics.
22:11How big's the garden?
22:12What size plants can we have?
22:14Geography.
22:15Where do those plants come from?
22:17Biology.
22:18How do those plants grow?
22:20Botanical names and common names
22:22and then they learn in miragery.
22:24They're learning without actually knowing
22:26that they're actually learning.
22:28It's enjoyable.
22:30It's good fun.
22:32When we come to the nursery,
22:34we learn about all of these plants,
22:36Aboriginal plants that we use.
22:38Except if we get stuck in the bush,
22:40we can know what to use.
22:42We've enjoyed it
22:44because we didn't really know much about plants.
22:47The best part is getting your hands dirty
22:49and just enjoying it with your friends.
22:51I like getting my hands dirty and like patting them down.
22:57There's some other things that we are learning here
23:01is respect and preparation and don't talk over each other.
23:05Alright, so we'll go down and wash our hands.
23:08Aboriginal people learn better in that open environment
23:11than what they do in the classroom environment.
23:15The nursery is important, but I get more out of seeing the growth
23:22in a person than the growth in the plant.
23:25Coming to this place every day is not work.
23:31Working with the kids is like weekend work, really.
23:39When I went through like my personal issues,
23:42I can say there was a day that was the worst day of my life.
23:46And now I look back at that day
23:49and that day has become the best day of my life
23:52because it's allowed me to be here doing what I love.
24:00Still to come on Gardening Australia,
24:03we head down the garden path of your friend and mine,
24:07a man of many talents.
24:09Josh tours a significant piece of bushland in Boralu, Perth,
24:13to learn about the Noongar seasons.
24:15Welcome back.
24:16And we learn how plants and gardens are helping to teach
24:20and grow language in Mbantua, Alice Springs.
24:30You know one of my favourite parts of the show?
24:33The My Garden Path segment,
24:35where we get to meet one gardener just that little bit more.
24:40I love that part of the show.
24:42Well, this week we're walking down the path of one of my favourites.
24:49My garden path.
24:51So let's open the gate and walk with Clarence.
24:55Jinguar. G'day from Bundjalung country.
25:08I'm Clarence Lockie and I'm a proud Bundjalung man.
25:11So I want to acknowledge my ancestors
25:13and all of the ancestors of this beautiful place.
25:15We're close to the border between Queensland and New South Wales.
25:18Behind me is the mighty Tweed River.
25:20And just beyond that will Lumban, our sacred mountain.
25:23A little bit shy today with cloud covering,
25:26but it is our sacred mountain and it's key to Bundjalung dreaming
25:30and Bundjalung spirituality.
25:32So between juggling full-time work, study and my beautiful family,
25:42I've also been a presenter on Gardening Australia for just over ten years.
25:45Normally I'm introducing you to people, their lives and their love of the land.
25:49Now it's my turn.
26:06Bundjalung country extends from the south-east coast of Queensland,
26:10around the Great Dividing Range,
26:12and funnily enough, south to the Clarence River.
26:16This area around the Tweed River is where I grew up.
26:18Went to school and learnt to appreciate my ancestry and the bush.
26:25This is Cudgeon Creek and it's some beautiful memories
26:28as a kid growing up around this area.
26:30We'd go crabbing and they'd pick the right tide, the right moon,
26:33and you'd just come down and you'd literally see them all out
26:36without doing their thing.
26:37And you'd just stand on them so they don't bite you
26:39and then you just pick them up and put them in a bag.
26:41That's it.
26:48And so Cudgeon, Cudgeon Creek, Cudger, it's all linked to this part of Bundjalung.
26:54It's a spiritual home for me as a person.
26:59Happy times, all right? It was beautiful.
27:01We're at the mouth of Cudgeon Creek and Dad being a professional fisherman,
27:07I spent a lot of time here growing up, sitting on these rocks or going out in a boat with him.
