The living classroom – learning on country

In 2010, the Australian Venom Research Unit [AVRU], based in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Melbourne, was invited to contribute to an innovative program in Arnhem Land helping to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people’s life opportunities.

This program, known as ‘Learning On Country’, connects education, research, Aboriginal knowledge and non-Indigenous scientific practices with community and country. It re-imagines the future dialogue between the peoples of Australia, recognising land as the foundation that nurtures us all. 

Underpinning this vision is the ‘People on Country’ ethos, where deep engagement with place and culture is the foundation of sustainable Indigenous development. ‘Two-way’ collaborative learning is at the heart of this approach.

With support from an anonymous donor, this invitation has been developed into a multi-disciplinary project that links the AVRU, the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the Science Faculty with Maningrida College in north-eastern Arnhem Land. 

This team identified two focus priorities: a literacy intensive program where students were supported to develop curriculum resources on their knowledge of country; and a field-work program called the ‘Venom Trail’ to engage students with diverse scientific concepts and practices across a variety of institutions and locations in both Maningrida and Melbourne. 

The Trail connects with partner institutions such as the Melbourne Museum and Zoo, and intersects with the Learning on Country program, itself a partnership with the Maningrida Djelk Rangers. College attendance and students’ literacy data suggest that student involvement in the Learning On Country program has impacted positively on attendance, retention rates and literacy outcomes. 

Learning through country developed to engage students with science by incorporating traditional Aboriginal knowledge and learning methods and emphasising fieldwork in environments students know well. Students are aware of and have a deep understanding of their local saltwater, freshwater and land environments and of the venomous animals in their environments.

There is also an exchange where the students become the teachers, instructing the Melbourne people on identifying food, gathering and hunting.

This year, students were engaged in collecting samples of spiders, scorpions and tarantulas over several weeks. This facilitated engagement and enquiry about cultural knowledge of local habitats, landforms, flora, venomous and non-venomous animals.

Back at school, students constructed text about their experiences and learned to upload and share their findings.

The students at Maningrida showed Melbourne people a variety of activities that included cooking magpie geese, documenting fire-making processes and using wattle trees for their antibiotic properties.

Arriving in Melbourne, the students completed a trail to look at flying foxes. While here, the students were able to transfer their experience of fieldwork and habitats to an urban environment. Students came to understand the behaviours of an urban eco-system even though it was in a different and cooler environment.

Meeting with Entomology department staff from the Melbourne Museum, students were able to compare animals collected in Maningrida with specimens collected near the Cumberland River region in Lorne.

Dr Ken Winkel, from the Department of Pharmacology, is committed to the continuation of this unique program and sees many benefits for all concerned. “This program harnesses Aboriginal ecological knowledge and promises to enrich perspectives in educational, medical and other scientific research areas, while fostering mutual understanding and awareness,” he says.

“The pleasure and joy of learning comes from mutual respect and the exchange of information. This program informs and reminds us as teachers that children can learn in a number of ways and that they also have much to teach us.”

www.pharmacology.unimelb.edu.au/