An Ancient Story That's Close To My Heart

(Written by Johnnie Mac)

This is an important story that’s close to my heart due to my burning passion for our natural environment, Australia’s rich cultural heritage, the stories of its people and the strong cultural connections I have experienced whilst wandering this big brown land.

Other than doing the usual things that muso’s do mainly on weekends, I fill my weekdays with activities like planting, fossicking and exploring Aussie plants, propagating and harvesting bush foods and medicines sharing my knowledge with others and cooking delicious Aussie cuisine.  I’ve spent the last 20 years playing and working amongst the Aussie bush and a lot of that time within many different indigenous communities all over Australia.  I’ve learned so much from the environment and from the descendants of the Original people who shared their stories with me and taught me to listen to the Spirit of the land for a different learning.

In 1999 a beautiful woman came into my life… my soul mate and life partner. And even though she was a nomadic kinda girl, our common desire to wander started to reduce not long after we headed north from the hustle and bustle of life in the city and found ourselves frolicing and discovering and growing and learning and expanding and playing on the 100 acre sanctuary we moved to in beautiful northern New South Wales.  The lush environment that surrounded us refuelled my environmental and cultural passions and urged me to make contact with the local Bundjalung elders.

I first met Bundjalung elder Uncle Kevin and his son Kyle in 2002 after I sang at the Wollumbin Festival. An event to raise awareness about the Bundjalung people and the importance of their sacred mountain -Wollumbin (Mt Warning). Since then a beautiful friendship has developed as we work together to establish a cultural and environmental education centre in Mt Burrell.  Being one of the traditional owners of our land, Uncle Kev gave us permission to start our project and gave us the name Ganngjalah (pronounced ‘garn-jar-lar’) meaning Place Of Learning (or more simply – ‘look, listen, learn’) after he learned of our passion to establish a environmental and cultural reserve so we could replant the bush where land had been cleared, bring back the bush foods and medicines and share the land with community for health, recreation and educational purposes.  As our friendship strengthens, Uncle Kev and his family continue to share many stories with us about the Bundjalung history, the protocols, laws and customs of the Original northern New South Wales / southern Queensland people.

We have learned that although our indigenous elders pass on, this is only one farewell - as their Spirit remains present.  If we take the time to listen, if we connect with nature and most importantly - show respect, we will receive the powerful messages from our ancestors.

The story below of the cultural gardens development is a rare positive story of true reconciliation at work, which has unfolded from honouring indigenous protocol, listening to the Spirit of the land and respecting the guidance.

To learn more about Ganngjalah visit www.culturalgardens.org.au  or www.treelovers.org.au

PS Kyle Slabb and myself express a soulful, ancient message from the indigenous people of Australia in the song ‘One Farewell’ on my new album. Besides our work together at the cultural gardens, music is another powerful way to connect and share this positive message with the rest of the world.

About Mt. Burrell Cultural Gardens

A group of dedicated volunteers are working with the Australian indigenous Bundjalung people of Northern New South Wales to establish an environmental and cultural education centre which is helping to cool our planet as well as showing many other people how to take the same simple steps to nurture their own environment.

Encompassing 100 acres of both cleared and forested bushland and surrounded by 4 world heritage national parks, the Mt Burrell Cultural Gardens is an outdoor education centre that is being established to instil:-

• a deeper understanding of Australian indigenous culture, through demonstration and involvement;

• knowledge and respect for the environment (our natural heritage) to provide solutions for global concerns such as climate change.

Regular activities at this scenic centre which is often described as a botanic garden combined with nature reserve include:-

• Educational workshops (eg cooking with foods found in nature, dry stone walling, etc)
• Creative social activities (programs include up-to-date music, art, theatre and sporting activities);
• Environmental restoration and regeneration (over 7000 native trees planted to date) / Landcare education;
• Cultural demonstration and involvement such as corroboree, boomerang and didgeridoo lessons, bushfood cooking and tasting (e.g. wattleseed ice cream & bunya nut pancakes);
• Multicultural educational activities, events and festivals;
• Heritage walks;
• Wildlife trails, etc.

In early 2000, project founders, Michelle and Johnnie (Mac) McCarthy followed cultural protocol by seeking the appropriate elder to request permission for this northern New South Wales development. 2 years of searching resulted in Bundjalung elder and traditional custodian of Mt. Burrell, Uncle Kevin (Slabb) warmly embracing the concept and giving Bundjalung blessings by offering the name ‘Ganngjalah’ (pronounced garn-jar-lar), meaning ‘Place of Learning’.  Uncle Kev and his family soon joined the cultural gardens committee, where together, they form a true representation of reconciliation as they work in unison to establish a centre that creatively combines education with the many different aspects of Australian culture.