27:11So just down the way where the pelicans are there, you can see where the boat ramp is
27:15and you'd have to really concentrate to try and find exactly where the channel is
27:19and make your way to the left, to the right, carve across and then get as close as you can
27:24to the other side there where you can see the deep water, make your way out through the mouth
27:28and then cut across hard left and make it around these bommies.
27:32So you can see all this reef that's out here.
27:34A lot of my cousins are still getting out and about here doing a lot of fishing
27:37and I remember in my early years out here with my brothers and sisters
27:40and sweating a line while we were watching our uncles and Dad go out and fish for the day.
27:49All around you can see these amazing plant species and this little remnant pocket here,
28:07I remember walking around this area and other areas around Willumbin
28:11and seeing this rainforest and really getting close to nature
28:14and getting an affinity for the plants and particularly these rainforest species.
28:19Once I got a little bit older and Mum and Dad had bought their own farm,
28:22I got to year 12 and I was able to grow some of my own produce to save up the money to buy my first car.
28:28Much to my Dad's displeasure, I spent my first bit of savings on a new guitar.
28:34I worked a bit harder, grew a few more beans and then bought myself a car.
28:40A HZ panel van which doubled as my sleeping quarters.
28:43You go on a surfing trip and you've got somewhere to stay, you've got somewhere to have all your gear
28:49and carry all your surfboards and I was right into enjoying nature basically.
28:53My family have always been connected to the land and the sea.
29:00And this land in particular, Kujan, holds a special place in my heart.
29:04Just behind me, that's my local primary school, Kujan Primary.
29:08One thing I do remember is just the space that we had and the fact that it's still backing onto farmland.
29:14We spent a lot of time on the farms around this district picking different vegetables,
29:18different fruits and really getting connected to the land
29:21but also understanding how much effort it is in growing plants.
29:25After finishing school and trying to work out what I wanted to actually do and where I wanted to go,
29:30I decided to start up my own landscaping business and when you look at what was the yellow pages back then
29:38before the World Wide Web, it was AAA landscaping or AAA this or AAA that
29:44just so people could be at the top of the list.
29:47So I thought I'll send Mowing Stational just to throw a spanner into the works
29:51and get the curiosity value peaked and it worked out alright.
29:55Being a landscaper was sort of, I guess it was a natural progression
29:59from having grown up on farms and my immediate family are still farming.
30:03But I had friends who had gone through a dance college called NASDA,
30:07the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association.
30:11It is a training ground for a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers
30:15and musicians and dancers and has some amazing alumni.
30:18So I saw that as a place where I could get into a space that I was really interested in when I was younger
30:25but also a way of reconnecting to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture generally.
30:30My first foray into television was a documentary series called Dreamtime to Dance
30:35and it was basically a film crew that followed the college for a year back in 2000.
30:41Assessment is a week-long affair.
30:43In every class the students are keenly observed by staff who determine their progress since the beginning of the year
30:50and their physical ability and skills for inclusion in the all-important end-of-year show.
30:56It was a really amazing time to document and to have that as something I can look back on at that time in my life.
31:04I think the viewers at home can see how well I'm going in ballet.
31:07It's not real good.
31:11I still perform today and I'm really lucky to have had the chance to share our culture in Australia and all over the world.
31:17It's been something really special.
31:19Towards the end of my arts career, so to speak, I was already working in the education space.
31:33So facilitating workshops in music and dance and cultural workshops.
31:38So it was a natural progression when I saw an advertisement for Education Officer at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney.
31:45It was a dream role really.
31:47Back in 2009 I was fortunate enough that a fellow by the name of Angus Stewart happened to pop by to shoot a segment for Gardening Australia.
31:56And I was asked to be in that story.
31:58And you know, Angus and I had quite a good time and quite a good rapport actually.
32:03And I really enjoyed my time doing that story.
32:06And the producers at Gardening Australia seemed to have liked what they saw and asked me if I wouldn't mind doing some guest presenting.
32:12And one thing led to another and yeah, here I am.
32:15Perfect day for doing a rainforest planting.
