‘Is this the start? The very first bit of our Story Garden?’ The eleven year old boy stared at me with his large brown eyes. Rightly proud of his Tasmanian Aboriginal Heritage, he was asking me if it was true, that the work the boys were doing levering pavers up was the beginning of our new school Story Garden. ‘Yes, this is it,’ I replied. ‘You are making the very first part of this garden.’ The boy grinned and stared around him. In a months time, the degraded compacted slope will be a stepping stone path, portraying the journey of the local Aboriginal people down from the North West of the State, with different areas representing the nine tribes of Tasmania. There will be an example of a midden site for small fingers to explore, a boat to signify crossing to the islands, and a bush foods garden to harvest for our kitchen garden program. With all the years of work that have gone into turning this garden from a dream into a reality, this boys’ pride that a garden at his school is being made to celebrate his culture makes it all suddenly so worthwhile.
One boys Story Garden
