Tracing the past, shaping the future

Exploring how Indigenous Knowledge can shape sustainable land management for tomorrow.

Earlier this year, we asked the Lismore community about their vision for our town's future, gathering ideas through meetings, small group chats and many cups of tea. One of the most consistent themes across these discussions was the opportunity to shape our future through Indigenous Knowledges and culture. 

This dovetailed with the NSW Government's commitment to ensuring that all built environment projects in the state are developed with a Country-centred approach, guided by Aboriginal people, who know that if we care for Country, Country will care for us. 

But what does it really mean to work with Indigenous Knowledges? What do people mean by cultural land management? How can—and should—Indigenous custodianship integrate with European concepts of land ownership, planning and management systems?  

This exhibit explores these questions by examining how the physical environment has changed from pre-colonial times to the present day. We do this through the lens of plant communities, contrasting the environmental conditions shaped by the Country-centred worldview of the Bundjalung people with those shaped by the dominant Eurocentric, human-centred perspective of today. 

5 Nov 24 — 6 Feb 25
Living Lab Northern Rivers shopfront