32:18I'm pretty happy with what I've done despite the conditions.
32:22Spent just over a decade at the Botanic Gardens and thought a change would be good and moved to a similar role at Barangaroo.
32:30So what was the Sydney ports is being redeveloped into a new precinct and a new suburb.
32:38Angus Stewart came back to shoot a story about that recreation of the headland and we got to work together again.
32:45And once again I'm moving forward and my time at Barangaroo has now ended and I'm moving into the whole other realm at the moment.
32:52Good to see you again.
32:53Brother.
32:54Take care.
32:55Take care too.
32:56Take care.
32:57Take care.
32:58When I was working full time I was also studying full time and went back to UTS Business School and came out with a business degree with distinction and thought I'd put those skills to use and kicked off a business called Urobingan with a good friend of mine.
33:13We've developed Australia's first native rooftop farm so that's something I'm really excited about and something that we're really hoping that we can get out there to people and show how we can have green infrastructure and really change the face of our cities.
33:27You've really done a lot in your life to this point in time the rooftop bush food farm right in the heart of the city that was a first but now you're off to Venice in Italy.
33:48Yeah another first we're the first all Aboriginal team to exhibit at the Venice Architectural Biennale.
33:54Now the Arts Biennale has been going in Venice for over a hundred years.
33:591895 that started.
34:01The Architectural Biennale has been alternating now for the last 50 years.
34:05So we're lucky enough to be exhibiting the Australia Pavilion and representing Australia as the first all Aboriginal team.
34:11And what's your connection with the architecture side of things?
34:16Well luckily there are some really talented mob that I get to collaborate with.
34:20So we've got architects, we've got town planners, we've got arts curators, landscape architects and you know then me as the gardener just coming in with a bit of cultural knowledge and a bit of a space where we think really deeply about country centred design.
34:35The exhibit is about home and what home means to different people and particularly for First Nations people not just in Australia but globally.
34:44The materials used, the sense of country, the sense of belonging to those places that we do call home and how we can live more sustainably.
34:53And it's like that idea that materials come from the earth, where you live, you use them and that concept that they need to go back.
35:04That's it you know country centred design is all about you know how can we leave a lighter footprint.
35:09You know how can we live more sustainably, how can we think about the materials that we're using and how can those materials go back to country.
35:16And you know how can we have as little impact on country as we can so that's what we're thinking about.
35:21And what's your exhibit actually going to look like?
35:25Well what it'll look like will be a ceremonial circle in the middle and then surrounding that will be student works, belongings that design students in particular and architect students have come up with around that sense of home.
35:41And it'll be an interactive space where people can gather as people come and visit the exhibition, they will leave their idea of home in whatever form that takes, we won't know.
35:54So from the beginning to the end, it will look a little bit different and it will have people's sort of touch and feel and contribution about home.
36:05I can't wait to hear and see how it evolves over that period.
36:10I'm super excited for you mate.
36:12Now let's catch up with Josh who's learning more about the place that he calls home.
36:19Only 20 kilometres south of Perth, Bibra Lake in the Bilyar Regional Park is a significant cultural site for the Noongar people.
36:34I'm meeting with Marissa Verma.
36:37Do you spend much time down here still?
36:39I do.
36:40A Noongar woman to learn more about the six Noongar seasons.
36:44So this place as we know it is Wallyabup and it's part of the Noongar Dreaming.
36:51So Wallyabup is the Bribra Lake that's located here, which is a set of or one of the many wetlands that goes all the way down south in the southwest and all the way up north.
37:02And it actually has a lot of food resources and a lot of medicines.
37:06We've just walked past five or six things that our people would have used, you know, back in the days and still today.
37:13What is the dreaming story of this place?
37:15Bribra Lake is known as Wallyabup.
37:17It's the Noongar name for the area.
37:19And it is a series of wetlands which we believe through the Noongar Dreaming was created by the Wagul, the great big rainbow serpent.
37:28And he went underneath earth, came back up, popped up and created the water wetlands all around the southwest, right up to the north as well.
