Indigenous Australians use their deep spiritual connection to the land to track the seasons
Meandering the sandy tracks of the Wandi nature reserve, Noel Nannup stops to observe the budding yellow flowers of the acacia tree.
Their drying and deepening yellow is a subtle sign the season is changing.
Uncle Noel is a Whadjuk Noongar elder, from one of the largest Aboriginal cultural blocks in Australia, made up of 14 different language groups.
His culture is rooted in a deep spiritual connection to the land he lives on which informs his vast knowledge of the local Indigenous seasons.
“[People] don’t understand depth of Aboriginal knowledge of country, and the main motivating factor of why we’re on country, which is to care for it,” he said.
On Noongar boodja [country], there are not four seasons like modern Australia has been taught – but six.
The seasons are not fixed to a certain date, instead dictated by changing signs in the environment.
But a major government report has warned these seasons are being disrupted by climate change, putting Indigenous people’s knowledge and culture at risk.
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