Students experience First Nations culture

STUDENTS from Torquay College have returned from a Red Earth Immersion experience, learning the histories and lives of Australia’s First Nations people.

Throughout the six-day road trip, students visited a number of homelands, welcomed by the families living in the communities and getting involved in all the activities.

Torquay College specialist teacher Tracey Vaught said the group was joined by their main connection Aunty Sophie, who helped educate the students.

“I can’t even describe the amount of stories that she was sharing, it’s just extraordinary the amount of knowledge that she shared with our kids, that then became knowledge holders.”

While on the camp, students participated in discussions around bush medicine, bush tucker and scar trees, while also getting involved with campfires, walks, tours and more.

Part of their learning on the camp involved writing in their journals each night, sketching the things they had seen during the day and the connection to country knowledge.

 

Students from the grade 6 class are selected specifically to go on the camp, based on their desire to know more about Australia’s cultural history.

“They’re picked because they apply to go on the immersion and they’re picked based on their compassion and their empathy and their drive and their motivations to want to know more,” Ms Vaught said.

Following the camp, there’s a shift in some of the students, with many of them noticing the small things and becoming more grounded in nature.

“It’s opening eyes to how our First Nations people knew this all along the knowledge that they have is sustainable knowledge,” Ms Vaught said.

“They understand that the knowledge they’ve got now, they are knowledge holders and they can share it with their loved ones.

“They’ve already said that they feel grateful, they feel honoured, they’re proud to have been there and to have been a part of it.”

Students who went on the immersion will now go into the Grade 3 classroom and share what they have learnt.