37:37So waterways are very spiritual to Aboriginal people all over Australia.
37:42This is a very spiritual place.
37:48And one of the things that we must do is to say hello and introduce ourselves to country.
37:54So we say, Kaya, Nyan, Querel, Marissa.
37:58Kaya, Nyan, Querel, Josh.
38:04Wonderful.
38:05And that allows us now that the spirits have heard us and we'll be able to go and do a little bit of a foraging
38:11so I can show you some stuff.
38:12So why don't you come and follow me?
38:13Right.
38:18So, Josh, I'm going to show you something that we can actually eat in the bush.
38:25Now, always make sure that you are shown or, you know, the information shared before you start eating and picking things in the bush,
38:34just to make sure that we can actually eat it.
38:36So if you just take a look at that little bud, this is from the Bankshire.
38:40Which we call biara.
38:42So this is the candle Bankshire.
38:44So if you take a look at the bud itself, it looks like a candle.
38:47And actually when it's in flower season, it actually burns very slow like a candle.
38:52So hence the candle Bankshire.
38:54So I don't know how brave you are today.
38:57Would you like to have a go?
38:58Of course, I'd love to.
38:59Great.
39:00So we're just going to chew on that little tip.
39:02And this is actually, if you can't find any water, you're making your mouth moist by actually chewing.
39:09So let's give it a go.
39:10You go first.
39:11So we can't actually taste anything but the natural flavour, right?
39:20It's very chewy.
39:21It is very chewy.
39:22I didn't expect that.
39:23We actually call this the bush, like a bush candy, bush lolly shop.
39:27Okay.
39:28So it's good for the kids to chew and make your mouth moist to make water.
39:32I can see that.
39:33Yeah.
39:34So we're actually in the season of Gerin, which is April to May.
39:38So this actually would be a source of food that you'd be eating around this time.
39:42And then you'd be moving through country and then moving on to the next season.
39:53Most of us grew up knowing four seasons aligned with the Western calendar.
39:58So here in Noongar country, in the southwest of Western Australia, we have a structure of the Noongar six seasons.
40:05So it was about, you know, moving with the food and your different diets and, you know, accessing what was available to you at that time.
40:15So, you know, for us as Noongar people doing that, actually, we were the most, you know, fittest, healthiest people on this planet.
40:23And so when you're looking at the six seasons, it's Spirak, which is December, January.
40:27And then you're spending a lot of time down by the coast with that beautiful white food.
40:31So the seafood, you're eating all of that.
40:33Then you're moving just off the coast to Boonaroo.
40:36Boonaroo, you're probably still catching a little bit of fish, some of those roots and tubers.
40:41And then you're heading into probably a place like this, which is Gerin, around Wallyabuck, which is Buribur Lake.
40:47So again, another abundance of food sources here, ducks, frogs, birds, a lot of the fish that was here.
40:54And then we're heading up to the hills, which is Makaroos.
40:57So we're actually relying on that bigger game.
40:59So we're meeting the kangaroos and the emus and keeping our body nice and warm.
41:03And then we're spending time and coming back down through Jilba.
41:06Again, might be passing another lake system.
41:08So, you know, the bush potatoes and some of the other animals that are available at that time.
41:15And then Camberang, which is like all about your wildflowers and, you know, eating those foods,
41:21which is your tubers and your seeds and your nuts and your fruits.
41:24So there was a real sequence to the Noongar season, but the timing or the transition between them would differ
41:31depending on the conditions of the environment at that particular time.
41:35That's right. And we didn't rely on a calendar.
41:37It was actually things that fruited and flowered and watching the animals move on.
41:42So I just want to show you one plant over here, which is the Swamp Bankshia,
41:46which is actually an indicator of us being in Gerin time.
41:49So April, May, those beautiful flowers on the outside, the birds and the bees,
41:53full of honey and nectar.
41:55So we would collect our fresh water, place that in the bowl, swirl it around,
42:00and then we've got all that beautiful honey and nectar drink.
