The Listening to First Nations Voices podcast was developed to educate people on Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing, and to inspire awareness and a deeper understanding and appreciation of the richness Aboriginal people bring to Australia. The idea for this series came from Associate Professor Samia Goudie who is passionate about Indigenous people and culture and is attempting to expand people’s knowledge on the subject and start a conversation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
In this episode, we explore the creation and implementation of the Ngunnawal gardens at the University of Canberra, and learn about native plants, traditionally used by the Ngunnawal people. The garden was created with the help of Adam Shipp; an Indigenous plant expert; Aunty Ros, the elder in residence at UC; Rich Allen, an Indigenous artist; as well as Valerie Caron and Will Higgisson, who were both working at UC and helped during the garden’s inception. For this edition of the podcast Aleara Pearce interviewed Valarie and Will over the phone.
Meet the producers of this episode:
Sally Witchalls
Hi, I’m Sally, and I am a third-year student studying Global Studies and looking to do a Master’s in International Development. I wanted to be part of furthering the Listening to First Nations Voices Podcast to gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous Knowledge and ways that this can be integrated into a learning environment such as UC. I enjoyed learning through our podcast episodes, the work UC has done to engage Indigenous culture, and the opportunities that the University still has, to improve in the area of Indigenous acceptance and understanding.
Passang Dorji
I am Passang Dorji, an international student from Bhutan. This is the final year of my degree in B.A Global studies. Being a part of this project was not just intriguing to listen to the diversity of “First Nations Voices,” from various sources but also, it enhanced towards strengthening my capacity to understand the indigenous Australian culture in context to the podcast theme we undertook as a team. Further, it was a satisfying moment for me to be teammates with my group who possess a deeper understanding of Australian values and culture. Through which I have developed, at least basic understanding of Australian culture.
Aleara Pearce
Hi I’m Aleara Pearce and I’m a third year student studying a Bachelor of Art (Global Studies). As a Barkandji woman, Indigenous affairs is something that I love and hold dear. Being a part of this project was a way to experience matters of Indigenous affairs in a different context. I had the opportunity to learn from those that our project team interviewed for the podcasts, as well as learn from my team members. The best part of this project was being able to start a conversation about Indigenous culture and practice at UC.
Miles Mckenzie
Hi I’m Miles, I’m a 3rd year student studying Heritage,Museums and Conservation majoring museum studies. I saw this project as a way to further my knowledge in Indigenous Australian affairs while also furthering the knowledge of my peers at UC. Allowing First Nations voices to be heard by the UC community and the wider public through a podcast was also a cool idea of which I wanted to be a part of. I have learnt new technical skills and enjoyed working with my team, mentors and subject experts to see the project through from a few ideas to a podcast on important subjects giving people an understanding of the Indigenous links to UC.
Music: Sparks by Chael
Logo background artwork is part of UC’s Indigenous Treatment for branding.