Exploring what a sense of belonging, as well as investigating the connections in our community is a learning area that the Kindy children are exploring at the moment. The children listened to a story called, ‘I’m Australian Too’ by Mem Fox and from there, they confidently identified that they either lived in a particular suburb, city (Brisbane), state (QLD) or country (Australia).

Our early learning centre is on Turrbal and Jagera/Yuggera land, so children explored photos and shared stories of Brisbane as a city and what is surrounding it. After doing some research on the Brisbane River, articles about Indigenous totems being sandblasted into the Mangrove Walk either side of the QUT ferry terminal
were discovered. To connect to country, these symbols had to be explored in person, so I took the City Cat up the river and walked along the new Queen’s Wharf to discover the symbols and the stories that accompanied them.

You start your journey by learning the term, ‘Mulwarra’ which is an Indigenous word for clan or scar group and each Mulwarra has its own totem that they are accountable for.  Some of the totems of the Turrbal and Jagera/Yuggera people include the Kangaroo, Emu, Goanna and Echidna. The river (known as Mairwar) also shares seasonal signs about when certain foods are available and can be caught or harvested.

Towards the end of the walkway are different types of flora, along with how it was used. I was able to capture photos of my journey and from here, brought them back to the classroom to include in different learning experiences for the children. A small world experience was designed and teachers could share new language, ways of being and stories whilst children played, asked questions and explored the world around them in a hands-on way. The past could be entwined with the present.