42:02So it actually provided really good medicinal and healthy effect to your body.
42:08So delicious, good for you and beautiful.
42:12That's right, under our noses.
42:14I wanted to show you one of my faves, which is actually wonal, which is the peppermint tree.
42:27And this little beauty was used for generations and thousands of years by my people
42:33because of the healing content.
42:35And it's all about the oils that are in this leaf.
42:37So, you know, today it's actually used a lot for people to cure, you know,
42:42their colds and their flus and their sinuses.
42:44And we're just going to show you how we do that.
42:46That's just by giving a little bit of a crush because we want to release that oil.
42:50We rub it on our palms, we add a bit of heat, and then we go in for a nice big smell.
42:56Mmm.
42:58So if you're inhaling that, it actually clears the sinuses and the sore throat.
43:02Sure does.
43:03Yeah, and you can put this in your pillow slip today and have a really good sleep.
43:11It's been fascinating to get Marissa's insights into the Noongar six seasons
43:16and the traditional uses of some of the plants of this region.
43:19And there's some really good take-home messages for gardeners here.
43:24Firstly, we need to be more nuanced about understanding the changes of seasons
43:30and realising that it's not strictly about dates,
43:33but also we should be looking for clues from the environment around us
43:37as when to harvest, to prune and to plant.
43:41And perhaps most fundamentally, it's all about observation.
43:45We all know the power of language to communicate our ambitions, our ideas,
43:59and of course, share our love of plants.
44:01That's right.
44:02And in Bundjalung, we might say,
44:04Let's all get together in good health.
44:06So from Bundjalung, let's head out to Ambantwa in Alice Springs,
44:11where the local language school is nurturing the next generation
44:16and the garden is the key.
44:18Hey, mine muck.
44:19We are in Alice Springs, and I'm from here.
44:33I'm born here, grew up here, and yeah,
44:36and we're at the Alice Springs Language Centre.
44:40So I started learning Arunda when I was in primary school,
44:47all the way through high school.
44:49Yeah, and now I'm teaching it to the kids.
44:52So I teach over maybe like 500 kids a week,
44:56and yeah, it's enjoyable.
44:58I love doing it, yeah.
45:04We are doing a lesson about Dreamtime Story,
45:07about where I'm from and where my family's from,
45:10and we're just talking about the animals
45:13and yeah, just a storyline for the country out there at Tunga.
45:23It feels great to be sharing my side of the story
45:26and my family's side.
45:27Yeah, it's awesome.
45:33We are currently sitting at the memorial garden
45:36for Miss M, who was my teacher in Arunda.
45:40Yeah.
45:41She was very inspiring and so friendly and kind
45:45and yeah, she inspired me to be a teacher.
45:49And the garden here was to honour her
45:52and yeah, just who she was
45:54and what she meant to the students, yeah.
45:59Yeah, the lady before me was really special.
46:01She's been here for a long time
46:03and this was part of her dream
46:05to have this bush garden now.
46:10So that our kids that don't ever get a chance to go at bush,
46:13they might learn about bush roots here.
46:18They'll know the names, where it grows,
46:21when it's ready to eat, what it looks like, yeah.
46:24Yeah, so we've got, yeah, lots of native plants here.
46:28Bush bananas, bush tomatoes, bush onions,
46:34lots of bush medicines growing.
46:36So we just want to show the kids in town
46:39and be able to feel and touch it and smell it
46:42and be a bit different in the book, yeah.
46:45Hi, my name's Megan.
46:48I'm in Year 11 and I speak Western Arunda.
46:52My name is Agnes May and I'm in Year 12.
46:55I speak Pirinjara and Nyam Kunjara
46:58and I've been going to Arunda classes for two years now.
47:02You get to learn about the bush foods, cultural stuff
47:07and how you learn about language.
47:13It's pretty peaceful when I do come here, yeah.
47:18This is more hands-on than, like, the classes we do at our school.
