Gippsland's Little Fingers Learning About Bushtukka

Bushtukka. What is it? How do you use/cook with it? We learn about vegetable gardens, but not Australian/Indigenous bush foods. Please teach me.

Many schools and kindergartens have bushtukka gardens without knowing how to use the produce. Under guidance from an experienced Indigenous educator our reconciliation project, piloted at Maffra’s Queen Street Kindergarten in the heart of Gippsland, will take children, educators and families through the process of identifying, understanding, planting, processing and eating bushtukka. A resource package – bushtukka book, teacher’s manual, videos – will be created so all early childhood services across Victoria can follow Maffra’s example.

We will support reconciliation in our local community by teaching future generations about Indigenous culture, learning the traditional uses of bushtukka and how it can be grown and used every day.

The families of Maffra’s Queen Street Kindergarten will directly benefit from this project as their children are taken through the workshops about bushtukka, respecting Indigenous culture, reconciliation and community celebrations. Other Wellington Shire early learning centres will take part in reviewing the resources developed as part of the project. Once launched, the resources will benefit all communities across Victoria as they are distributed to libraries and early learning centres.