“After two years of postponements and many, many moments of rearranging and rescheduling we got there. Two groups of IGS kids have spent their holidays learning on Country with Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory,” said IGS Coordinator of Indigenous Partnerships Lucy Howard-Shibuya.
“Thanks to Red Earth, my amazing IGS colleagues Britta Galfetti-Neve, Dorothy Sarnes-Trupke, Machiko Ohta and Megan Sampson and the incredibly welcoming Traditional Owners, the students and teachers have had incredibly rich and life changing experiences.
“Students learnt so much about First Nations Cultures, Histories and Languages while being out on Country in some of the most spectacular and magical places, while privileging First Nations perspectives. The IGS kids were all phenomenal ambassadors for our School community. We are so grateful to our Arrernte and Anangu hosts who shared so much with us.”
IGS Teacher Megan Sampson said the experience was “awe inspiring”.
“The Traditional Owners of Rodna and Kurku generously shared stories with us about their Country on their Country, which was a truly profound privilege definitely not lost on any of us. I felt incredibly proud to be Aboriginal but also to be a teacher of IGS students, who so thoughtfully and respectfully engaged with our wonderful hosts, their culture and country.”
See what some of our students had to say about the experience below:
“Red earth was an experience which was genuinely meaningful, and taught me so much more than any lesson could,” Karam said.
“This trip has been one of the most surreal and incredible trips I think I will experience in a while. Being surrounded by so much natural beauty amongst friends made the experience as a whole incredible,” Darcy said.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Ash said.
“It was so incredibly beautiful, peaceful and welcoming. Loved every second of it,” Lucy, of year 11 said.
“Red Earth was the most incredible informative and emotional journey. We learned so much about different Aboriginal cultures and each other. I am so thankful for Lucy Sensei and the Red Earth crew, as well as the elders from the Aboriginal communities that we visited, for making this trip possible,” Gemma said.