47:25There's a damper-making process there in that dictionary
47:27and it shows you the types of seeds the old people get.
47:32And then we start grinding it on the grinding stones.
47:38And then we make scones and dampers out of it.
47:42Now, on this one, it's not just seeds that we grind,
47:45there's arataa.
47:47Poif medicine.
47:48Medicine.
47:49There's a procedure for all of this as well,
47:51so kids learn all of that.
47:53You can boil it up to have a bath in it as well.
47:57Antiseptic kind of thing, yeah.
48:02We're doing two languages here today, so if you're listening,
48:20there's different Daleks of Arunda that we study.
48:24So we've got different speakers that come to the classroom.
48:28And we get visitors like Noonga to come and help us as elders,
48:34because they still need to connect back to them as well,
48:38from the classroom back to the community.
48:42They also need to know the school that has been found from the school.
48:43We've got a wife and lawyers,
48:44they're looking for bankruptcy and people that need to do this again.
48:45We've got to help us.
48:47We've got to.
48:48We have to help them.
48:49And we can help them to help us.
48:51We're going to help you.
48:52And we can help you.
48:53And you can help you.
48:54And you can help others.
48:55You can help us.
48:56Why?
48:57You can help us?
48:58I can help us.
49:00This bush medicine is really good for scabies and for your open source.
49:10The bush medicine, when you rub it, the pain goes away.
49:16And the smell is really nice.
49:21Now I'll focus on the vineyards.
49:28The vineyards are essentially the growing trees.
49:35We warm up the sweep we are in our garden.
49:40I used to make the vineyards or to study our plants.
49:45This yellow one is like raw, like you can't eat it yet, it will fall down to the ground
50:14and then you can pick them up and eat them and it's sweet and soft and yeah and these leaves
50:20are bush medicine as well.
50:23It is important for elders like me to teach the kids so the kids can pass it on to their
50:36kids and their kids will pass it on to their kids generation to generation and they can
50:45keep it then.
50:49My country is Ndariya, I grew up there.
50:55We were lucky at Ermensburg with our grandparents and they teach us a lot.
51:06When my grandparents passed away and I started teaching my kids, I said English not ours, that's
51:17not the first language for us.
51:20Our first language was Western Aranda and then we learned English after.
51:26I done all that one with my kids and now they're growing up.
51:33I got no kid left, only the cats and the cats looking after me.
51:44I really like to teach other people's kids, like my niece's kid, Jack.
51:53This is the bush onions, they're like small and like you'll find them at the creeks.
52:00Like if you see this type of grass, that means you know there's a bush onion there, like yalka.
52:07Like you can get whatever you want to dig it up with, but like you just do it slowly.
52:14So what I'm doing right now is peeling off the skins.
52:19Now you can see it's white and that's when you like eat them.
52:23It's really nice.
52:26It's just important to connect to language and culture.
52:41I'm proud of what I'm doing and I'm proud that the kids, you know, want to learn also.
52:47And yeah, they make me proud when they use it in the classroom.
52:51Yeah, it's great.
52:52Yeah.
52:54One person, one person.
53:06What are you up to this weekend buddy?
53:08Well, I reckon there's plenty of NAIDOC events going on all around the country, so I'll get out to one.
53:14Pretty sure I'll be doing the same thing, but no doubt a bit of time in the garden.
53:17Most definitely.
53:19Well, you're going to need jobs for the weekend.
53:22Yes.
53:23Load the barrow.
53:24All right.
53:25Take me to the compost.
53:27At the speed of a thousand racing snails.
53:29Cool temperate gardeners dust off the secateurs to prune apples and pears.
53:39Remove inward growing branches, damaged wood and shorten side shoots to four plump healthy buds.
53:46Don't bin your tree prunings.
53:48Straight branches can be used as stakes or plant supports, smaller branches for garden edging and weaving
53:54and fruit woods can be used for smoking foods.
53:58The soil is as cold as a dog's nose, but rhubarb divisions can still go on.
