Walking Together with Kaurna
Walking Together with Kaurna' began in 2017 when early childhood educator Liesl von der Borch began collaborating with Kaurna Elders and leaders to create meaningful experiences for children on Country. Since then, the business has grown and evolved and now offers four on-Country workshop experiences as well as individually tailored workshops relevant for children aged 4 through to corporate PD sessions.
Today Drew, Bryce, Matt and Liesl bring their individual wisdom and lived experiences to the workshops as they honour traditional cultural practices through sharing knowledge and facilitating an understanding of the past, its relevance to the present and its importance for the future.
Our workshops on Country provide a way for participants to meet with Kaurna educators to learn about Cultural practices, stories, language, and the interconnected relationship of our First Nations people to the very land we live, play, learn and work on - Kaurna Country
While we have always valued the inclusion of games in our workshops, our exclusively games-focused workshop was a huge success at several Tennis SA events and at Mercedes College where we launched their ‘AFL and Parntu’ unit of study.
Wilfred Taylor Reserve is located on Christie creek in Morphett Vale. The land was ‘owned’ by the Taylor family from the 1850s until being transferred to Noarlunga council in 1967.
Parntu (game ball) are traditional possum or kangaroo skin balls used to play a game that was the forerunner to AFL as we know it today.
Mukanthi, Kaurna for ‘play, celebrate’ is the name of the nature play space at Morialta Conservation Park.
Wirraparinga (Brownhill Creek) is steeped in Kaurna history, Culture, and language yet this remains unacknowledged by most who visit.
This two-hour event includes workshops focussed on three significant Kaurna sites in the CBD and is specifically designed to develop an understanding of the city as Kaurna land.
We have designed ways to present our workshop content 'in doors' or 'on site' rather than on Country. Although our preference is for the 'on Country' experience we understand this is not always possible and as the main objective of our work is to facilitate understanding and experience of what it means to be on Kaurna land
Incursions cover the same material as our other workshops but can also have a focus on Seasonal movement across Country, Cultural Burn practices, Dreaming stories and Plants .
Otherwise our core focus is on Kaurna Cultural practices such as the karra tree (river red gum) and all it provides in the way of tools, artefacts and foods, the mirnu tree (golden wattle), the grass tree, animal skins, as well as some Kaurna
language. And for children, stories, songs and games
We tailor our workshops to meet your curriculum/age/PD requirements.
In response to the level of interest in our recent family events we have decided to continue to offer these opportunities as either weekend/school holiday events. These workshops will be held on Country in line with our place-based, on Kaurna land approach.
Please express your interest by adding your email below. Up and coming events will be announced here on our website and on our Facebook page.
We see our role as to raise community understanding of what it really means to be ‘on Kaurna land’ by enabling people to experience the Culture, language, and history of their local First Nations people.
To experience one of our workshops on-Country is a powerful experience however we can also tailor an event to suit your workplace requirements/location/time/budget
I am a Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri man from Aldinga beach where I love to fish, walk in the bush, and do anything that connects me to my Culture.
Liesl von der Borch is an educator passionate about place-based pedagogy and advocating for an awareness of Kaurna language, history, and culture throughout the education system and beyond.