Caring for Country
Kaurna are the original custodians of Tarntanya Wama / the Adelaide Plains
For tens of thousands of years, their culture, knowledge, and ways of being have protected and enhanced the health of the local environment.
Following the forced separation of Kaurna from Country, colonial land management practices degraded landscapes and reduced ecological health. In response, efforts have been made to restore ecosystems, but these have largely been based on western understandings of environmental management and have not been inclusive of Kaurna.
Caring for Country is an approach to land management that recognises Kaurna sovereignty and focuses on the regeneration of landscapes through the regeneration of Kaurna culture, knowledges, and ways of being.
Through a Caring for Country approach, we can heal and restore Country, including through the reintroduction of Cultural Fire to the landscape.
We can also assist the process of decolonisation by incorporating Kaurna decision-making into environmental governance.
Kaurna fire
The sustainable management of yarta by Kaurna, including the use of fire, had a major impact on the landscape character of Tarntanya Wama.
Over tens of thousands of years, grassland and woodland plant species have become adapted to regular kardla (fire) in the landscape. The use of kardla in the right conditions – resulting in cool, controlled burns rather than large, damaging fires – cleanses and rejuvenates the land.
Aboriginal knowledge is vital for the practicing of the right fire for the right country, and the reintroduction of Cultural Fire to the landscape can help regenerate our grasslands and woodlands, as well as regenerate Kaurna culture and wellbeing.
A cultural burn was held in Carriageway Park / Tuthangga (Park 17) in May 2021, and was repeated in August 2024. Watch the video below to learn more.