54:03Plant crowns into compost rich soil, spreading out the roots and leaving the top sitting just below the surface.
54:10In warm temperate gardens, plant an edible hedge of blueberries.
54:14A mix of varieties ensures an extended harvest.
54:18Space plants one metre apart on mounded soil rich with pine needles.
54:23As spring flowering bulbs like bearded iris and ranunculi start popping their heads up, a good feed with blood and bone will give them the tucker they need to rock it into spring.
54:35Fringed heath myrtle is flowering now.
54:37This small native shrub is a great garden addition.
54:40Tight fragrant foliage and masses of red buds opening to white winter flowers.
54:47In subtropical areas, save some space for Mary Washington asparagus.
54:52Tube stocks or crowns can be planted now and foliage cut to the ground.
54:56Harvest in as little as two years.
54:58Colourful crepe myrtles have finished flowering, so take hold of those hedges and give them a haircut.
55:05Lagostremia flower on new wood, so today's prune is summer's bloom.
55:10Show your timber tools some love.
55:13Sand splinters from wooden handles and apply a 50-50 linseed oil and turps mixture to help preserve the timber.
55:20You can also clean, oil and sharpen blades.
55:23The tropical staple bougainvillea are finishing flowering, so it's time to don gloves, glasses and long sleeves and get pruning.
55:33They love a heavy hack back, flowering on new growth.
55:37So some easy to grow sweet potato tubers.
55:40These vigorous vines spread, so make sure you've got the space.
55:44Regular compost top ups keep them happy and the foliage is edible.
55:48It's the perfect time to pick pawpaws.
55:51When harvested green, they're delicious in salads or left to ripen for a sweet treat.
55:56If they have some yellow colour, they'll ripen off the tree.
56:00Arid loving, aromatic, attractive and tough as, find space for Greek whorehound.
56:06The soft silver foliage complements other perennial plantings perfectly.
56:11Kangaroo paws will thank you for a feed at this time of year.
56:15Apply a general pelletised slow-release fertiliser alongside monthly drinks of a diluted worm tea for happy plants and beautiful blooms.
56:25Upgrade your chooks accommodation and plant a deciduous vine like a grape next to their run.
56:31This will give them much needed shade in summer and let the light shine through in winter.
56:36Make sure you visit our website and sign up to our weekly newsletter.
56:45I've really enjoyed revisiting so many great stories from around the country and I just never stop learning.
56:56No, that's right.
56:57And look, it doesn't matter where you live, where you garden or where you call home.
57:01There's always projects, people and of course plants.
57:05Yeah, exactly and we'll be back next week here in the garden with plenty more plants for you to enjoy.
57:13Enjoy NAIDOC week wherever you are in this beautiful country, wherever it is you call home.
57:17See ya.
57:18Bye.
57:19Here's what's in store for next time.
57:22We learn about a favourite group of plants for former guest presenter and expert grower David Fripp.
57:29I think there's a Ripsalis out there for everybody.
57:31I mean if you wanted to create a living curtain, if you want something it'll sit tufty in a pot.
57:36If you want something elegant, there's a plant that'll do it.
57:40I'm visiting a garden that's a desert oasis, an explosion of colour and a symphony of succulents.
57:48And we bring a little spring bling to lighten up those winter blues with a couple who admit they have the iris virus.
58:01And we'll have several other local plants that are able to cover up those winter blues.
58:06They'll work with their special sedenties, so we'll be able to do it in the middle of the winter.
58:09And this is my own way of giving up those winter blues.
58:11I think there's a lot of the water is on top of the earth, but it's really nice to you.
58:14I think there's a lot of water.
58:15We do a lot of water so we can survive.
58:17So just to meet you.
58:18I think there's a lot of water for that, not to me.
58:19I think there's a lot of water from here.
58:20I think there's water from here.
58:22I think there's a lot of water, but I'm taking off.
58:24It's a lot of water, but I'm also getting off.
58:26There's a lot of water?