Welcome to the Kaurna Food and Fibre Program

The Kaurna Food and Fibre program was funded and supported by Green Adelaide in partnership with St Joseph’s School Hindmarsh and the Australian Association for Environmental Education SA Chapter. We sincerely thank Kaurna Miyurna advisors James Tyler, Drew Kilner and Michael Kumpati O’Brien for their invaluable contribution.

This site contains:-

The Kaurna Food and Fibre Manual with information about 30 endemic plants and how they were used by the Kaurna Miyurna.
Years 5 and 6 lesson plans depicting every aspect of the program. These have been developed for the State and Catholic school systems
A planting video by students

About the Kaurna Food and Fibre Program

The aim of this two year program was to learn about the properties of selected endemic plants used by the Kaurna Miyurna people. This research began at the Botanic Gardens where First Nations guide Trent Hill introduced students to a range of species and their uses. Students selected 30 species to focus on. They sought species with food, fibre, medicinal or traditional properties. Their research was also guided by the Walking Together with Kaurna team who shared Kaurna cultural knowledge. Students used this knowledge to develop botanical drawing skills artistic expression and weaving with the Marra Dreaming team. They put this collective learning into practice by growing 1700 plants to share with the school and neighbourhood communities as well as local greening groups other schools and pre-schools. A demonstration site with species signage was designed and planted by the students.

As education is the heart the Kaurna Food and Fibre program, all plant recipients received interpretive signage with QR Code leading to a manual about the chosen species, their uses and recipes, as well as comprehensive lesson plans.

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge and thank the Kaurna people who generously shared their knowledge and contributed to the development of this resource.
With sincere thanks to Kaurna Miyurna advisors James Tyler, Drew Kilner and Michael Kumatpi Marrutya O’Brien, whose guidance and cultural knowledge have been central to this project.
We pay our respects to Kaurna Miyurna Elders past and present, and honour the ongoing connection of the Kaurna Miyurna to Country, language, and culture.
We also thank teacher Antoinette Di Paolo and her students, graphic artist Maria Apostolou and project person Deidre Knight.

Kaurna Miyurna
Seasonal Calendar

There are four distinct weather periods recognised in the Kaurna Miyurna seasonal cycle, as well as winds which can act as seasonal indicators. The mapping of Kaurna seasons to the Australian calendar is approximate as the seasons are very changeable.

Learn more about each season in the downloads below.