Connecting to Country A Pathway to Deepening Cultural Understanding

Abstract

This project of connecting to country with infants and educators is an act of reconciliation within a community of learners. Through examining our pedagogical and cultural ontologies we journeyed with the children, families and members of the Awabakal community respectfully engaging with ancestral language, knowledge about the land, animals of Mulubinba and the importance of waterways. Due to a global pandemic our ability to wander while learning was constrained to our immediate learning environments. Therefore, we used experiences of digital media, music, art and artefacts as our conveyance to other imaginings within this learning. Where we arrived at is a place of deeply reflective understanding about young children’s capacity to share in the joy of cultural learning and the pathways this creates for whole communities to learn together.