First Nations Knowledge Sharing
Working Together for Healthy Country
Across the first half of 2025, Jagun Alliance partnered with local First Nations peoples and communities to share cultural Knowledge about healthy Country, climate change, and disaster risks.
We deeply value the rich traditions, stories, and Knowledge that First Nations peoples hold, along with an understanding of how to care for Country. There is so much we can learn from Country.
This Knowledge Sharing project focused on identifying seasonal indicators and stories, with the aim of raising awareness and creating educational tools about listening to and learning from Country with a focus on Knowledge transfer to youth.
What We Did
Together with Elders, Knowledge holders and schools on Bundjalung Jagun, we held four Gathering Yarns for a knowledge exchange experience on how local seasonal indicators and listening to Country can help us care for Country and minimize our risk to challenges in the environment.
What we Made
We captured these yarns and created Story Maps for each participating school. These story maps will be used as an educational resource for the students to continue learning about Country and what Country is telling us.
Click here to view the StoryMaps:
Three educational resources were created through this project to assist students in connecting with Country. These resources are free to download. They include:
Being Country – A creative writing exercise to get participants in the mind of Country, offering instructions, a writing guide and reflective questions. Allowing participants to explore a non-human perspective through embodiment, guided by First Nations storytelling practice.
Listening to Country guide - An in-depth resource on how to listen to Country using your senses. Local plants, animals, seasonal shifts and relationality are used to incite familiarity within participants. It also includes emotion, asking participants to reflect on how listening to Country makes them feel.
Cultural Species Profile - A template to preserve knowledge on plants and animals from Country to be used as a foundation for Seasonal Calendar development. A practical exercise that engages listening to Country skills that can be developed into a simple monitoring program to span over a long period of time.
Project Supporters
The Project strengthens NSW Reconstruction Authority efforts to prepare for natural disasters by enhancing awareness and understanding of First Nations Knowledge to guide and support current and future disaster planning, response and recovery.
This project received funding from the Australian Government and NSW Government
