Building relationships on and with Mother Mountain : women incorporating indigenous knowledge into outdoor learning

In this chapter, we explore some of the affinities that developed amongst three women outdoor educators, one Indigenous (Lynne Thomas) and two Anglo-Celtic (Nicole Taylor and Tonia Gray), whilst on Mount Gulaga in remote southeast Australia. The relationship that formed between us and the Mother Mountain Gulaga is key to this chapter, in which we seek to demonstrate how Indigenous Australian knowledge can be respectfully taken up within outdoor learning contexts, such as those provided through outdoor education. Outdoor education programmes, in their various forms across Australia, are still largely approached through Western knowledge systems and academic structures (Kingsley, Townsend, Henderson-Wilson, & Bolam, 2013; Truong et al., 2018). Whilst there is some evidence of small shifts to include Indigenous Knowledge in outdoor or environmental education programmes (Birrell, 1999, 2001, 2007; Gray, 2005; Spillman, 2017; Whitehouse, 2011), these are not often documented or made explicit for others in the field to take up and learn from. The work in this chapter identifies how a space exists between Traditional Knowledge, non-Aboriginal people, and the Mother Mountain Gulaga, where similarities, connections, and stories can be shared as a way to build respectful relationships with people, Country, and the self (McKnight, 2015). This space, which is referred to as the “in-between-ness” of cultures, provides the foundation for outdoor education teaching and learning that occurs for the authors of this chapter. What follows can be considered an example of how the authors navigate this space together, sharing their experiences and stories of connecting with Country. This chapter can be useful as a guide for others in the outdoor learning and outdoor education fields, where not many explicit resources currently exist for non-Aboriginal people to think about, or implement, respectful teaching and learning that connects with Indigenous Knowledge

Voices across the fence: commonality, difference and respectful practice across a half century of change

Objective: To describe changes that have occurred in the field of indigenous mental health over the last 50 years.\ud \ud Conclusions: The last half-century has seen major advances in psychiatry and in the roles and capacities of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Over the same period, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia has been transformed by social and political forces that have brought both benefits and disappointments to Indigenous Australians. Indigenous mental health has evolved from a marginal interest in an 'exotic' area to a recognised field with its own issues, competencies and training needs. In this paper, two College Fellows consider these decades of change, presenting their reflections through voices that reflect different vantages despite a common destination

Contractor Drilling with Pounder II

Project Manager Dr Richard Carter, Institute of Water and Environment, Cranfield University at Silsoe.This report contributes to the findings, implications, and future plans of a project, initiated by Cranfield University (Silsoe, UK) entitled “Private Sector Participation in Low Cost Water Well Drilling”.The project was funded by DFID from July 1998 to June 2001, with additional funding partners (Government of Uganda, DANIDA, SIDA, UNICEF, Water Aid, and an anonymous donor) joining at various stages throughout this three-year period

Reconciliation in Australia? Dreaming Beyond the Cult of Forgetfulness

This chapter explores the history of reconciliation in Australia, the policy framework, obstacles and achievements. It draws on the experience of Julie Collins of Reconciliation in Action at Myall Creek and in the work of the community arts organisation, Beyond Empathy and also shares the experiences of Warlpa Kutjika Thompson, a Wiimpatja, from the western district of NSW. I (Julie) have been collaborating with Warlpa Kutjika Thompson on this chapter on Australian reconciliation and other projects, in an attempt to share power and perspective. Our collaboration has led to many interesting discussions that have deepened my understanding of the complexity of what needs to happen for reconciliation to occur