Connecting to Country through art

In this lesson, students will watch the short documentary The Oyster Gardener – a film about oyster reef restoration in the Noosa River. Students will engage in a class discussion to reflect on the themes in the film before being invited to explore the concept of Country and what it means to First Nations people.

Students will then analyse a range of visual artworks from historic to contemporary pieces and will explore differing viewpoints starting with Australian artworks, including those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Students will then create an artwork expressing their own personal Connection to Country.

Topics explored:

• How our relationship to our environment and ecosystems has been expressed through art, both by First Nations Peoples and non-Indigenous artists.
• Exploring the concept of Connection to Country both through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective, and for students themselves.
• Understanding Custodianship from a First Nations perspective.

Credits and acknowledgements:

Curriculum material and mapping has been developed and written by the Noosa Environmental Education Hub and overseen by Kabi Kabi Traditional Custodian Beverly Hand. Content on Connecting to Country and understanding what Country means from a First Nations perspective was developed by Culture is Life.

You & Me Pictures and Regen Studios would like to thank the generous contribution of Doc Society Climate Story Fund for the development of these resources.

The Oyster Gardener is a You & Me Pictures film developed and produced in association with Regen Studios, and made possible with the support of the ABC, Screen Queensland, Doc Society and Shark Island Foundation.

Thank you to the The Nature Conservancy Australia, Noosa Environmental Education Hub, Noosa Integrated Catchment Assoc Inc (NICA), CSIRO Bribie Island, and Good Shepherd Lutheran College for their generous participation in the film.