Bush Classroom
Healing Hut Update
It has been heartening to see the construction of our Bush Classroom/Healing Hut unfold over the course of this term, from our initial meeting with Noongar Elder Eugene Eades on a Sunday back in late July, to our session yesterday where we were able to complete the first stage of the wiring needed to support the Purrung (broombush) walls.
From the communal cut and fill session to create a level site, to construction of the metal frame and the wiring just mentioned (see photos), it has been an ongoing community process, involving plenty of overcoming of unforeseen obstacles and shared problem-solving to arrive at this point. A special thanks to David Stockdale, Rob Perisic and Callum Lamb who contributed a day last week to cement in the poles and make the upper hole as circular as the laws of physics will allow.
The process has not unfolded quite at the pace we anticipated initially. Yesterday we were without Eugene, who had come down with the flu, or the Purrung to begin weaving the walls. Next weekend, 18th September, we will require the help of a smaller group of parents to help with the wiring at the upper roof levels, so while not suitable for children (everyone is welcome to come and watch from outside the structure), we would appreciate assistance from anyone with fencing/wiring skills and who is comfortable up on scaffolding. Extra ladders, scaffolding and hands on deck will enable us to accomplish the tasks at a faster pace, and give our dedicated team of staff members more of their Sunday for their own leisure.
We are hoping to have a day of Purrung weaving on the last Sunday of the school holidays, October 9th, and would love to see as many families from the school community as possible help to weave the walls of the hut. We will send a further update closer to the event.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the go fund me link for this project.
Funding will make it more possible to cover the costs of having elders visit the hut, with the larger intention of the bush classroom to be a place of reconciliation and healing.
Please share the link widely!
If you’d prefer to donate direct to the usual school account, be sure to note ‘bush classroom’ when depositing.
Thank you so much to everyone for making this happen.
Via Stidwell
for the Bush Classroom Committee.
