BACK
The Six Seasons Project - Denmark Environment Centre
Denmark Environment Centre’s Six Seasons field trips were designed to provide opportunities for community members to learn directly from Aboriginal Elders and experts while visiting culturally and ecologically significant places. The program aimed to strengthen awareness of local landscapes, encourage environmental stewardship, and share knowledge through a series of events, short films and podcasts that could be shared more broadly.
Educate the community about Aboriginal cultural heritage and the natural environment of Denmark.
Denmark Environment Centre
7/1/2023
$92,000
Lotterywest
$86,400
Great Southern
Aboriginal communities, Regional communities
Cultural connection: Created opportunities for the community to engage directly with Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives, strengthening respect for cultural heritage and environmental stewardship.
Knowledge sharing: Participants reported strong satisfaction with the events and valued the opportunity to learn from Elders and visit culturally significant places.
- Engagement of Aboriginal Elders: Working closely with Menang Noongar Elders and cultural knowledge holders created authentic cultural learning experiences and strengthened community understanding of Country.
- Trust and relationships: The involvement of an archaeologist, with established relationships and local connections, created a respectful pathway for the project.
- Experiential learning in place: Hosting events in local natural settings allowed participants to directly experience seasonal changes and cultural sites, making the learning more meaningful.
- Strong volunteer involvement: Significant volunteer contributions enabled the events to be organised and delivered successfully.
- Diverse speakers: Combining cultural knowledge with scientific and ecological perspectives enriched the learning experience and appealed to a wide audience.
- Film documentation: Capturing the events through film expanded the long-term educational impact of the project. Engaging footage could be used for many different purposes, including creating engaging short-form film content for social media.
- Complex logistics: Remote locations sometimes created logistical challenges including access, parking, and infrastructure such as toilets or transport.
- Administrative burden: Event planning and approval processes (such as local government event permits) required significant time and administrative effort.
- Coordination with multiple organisations: Collaborations with other community organisation sometimes complicated planning.
- Filming challenges: Filming outside of live events lacked the energy of an engaged audience, highlighting the importance of capturing footage during events.
- Marketing limitations: Some events relied heavily on traditional promotion or had reduced marketing due to COVID, which may have limited audience reach.
Opportunity
Aboriginal knowledge, developed through long-standing relationships with Country, provide valuable insight into environmental systems and supports more effective land management and community understanding[1]. This project responded to a need for, and interest in, greater community education and connection to Country, including understanding seasonal ecological changes and Aboriginal cultural knowledge in the Denmark region.
The project also responded to a practical gap in how knowledge of the area could be shared. While universities and specialists were interested in contributing, they often had limited capacity to engage directly with the community.
732
Great Southern attendees
1335
Online or virtual views
2097
Total reach
Approach
The project delivered a series of Six Seasons field trips aligned with the Noongar seasonal calendar. The events were an opportunity for the community to connect with the environment and learn about local Aboriginal culture. Each event was hosted at a different local site that reflected seasonal ecological changes and cultural significance. These locations were considered ‘hidden gems’ by the local community, which added to interest.
Locations were:
- Lowlands Beach
- Mount Lindesay/Peetupup
- Lake Williams
- Parry’s Beach
- Millars Basin- Kent River
- Weedon Hill/Warrumbup
The program emphasised experiential learning in natural settings, allowing participants to connect directly with the places being discussed.
The program adopted a two-way science approach by using a combination of Aboriginal cultural perspectives and western scientific experiences to offer a range of different viewpoints of the local environment. The events included:
- talks and storytelling from Menang Noongar Elders and cultural knowledge holders
- presentations from local scientists, conservationists, or naturalists
- guided field experiences exploring the landscape
- interactive educational activities for participants
- documentation of the events through short educational films and podcasts.
The film content was used for multiple purposes, including short-form reels, to promote the events. The podcasts aired on Denmark FM multiple times and became local radio content.
Attendance across events ranged from approximately 60 to 120 participants per event, demonstrating strong community interest. Participants included families with children and a strong representation of residents aged over 50.
Events were supported by volunteers, who acted as a valuable sounding board during planning. Staff trialled the walks with volunteers before the public events, and their feedback on issues such as road conditions and access helped improve the participants’ experiences. This early involvement built strong buy-in and encouraged volunteers to promote the events more widely through word of mouth.
The films and podcasts were the Denmark Environment Centre’s first online engagement initiatives, moving the organisation into the digital space. These resources continue to be made available via the Denmark Environment Centre’s website and in the centre itself.
Impacts and outcomes
Cultural connection
The program created opportunities for the community to engage directly with Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives, strengthening respect for cultural heritage and environmental stewardship. It also helped the Denmark Environment Centre build stronger relationships with the Menang Noongar community, laying the foundation for ongoing collaboration.
Knowledge sharing
Participants reported strong satisfaction with the events and valued the opportunity to learn from Elders and visit culturally significant places. They gained greater understanding of:
- Noongar seasonal knowledge
- Cultural relationships with plants, animals and landscapes
- Cultural burning practices
- Local ecological systems and environmental threats
Teachers benefited from the program, with staff from Kwoorabup Nature School attending events as professional development to strengthen their curriculum knowledge. The field trips helped teachers build stronger relationships with Aboriginal Elders and community members, creating opportunities for more meaningful ongoing engagement, rather than one-off school visits. It also generated practical ideas for future incursions and excursions, extending the program’s impact into local teaching and learning.
Importantly, the program offered a more hopeful and engaging way to talk about environmental issues. Rather than focusing only on decline or loss, it encouraged participants to feel positive about the environment and their connection to it. This approach was invigorating for attendees and prompted greater interest in the Denmark Environment Centre. The project also gave volunteers a meaningful way to contribute to community education about the local environment and helped attract new volunteers and visitors to the Centre.
What did you like about the field trips?
- “As my knowledge of local Noongar culture is limited I had the opportunity to learn more of the Noongar culture and history relating to each area”
- “So much! Stories and beliefs which impact on practices and land management. Such knowledge and respect for the land and seasons leading to their gentle insightful sustainable lifestyle on country. Rich oral traditions. Important role of Elders. “
- “Introduced me to parts of the area that I don't normally go to and listened to some interesting speakers including increasing my understanding of Aboriginal life in the area.”
Next steps
Denmark Environment Centre is focused on embedding the digital educational materials developed through the Six Seasons program into their shopfront and community hub. While significant investment has been made in developing an online presence to document and share project activities, the organisation has identified an opportunity to better reflect this content within its physical space. This includes exploring the use of QR codes and on-site signage to connect visitors with digital resources.
There is also opportunity to create a toolkit to support replication of the model in other communities, extending the reach and impact of the project beyond the Denmark region.
Resources
Learn about wellbeing
Understand how your community is going to help you to better target and plan your project.
Ready to plan your project?
Understand your vision, plan your impact and report on the outcomes of your project with three easy interactive tools in the Community Impact Planner.
Acknowledgement of Country
The Western Australian Community Impact Hub acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are based, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation and extends that respect to all the Traditional Owners and Elders of this country. We recognise the significant importance of their cultural heritage, values and beliefs and how these contribute to the positive health and wellbeing of the whole community.