Acknowledgement of Country

Welcome to the ¾ NH2 blog for Week 6. This week is Reconciliation Week. We started on Thursday last week by acknowledging Sorry Day and apologising for the past (Makaila). We start every day in our Neighbourhood by acknowledging the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people because people before us took their land (Ben and Alex). We do this to help Wurundjeri people continue their connection to this land. 

The theme for Reconciliation Week this year is Be Brave, Make Change. The change that we have been working on is that each child has written an Acknowledgement of Country. We have made promises to do things to help Aboriginal land (Annie). We respect Aboriginal peoples by not making fun of their beliefs (Lucinda). We listen to Aboriginal people and they have a chance to speak up. We also commit to learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures and histories, for example Indigenous seasons and which ones are good for fishing or hunting. The speargrass is really important because it can tell you what season it is (Annie). There is a special plant in Western Australia and when the flowers bloom you know the crocodiles are laying their eggs in the hot sand (Coco and Charlie).

 We have also learnt about bushfoods. Kylie Kwong has a restaurant that uses lots of Indigenous bushfoods because she met and Indigenous woman at a farmers market who sold bushfood (Ivy Belle). She was inspired to make change by encouraging people to stop buying artificial things from the supermarket and to maybe go and collect their own bushfood (Ayshe). You can watch the video here

We learn about people from different cultures to help us know how to make change (Sotir). It helps to make us a wider community when we meet and see people from different cultures (Undram). 

1. What is an acknowledgement of Country and why is this important for us to do? 
   1. It is a piece of writing that acknowledges the indigenous owners of the land. It is important to acknowledge them because it would be disrespectful if we didn’t because we are living on their land (Ivy Belle)
2. How did we write our own?
   1. We started with a draft using some sentence starters such as acknowledging that we are learning on the lands of the Wurrundjeri people and then make sure we had included these parts (Evie H) because they are acknowledging and respecting the aboriginals (Robert)
   2. We talked about the things that a part of an acknowledgement and watched some people giving an acknowledgement of country (Gigi)
4. How do you feel about your connection to Wurrundjeri Country/What are you grateful for?
   1. We are grateful for all the animals and plants that were cared for for thousands of years (Huon)
   2. I am grateful for riding along the Merri Creek. (Lola)
   3. I am grateful that I get to live on the land of the Wurrundjeri people. (Ada)
   4. I am grateful to be living on the Wurrundjeri Woi Wurrung land and the trees, animals and birds. (Evie M)
   5. We’re grateful for beautiful plants, good animals and rivers (Coco)
   6. I am grateful for having this country, houses, parks and nature (Siri)

1. What promises have we made for the future?
   1. To be grateful for everything that we have such as being allowed to share the land, the trees, the flowers (Alex S)
   2. We promise to look after the land that the Wurrundjeri people have cared for by not burning coal (Alina)
   3. We promise to look after the land and respect it by not cutting down the trees and help stop pollution from reaching our oceans. (Ayshe)
   4. I will take care of the land (plants and animals) (Olive)
   5. I will pay my respects elders past, present and emerging (Flynn)
   6. I promise to keep the land beautiful and improve it by planting trees and picking up rubbish (Undram)
   7. I promise to respect and care for the land. (Zoe)
   8. I promise to help and respect the aboriginal people of this land. (Robert)
   9. I promise to respect the aborginal people and their land by caring for the trees and the environment. (Owen M)
   10. I promise to protect and care for endangered animals such as the Helmeted Honeyeater and the Leadbeater’s Possum. (Leah)
   11. I promise to try and better understand what was done to the land and try to help prevent it from continuing. (Elia)
   12. I promise to care for the land by recycling and caring for the soil by composting and planting native trees for habitat. (Annie)
   13. I will always remember what indigenous people have done for the land and how they have cared for it. (Lucinda)
   14. I will promise to respect and take care of the land on Wurundjeri Country by not littering (Wilco)
   15. I promise to protect the lands, skies and waterways by not littering (Aurelian)
   16. I promise to protect the land from global heating (Hattie)
   17. I will help the country by discouraging deforestation to plant palm oil trees (Ivy Belle)
   18. I promise to protect the animals by not putting rubbish in the ocean and by recycling (Mia)
   19. I promise to protect the water from draining so that animals have enough to drink (Charlie)

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