Ganngjalah is a continual ‘work in progress’ with many exciting developments still to come. It currently offers the following unique services and facilities:-

The native plant nursery provides a place of growing – for the gazillions of seeds that Director, Johnnie Mac collects on his daily travels. Here we teach innovative methods of plant production and nursery management to aspiring horticulturists and botanists using a diversity of Australian indigenous flora.  We differ from other botanic gardens and tree planting ventures because 99% of our plants have either an edible or medicinal quality. When the plants are ready to leave the nursery or have been adopted, we plant them to regenerate remnant bushland, revegetate cleared land and create beautiful educational gardens.

The landscaped bush gardens provide visitors with a scenic, aromatic, ‘outdoor classroom’ offering insight and practical knowledge about the history and use of Australia’s native plants. Visitors who walk through the gardens and nature trails find fun facts and intriguing information about the importance of nature; the cultural value of bushland, as well as how it was and still is being used by people all over the world to heal their environment, mind, body and soul.

The education centre is the next stage of development.  This structure will provide an area for workshops, meetings, seminars, conferences, conventions, wet weather activities and community social events.  The inter-linking gallery café will offer delicious Australian bush cuisine surrounded by multicultural artwork, educative information and items of environmental and cultural significance.

Plans to establish a bush theatre (natural amphitheatre) are progressing with vigour!  This picturesque performance space will attract world class performers and their fans to the cultural gardens for an exquisite outdoor stage experience nestled amongst Australian plants, animals and cuisine. This unique performance setting will inspire breath-taking creative expression and enthusiastic celebration for the arts. Individuals who are not usually exposed to environmental initiatives will be drawn to the cultural gardens for entertainment, yet at the same time will be exposed to an important cultural and environmental success story (using signage with before and after pictures) that will inspire and hopefully instigate individual action in their own backyard.

The final building construction is the holistic health studio. This cosy garden spa and sauna situated amongst natural bushland, nearby the calming Snake Creek (named for shape not content!), will provide a nurturing, relaxing and therapeutic environment with natural health consultants to enhance the experience. (ie massage, yoga, acupuncture, etc)

All structures will be progressive, natural building designs and will focus on materials that promote social and environmental restoration i.e. straw bale / mud brick / rammed earth construction, recycled materials, composting toilets, solar/hydro power, etc.

Due to Ganngjalah’s strong focus to do something positive and help reduce the pressures of environmental, cultural and social issues that presently demand global attention and co-operation, the centre is rapidly becoming a distinctive Australian landmark, providing visitors with a rare experience to actively participate in cultural exchange and environmental protection.

About TreeLovers

The Australian Aboriginal elders descend from one of the oldest cultures in the world and have been spiritually connected to our land for centuries. Their knowledge about management of the land has been passed down for generations.

Due to growing concerns about global environmental issues, the founders of the Mt Burrell Cultural Gardens asked the indigenous elders about solutions for environmental and global warming concerns. Their answer was simple yet powerful. The traditional custodians of the land asked us to “look after the trees” or in their words, “Hold Onto the Trees - ‘Jalinamanja”

For this reason staff and volunteers at the Mt Burrell Cultural Gardens are encouraging individuals to Adopt-a-Tree and businesses to Adopt-a-Forest.

Encompassing 100 acres of bushland and surrounded by four world heritage national parks, the Mt Burrell Cultural Gardens is a cultural and environmental education centre (commonly described as a botanic garden combined with nature reserve) established to raise awareness and respect for Australian indigenous culture whilst developing environmental solutions for issues such as global warming.

‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ has become an avid way of life for the volunteers at the cultural gardens who are planting thousands of trees due to the growing popularity of the Adopt A Tree concept.

People from all over the world are visiting the TreeLovers website and adopting Australian trees to help absorb some of the carbon they create and cool our planet to safeguard our future for generations to come.

When a tree is adopted it assists to:

• Regenerate native bushland and rainforest
• Replenish bush foods and medicines that were once abundant in nature
• Establish gardens for interactive education
• Increase food and shelter for native wildlife

When an adopted tree has produced seeds, fruits, nuts or berries, specialists and volunteers at the cultural gardens will use the harvest from the tree to:

• Expand upon Ganngjalah’s (botanic/arboretum) educational garden themes
• Re-plant cleared or logged bushland
• Re-establish a safe nature reserve for wildlife
• Protect endangered species

From the time your tree is planted it will begin to support the environment to create a cleaner future for our children, our grandchildren and our great grand children.

By doing something as easy as adopting a tree at Ganngjalah your choice will not only make a big difference to our world… your tree will be appreciated by thousands of people not just in this lifetime, but for generations to come.

Long After You Are Gone You Will Be Remembered