Uni's native garden to bridge community gap

Tasmanian Polytechnic students and the Riawunna Aboriginal Centre were busy planting donated endemic flora and bush tucker plants yesterday, which will later be used for education purposes.

Riawunna community engagement officer Nekol Stuart said that the project is to finish off the garden that was not completed several years ago.

"The rocks in the current garden represent all nine different nations in Tasmania and originally they wanted to put bush tucker in the garden but it just didn't survive," she said.

"We are looking to create a women's, men's and communal space with an interpretative walk and my role is to engage any Aboriginal groups locally that want to be involved."

Mrs Stuart said that the goal was to have a space where people could go to learn about Tasmanian culture.

"Lots of people tend to think that Tasmanian Aboriginals have lost a lot of their culture, but it is just different, complex and diverse and we want to show just one aspect of it at least."

Polytechnic horticulture and Aboriginal training teacher Meg Watson said that the pepper berries, kangaroo apples, climbing blueberries, currants and other bush tucker would be used in cooking, while other plants would be propagated and used as education tools.

"We just want to just give more access to the Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal communities to show them that is it is a good meeting place for all cultural exchanges and education," Mrs Watson said.