ozEEnews Newsletter of the Australian Association for Environmental Education Inc ISSUE 146 MAR 2019 THEME: IY indigenous language INSIDE THIS ISSUE President’s Report 2 Noongar Meanings in Place 3-4 Little Steps in Noongar Culture 5 Culture along the Murray 6 A lesson plan for IYIL 7 Zayed Sustainability Prize 8 Indigenous Taxonomy 9 Jarowair language 10 Writing for Enviro Prize 11 NSW Chapter Update 12 VIC Chapter Update 12 ACT Chapter Update 13 Students get painted in ochre. Read more on page 6. Photo: Kelly Coleman, PeeKdesigns TAS Chapter Update 14 SA Chapter Update 14 WA Chapter Update 15 In this issue Welcome to the first issue of ozEEnews You can QLD Chapter Update 16 for 2019 and The Year of Indigenous access a range of Book Review 17 Language. classroom-ready The United Nations declared 2019 curriculum-linked Sustainable Events 18 as The Year of Indigenous Languages resources on the in order to raise awareness of these Getting Started AJEE: Reviewers invited 19 languages, not only to benefit the with Sustainability Your AAEE: 20 people who speak them, but also for resource portal Alison Cooper others to appreciate the important and filter the topic Editor ozEEnews [email protected] Announcements 21 contribution they make to our world’s to ‘Indigenous rich cultural diversity (iyil2019.org). Knowledge’. Simply visit the website at In this issue we share stories of sustainabilityinscools.edu.au. how Australia’s First People’s The Zayed Sustainability Prize is ozEEnews culture and language is a prestigious global award inspires is the news- used to enrich education schools to nurture the next generation letter of the and learning across the of sustainability leaders while addressing Australian country. For more on global sustainability priorities. Your Association for how Aboriginal stories school has until the end of May to enter. Environmental are embedded in our Read more on page 8. Education Inc. Australian landscapes, Be sure to also check out the many Views read our feature article great events coming up this year inside expressed on pages 3-4. this issue. in ozEEnews are Alison not necessarily those of the Association. Material may be copied with due acknowledgement. This electronic edition of ozEEnews has been sent to all ISSN 1034-6600 www.aaee.org.au members with email addresses. If you have not supplied or you have changed your email address, please send your correct email address to [email protected]. ozEEnews Mar 2019 President’s Report Jennifer Pearson The executive are enthusiastic between Australian Association about the new initiative to for Environmental Education Events create a Youth Advisory Board. (AAEE), the Australian Geography The interest from young people Teachers’ Association (AGTA), applying from across Australia Business Educators Australasia If you have any events is encouraging. With the able (BEA) and the Social and that you would like leadership of Angela Colliver Citizenship Education Association published in ozEEnews and David Butler the YAB will of Australia (SCEAA). This frame the way in which they Foundation published excellent please send the name of need to work, the issues they resources such as ‘Commonwealth the event, date and time, believe are critical to advance EfS Class Project’, ‘Australia-China and resources they need from project - Beijing 2008 Olympic venue, and a contact our members to action their Games’, ‘Arab Gateway’ and much email address to recommendations. We will be able more. Every effort will be made to launch the YAB in early April to have these available on the [email protected] and we are looking forward to Getting Started website. supporting them. During the ‘Chapter Check The Sustainability Cross In’ meeting late February it was Curriculum Priorities (SCCP) uplifting to hear about the many Intending contributors project, led by Graeme Sawyer, projects, networks and issues that was initiated in early 2018, are playing out across our large should forward material is entering Phase 2. It was network. The discussion included by e-mail to agreed that the scoping phase the upcoming Federal elections [email protected] of this work is complete and and how AAEE must take this Deadline for contributions we are working towards a opportunity to lift up the need to next edition is project proposal to have this for EfS so that politicians view it work refined and edited to be a as a critical element of the work 3 June 2019 useful resource for teachers. The to grapple with climate change Electronic format is intention is to present this work outcomes. The NSW Chapter has preferred though not to ACARA to make the links to a campaign format we can use essential. Artwork, the SCCP visible for teachers. to frame a national campaign cartoons and photographs The resource will also be placed around. The SA Chapter has should be provided at on the ‘Getting Started with offered their energy and contacts 100dpi, postcard size, Sustainability in Schools’ website, from The Change Agency to