Caring for Nura (Country)

Warami, muru yana, naa gani  ngara,wingara... walama.
Hello, it’s good to see you, walk the path, look, smell, listen, reflect... and revisit.

Yams and other plants were important food for Dharug people. Dharug community members worked with Parramatta Park Trust and other partners to develop cultural gardens in riparian areas along the eastern bank of Domain Creek, renewing the presence of yams and other food plants important to Dharug culture. The reintroduction of the now rare species required the exploration of traditional land management practices and seed collection, facilitating the re-emergence of Dharug stories in Nura (Country), and inspiring broader knowledge of traditional land management and Cumberland Plain vegetation.

Reconnecting through Flora: Re-establishing Nura's Cultural Plants project (project) was led by the Dharug Strategic Management Group, who partnered with Parramatta Park Trust and were supported by Murru Mittigar, a Dharug cultural and land management organisation.

This project, funded by the Federal Government’s Communities Environment Program, enabled the creation the Burramatta Landscape Trail.

In April 2021, Yam Daisy seedlings were planted along the Burramatta Landscape Trail by members of the Dharug Strategic Management Group, with seedlings sourced by Murru Mittigar. Photos from the planting had and more information bout this trail below.

Local knowledge and practices were shared during this planting day. Practices such as using sticks as wooden dibblers to make small planting holes were used to avoid damage to the archaeological layer, beneath the soil. Because these were small holes, only seedlings were planted. The gardens created by this project have returned important plants to this ecological niche.

Take a walk through the Burramatta Landscape Trail located along, the eastern bank of Domain Creek in Parramatta Park.

Traditional Dharug land management and seed collection practices are used in these gardens along this trail. By sharing stories about how to care for Nura, traditional knowledge is revitalised and shared.

• Warami Mittigar- Aboriginal Cultural Walk, By the Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre.
• Historic Dairy Cottage Tours