Landcare Conference field trip to CSU Orange
Delegates attending the 2015 NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference being held in
Orange this week visited Charles Sturt University (CSU) to view land management and conservation
activities on campus.
Around 35 people visited the recently established Aboriginal Nature and Bioscience Park (ANBP) at
Orange campus. The park is being developed as part of a project creating pathways to university
education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in a partnership between the university
and the community.
Wiradjuri Elder Mr Neil Ingram conducted a smoking ceremony, a purification rite to get rid of bad
spirits, in the park’s yarning circle before welcoming conference delegates to Wiradjuri country.
Orange Local Aboriginal Lands Council’s Gaambuwananha Ngurambang (bringing back country)
team, mentored by Neil Ingram, has carried out work at the park including a traditional cool burn (in
conjunction with the local RFS) and construction of the yarning circle and paths.
Planting with culturally and ecologically significant species, completion of pathways, and installation
of interpretive signage and solar powered lighting is the next step.
“This Park will create a symbolic new space for reflection, teaching and research In line with the
University’s program to encourage better understanding of Indigenous cultural values in all
education programs, and to boost support for Indigenous students,” said ANBP project leader Doctor
Sid Parissi.
“In order to establish the best prospects for success, especially for students from rural or remote
areas, we have embarked on a journey to help ensure that the campus is felt as a culturally safe
place, not just in words and in the subjects presented, but in the physical space that we share.”
The field trip concluded with Doctor Cilla Kinross reporting on her research into windbreaks and
corridor plantings on campus and the resident peregrine falcons. The latter was timely as the first
egg of the season was laid earlier in the week by Diamond, the female peregrine
(www.csu.edu.au/special/falconcam/).
Photo:
The recently constructed yarning circle in the Aboriginal nature and bioscience park at CSU will be an
educational and cultural asset