sustainabilityinschools.edu.au. We guide us. The ACT Chapter has minimum. all know how well EfS can provide recommendations about creating Articles may be features, context for valuable learning resources that they have found reports, events, snippets, experiences for students. useful in advocacy work they carry reviews, etc and should be Another initiative is the call out. Are you prepared to be noisy less than 600 words. for our members and contractors and persistent to get a National to send an Expression of Interest Action Plan and the reinstatement Decisions about to develop resources. The funds of the EfS schools network that publication are the became available because of was AuSSI? Contact me with your responsibility of the the demise of the Australian ideas. editor. ozEEnews accepts Federation for Societies for Studies advertising. Charges are of Societies and Environment Thanks everyone for your efforts, available on request to (AFSSSE). This was an alliance Jennifer the editor. Thankyou to contributors Thanks go to all the members who contributed articles for this edition and [email protected] for the desktop publishing. 2 Layers of Meanings in our Landscapes: Aliwa! Ni! By Sandra Wooltorton, Len Collard language-embedded wisdom. ‘Learning lifestyles and habits of settlers and and Pierre Horwitz language’ and ‘learning place’ go their descendants. This is a third way, a together. cultural reciprocity – enabling people to live and share an Earth-based rationality: Noongar meaning in The research team landscape one that acknowledges Noongar We, the three writers, cultural custodians, recognises Noongar Aliwa is a Noongar (South are university-based meanings and stories in landscape, and West Australian) word which transdisciplinary celebrates Noongar ways of knowing, translates as ‘look out, be researchers and educators being and doing. observant or be aware. Ni who have been working Whilst our research and examples means ‘listen, pay attention’. from different perspectives pertain to Noongar Boodjar, or In our Australian landscapes, on the ecological wisdom southwestern Australia, the ideas we Aboriginal stories and in Noongar science – as develop apply to many Australian place- meanings are hiding in full described in Noongar based and ecological language contexts. view, wherever we walk, Professor Pierre Horwitz language – each for over wherever we travel, wherever thirty years. Noongar language-embedded science we are. The point in this short article is For the last fifteen years or so, we for cultural-environmental learning that as educators we need to be able to have been collaborating to synthesise Because of the depth of ecological see, hear and understand the essence and build upon our separate knowledge knowledge developed in Noongar of landscape-embedded stories so that bases to address complex socio- language, some concepts do not we can teach, show and explain these ecological problems. We are: a fluent translate easily into English. This meanings to our children, students, Noongar language speaker /cultural points to the significant reasons peers and families. To do this, we need custodian (Len), an ecologist (Pierre) why Australians should be given to learn the Aboriginal languages of our and cultural geographer (Sandra), who an opportunity to learn their local own places. have been on a katitjiny bidi (knowledge Aboriginal language. Aboriginal languages, which helped path), a Noongar learning journey Here we offer three examples of to form the Australian landscapes and (examples of our joint publications are Noongar language-embedded science: are a product of those landscapes, listed below). the kundaam (specifically, the long have been spoken in Australia for over Our intent is quite blatantly now), boodjar and karlaboodjar. 60,000 years. Our places hold and have ‘reciprocal colonisation’, aiming The kundaam is the basis of integrated their local languages and to actively influence the everyday continued P4 Visit the Derbal Nara project at www.derbalnara.org.au for akatitjin bidi of the coast south of Fremantle 3 ozEEnews Mar 2019 Layers of Meanings from p4 Visit the Nyungar Boodjar project at www.boodjar.sis.uwa.edu.au for a katitjin bidi of Nyungar place names Noongar knowing: it comprises all cultural authority to burn, to care for it. Conclusion of the stories, songlines, creation So karlaboodjar is home-place – to which Aliwa! Ni! The 2019 International Year narratives, science and explanations for we are related in the same way as we are of Indigenous Languages presents an everyday life. To understand this, we related to our family members. An extension outstanding opportunity to practice cultural need to understand that in Noongar of this is kurduboodjar: ‘love of place’. environmental learning in our teaching and language, time is not historically linear. Noongar language speakers have always daily lives. Learning our local Aboriginal For example, that which English influenced settlers and their descendants.