Environmental knowledges and practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, shared and exchanged for thousands of years across innumerable generations, heals Country and spiritually connects people to place. The University of Sydney’s integrated strategies – Sustainability Strategy and One Sydney, Many People Indigenous Strategy – encourages a whole-of-University commitment to Caring for Country, and the valuing and respecting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s knowledge and culture.

Embedded in this ethos is the strengthening of our knowledge, appreciation and co-practice of Caring for Country, which guides our work and practices to one of custodianship – to all carry responsibility to engage, care and respect the environment and to those we serve, for the benefit of all generations to come. The Mapping, protecting and enriching Aboriginal Cultural Heritage landscapes project seeks to put this in practice, both in process as well as outcome. Agency, co-design and mutually beneficial partnerships were critical and foundational throughout all stages of the project, enabling transformation in operational, project, and engagement processes.

As a part of this project, the University commissioned ARC Heritage to undertake an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment (ACHA) of the cultural landscape of Llara Farm, a part of the Plant Breeding Institute near Narrabri NSW, in association with field staff from the Narrabri Local Aboriginal Land Council (NLALC). A prior sortie in 2019 had identified four culturally modified (scar) trees in remnant woodland, as well as rock holes and possible grinding features in Horse Arm Creek. As a Community-identified need to protect these cultural sites, along with the University’s desire to sustainably regenerate the landscape, the project was initiated in partnership with the NLALC to complete the study in tandem, to inform decision-making on future projects.

This study was aimed at engaging with the traditional Gamilaroi custodians and knowledge holders in recording these identified cultural sites, as well as surveying and assessing the fuller extent of the cultural landscape at the Farm. Contextual information on the environment, ethnography and archaeological site distribution, in relation to current and historical land use, was used to assess the significance of the recorded sites. This process included walking Country along with elders and community members, recording and connecting the wholeness of significant trees and areas to Place and to each other, providing culturally appropriate recognition of the importance of protection of sites and the significance of each one individually.

Following the completion of the study, workshops for feedback and discussion on mapping outcomes were established, bringing together Community stakeholders, LALC members, University Faculty of Science academics and Operations staff to generate recommendations and landscape action plans. Planning for a major planting on site was initiated, to establish a ‘green belt’ to protect sites, offering a natural barrier to protect against climate and livestock, and to repatriate the area with local and culturally significant native species. The planting of the site scheduled for late 2023 will also be a collaborative initiative, running Community tree planting events on-site inviting local community and University staff and students (based both regionally and city-based) to participate. The next phase of the project will explore plans to establish a ’food park’ on site, connecting research projects on native grains and bush foods, with the aim to increase its accessibility and availability.

In addition to helping us achieve commitment set out in both Sustainability and Indigenous Strategies, the project has aided our progress towards UN SDGs, enriching our partnership with local communities (SDG 17: Partnership for the goals), protecting and regenerating the unique biospheres and biodiversity on the lands in which we work (SDG 15: Life of Land) and embodying First Nation’s values and advocacy ensuring cultural heritage is mapped and embedded in decision-making (SDG 10: Reducing inequalities).

As well as providing a case model for reciprocal and co-designed projects with LALCs and local communities, the project has also forged new considerations for future campus planning working with stakeholders, multi-disciplinary and professional teams, that we are keen to emulate for other campuses moving forward. Due to the project’s success, the project has been refunded to complete the assessment at Camden NSW campus, engaging independent Tharawal local heritage assessors and LALC members.