MTalks
The Great Birrarung Parkland

Free!

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Recognised as a single living entity, the Birrarung (Yarra River) has shaped and formed the landscape over millennia, unifying this landscape that we all live within.  Our river lives, breathes and supports the life of the community.  In return, its life has been supported by the custodianship of Traditional Owners for thousands of generations.

The Birrarung is more than just water. It is the layers in the landscape that the river has formed, the soils, the trees, the plants, and the animals. It is the cultural connections, stories and layers of history that live within this landscape. It is the new stories and layers that unfold as we flow like the river through time.

The land belongs to the Birrarung. From the upper reaches of the catchment, passing through forests and farmlands, to residential and industrial areas, and finally entering the bay. A landscape and waterway brimming with life from source to sea.  

Come join Alexandra Lee (Birrarung Council member) with Birrarung Council Elders including Uncle Dave Wandin (Birrarung Council member and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder), and our Birrarung Design Studio leads Sarah Lynn Rees (Monash Uni) and Jock Gilbert (RMIT), as they explore the concept of the Great Birrarung Parkland and discuss our shared responsibility and ideas on how we can change the way we view and value our river and its lands, the Birrarung.

Wominjeka (Welcome). We acknowledge the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. We pay our respects to the land, their ancestors and their elders—past, present and to the future.