Woka Watjerra at Dookie

As part of this engagement, the students further expanded this native garden, being responsible for choosing additional and new native plants, researching, and caring for them as part of the ASHE program, which started in March last year.

The native garden, which has nearly 20 leafy greens, herbs and berry crops, was established by Associate Professor Dorin Gupta and her team in 2020 as part of her ongoing project on ‘Indigenous crops in a changing climate’ supported by Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority though funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.”

ASHE’s program aims to strengthen the partnership between the Faculty and ASHE, and encourages students to care for Country, which is a core elective that is taught at ASHE.

A number of agriculture experts were involved in the program as teachers and mentors including crop scientist Associate Professor Dorin Gupta, lecturer Karen Edwards, Dookie Campus Director Associate Professor Ros Gall, Dookie Farm Manager Nathan Anderson, and Colin Atkinson, Operator of Wolithiga Wares.

Feedback from the students involved has been overwhelmingly positive, with plans to continue the program in 2023.

“We named our program at Dookie ‘The Woka Watjerra’ program, which in Yorta Yorta translates to Bush to Plate. The program taught us ASHE students the importance of Woka (land) and how to plant, grow and harvest native plants,” Vanessa Harbrow, one of the students in the program, said.

“It was an amazing life experience, the feeling of knowing just how to use native foods and how good they are for us. Just as our ancestors did, we care and got passed down the knowledge.”

Once the plants are ready to harvest, those involved plan to research recipes that use the native plants.