Naatj boola djerap koolangah werdaka        Pibbulmen-Menang boodja marlak-ngat 

How   many   birds   children searched for         Bibbulmen-Menang  country bush - in

Ngany waangkin noonook mayow alidja        Pibbulmen-Menang boodja marlak-ngat 

I            tell               you           few        there         Bibbulmen-Menang   country  bush - in

There have been some exciting events at Bush School in recent weeks.  A big thunderstorm occurred on Bush school morning a couple of weeks back, and we abandoned our morning circle to move to the safety of our bush shelter while it passed over.  After the storm had moved on a little, and before the rain became a downpour, we decided it was safest to return to class under shelter of trees and do our Bush Journalling for a while.  When the storm had fully passed, sunshine and clear blue skies emerged as the clouds parted, and we returned to the forest for a glorious morning of bush activities in a recharged and vibrant fresh atmosphere.  So special for the children to be able to experience the wonder of these dramatic natural events in the environment directly and vividly.

As the fungi have begun to appear, the children have been learning about the underground world beneath their feet, and the important role the fungi/mycelium plays in caring for trees and plants, and keeping everything in balance.  Some of the children’s artwork in their journals reveals how deeply they have been able to imaginatively enter into this world and experience the interconnectedness of all these natural systems.

The children have been learning some new songs in Noongar language, and one particular project has been to learn the Noongar names of fourteen different birds that appear in our forests and school grounds.  To help our memories, we have designated one of our trees the Djerap (bird) Tree, and as we sing the song we place the birds in our imaginations on different branches upon the tree.  That way we associate the names of the birds with our local landscape.  In the longer term, we aim for the children to be able to say the Noongar name of the birds whenever they see or hear them in the environment.  We will update you on our progress in future newsletters.

With the rain followed by warm weather as we have approached the equinox, it has been an ideal time to return to the creek and, as local careers of everything, ‘pay the rent’ for all the gifts that we continue to receive from the forest environment.  The children have been helping to free up the flow of the creek where it has been blocked, using the loose sticks and branches removed to ‘wood weave’ the eroded patches along the creek in preparation for the big waters that will soon be flowing when the big rains come.  We will continue with this custodial work in the remaining weeks of the term, before we begin to focus on campfire activities after the holidays.