What is Growing on Country?


Growing on Country is a course for anyone in any field (from permaculture, regenerative agriculture, syntropics, horticulture, nursery work, landscape design, community gardens to backyard pottering), who wants to be an ally when growing, gardening or engaging with Indigenous plants, people and communities on unceded land. Specifically, it is for those wanting to explore how to effect social as well as environmental justice through growing and gardening. The course will support you to be informed, respectful, equitable, culturally safe and inclusive in your relationship with people and with Country.

Growing on Country has been written, designed and developed by a team of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people with contributions and feedback from Elders, knowledge holders, researchers and community members.

The five module course is not just about theory. It includes interviews, current critical research, case studies, links to readings and resources, inquiry questions, and provocations for applying information within individual learning, teaching and growing contexts. This emphasis on practical application empowers learners to make a real difference in their own communities. The self-paced course is accessible for one year from the purchase date. At the end of the course, learners will receive a certificate of completion.


Course Outcomes


At the end of Growing on Country learners will be able to:

  • Understand the history and ongoing realities of agriculture in relation to Indigenous people and Country in Australia.
  • Understand the interconnectedness of Country, culture and social and emotional well-being for Indigenous people.
  • Locate harmful colonial logics and power dynamics in various aspects of work and life, and consider practical ways to interrupt or address them.
  • Understand food sovereignty from an Indigenous perspective, and the importance of working appropriately with native plants and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP).
  • Develop a general awareness of cultural protocols and safety to build more reciprocal and respectful relationships with Indigenous people and Country within individual contexts.
  • Understand and apply the skills and capacities required for working, living and growing on unceded land and waters in Australia.


Cover Image by Lexi Abel (Wiradjuri)

Why was Growing on Country created?


Growing on Country has been created with an understanding that it is not just 'what' you do but 'how' and 'why' you do it, and that significant change can happen at the very small, personal and localised level. Growing on Country provides a unique space to explore, reflect and consider the foundations of what we are currently growing, and be active in creating the fertile conditions necessary for social as well as environmental justice and change.



Who We Are


Growing on Country was developed by a team of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers, editors and designers in consultation with Elders and community members. Growing on Country's main authors (pictured) are Dominique Chen (Gamilaroi)— researcher and PhD candidate (Griffith University and University of Technology Sydney) in relational, urban Aboriginal food growing; and Zena Cumpston (Barkindji)—writer, researcher and author of Plants: Past Present and Future.

Other contributors include: Uncle Bob Weatherall (Gamilaroi), Kaleila Thorton (Gamilaroi/Yuwaalaraay), David Doyle (Barkindji), Yin Paradies (Wakaya), Bruce Phillips (Butchulla/Kabi Kabi), Kitana Mansell (Palawa), Madonna Thomson (Jagera), Rosie Lang (Gamilaroi), Scott Griffiths (Sami/Gamilaroi), Josh Williams (Ngarrindjeri/Narungga) and Jacob Birch (Gamilaroi).





Course Modules


Growing on Country contains five modules, each including text, links to resources and readings, inquiry questions and videos.


1. Introduction

An introduction to the course, and a general overview of the relevant contexts, considerations and positionings required to undertake learning into Indigenous issues and perspectives.


2. Bigger Landscapes: Country, Culture and the Contexts of Food Growing in Australia

In this module learners will explore the meaning of Country in Indigenous contexts, the historical and ongoing role of agriculture within colonisation, as well as the benefits and potentials of Indigenous peoples' access and connection to Country.


3. Making or Taking Space: Sharing, Access and Embedding Reciprocity

In this module learners will explore how to make 'space' for Indigenous people and perspectives in a dominant landscape informed by settler colonial displacement. Learners will be able to access practical ideas and examples relating to enacting restorative and reparative justice through land based practices.


4. Proper Way Working: Ethics Protocols and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property

In this module learners will gain practical insight into the general protocols and best practices required to respect and protect Indigenous knowledges and Cultural and Intellectual Property, with particular regard to native plants and bush foods.


5. Preparing the Soil: Building Relationships and Embodying Change

In this module learners will explore how to work and live respectfully and responsibly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and communities, by building effective, equitable and reciprocal relationships that will enable future collaboration and benefit sharing.


Content Examples

What People Are Saying


"Growing on Country is a fantastic resource for non-Indigenous people in the food system, from farmers to backyard growers, and eaters to educators. The colonisation of agriculture in what is now called Australia requires deep listening, learning and unlearning and Growing on Country creates a space for this. Through exploring our relationship to land, power, privilege and community, each module combines storytelling, multimedia resources and enquiry questions that prompt further learning and introspection. Growing on Country is not just about ticking a box - it opens a door for non-indigenous people to connect with Indigenous ways of thinking and being, prompting ongoing enquiry towards decolonising our minds and actions."

- The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA)


"As a community gardener deeply committed to fostering sustainable and inclusive practices, I can unequivocally say that the Growing on Country course is transformative. This course not only equips us with the knowledge and skills needed to enhance our gardening practices but also profoundly deepens our understanding and respect for Australia's First Nations peoples—the original community gardeners of this land. Offering invaluable insights into the profound connection First Nations communities have with the land, it highlights the principles of caring for Country. Growing on Country also better positions us to engage with First Nations communities and foster a future of mutual respect and shared stewardship of the land. This course is essential for anyone committed to caring for Country together and building a more inclusive and harmonious community.”


- Community Gardens Australia President, Naomi Lacey


“Yuruwan have provided an indispensable resource for everyone engaged in growing or raising food across the ancient continent we call 'Australia'. The words, images and stories weave wonderfully together to form a powerful tapestry of memory, healing, power, deep relationship, connectedness and belonging. The injunction of Aunty Lilla Watson that appears at several places through the course - 'If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together' - resonates so strongly at so many levels. This is indeed a time of liberation, and we must all work, and walk, together to achieve it. Where and how better to do this than through Growing on Country?”


- Sustain Australia

For Trainers and Educators


If you are a trainer or educator and would like to incorporate Growing on Country into your existing learning program, discounts and licences are available for bulk enrolments and or ongoing engagement with the course.

Free, downloadable Teacher Notes are also available to assist with facilitating group learning. For example, Teacher Notes for each module will provide specific content framing, provocations and ideas for group activities, and other ways to engage learners and appropriately approach the content as a non-Indigenous trainer or educator.

Please email us if you would like to discuss discounts or licences, and or access the Growing on Country Teacher Notes.


Scholarships


If you are from a marginalised group, are experiencing financial or other hardship, and your participation in the course would benefit First Nations people and communities, please be in touch to talk about how we can support you.



Choose a Pricing Option


Our pricing is structured in a way that you pay what you can afford. All payment tiers give you the same full level of access to the Growing on Country online course, including all content, resources, questions and videos, valid for one year after purchase date. All payment tiers receive a certificate upon completion.

Who are you Supporting?


All of the profits made through the sale of Growing on Country will go directly to Yuruwan—an Aboriginal run not-for-profit that supports culturally-centred, urban food and medicine growing initiatives, by and for First Nations people. More information about Yuruwan's work can be found at www.yuruwan.org.au.