For many educators, one of the biggest questions is: How do we meaningfully embed Aboriginal perspectives into our everyday program?
Exploring bush tucker can be a wonderful place to start.
Native foods provide opportunities for children to learn about Country, culture, science, seasons, sustainability and the deep knowledge Aboriginal peoples hold about the Australian environment.
But meaningful learning about bush tucker should go beyond tasting a native ingredient or planting a lemon myrtle tree. It can help children understand the longstanding and continuing relationships Aboriginal peoples have with Country, and the knowledge that has been developed and passed between generations.
Start with Country
Before exploring individual bush foods, start with Country.
Whose Country is your school or early learning service on? What native plants grow naturally in your local area? What can you learn about the Traditional Custodians and their relationships with local plants, animals, waterways and seasons?
This helps move learning away from a generic idea of "Aboriginal bush tucker" and towards an understanding that Aboriginal cultures and knowledges are diverse and connected to particular Countries and communities.
Where possible, seek guidance and knowledge from your local Aboriginal community rather than assuming knowledge from one Country applies everywhere.
Introduce children to native bush foods
Children are naturally curious about food, making bush foods an engaging way to begin conversations.
Depending on your location, children might investigate finger lime, quandong, riberry, wattleseed, pigface, bush tomato, Kakadu plum, macadamia, saltbush or bunya nuts.
Our Bush Foods Snap Game features 10 native plant foods and can be played as either Snap or a memory game, making it an easy way to introduce younger children to the names and visual characteristics of different bush foods.
Explore the Bush Foods Snap Game
Rather than simply showing children the cards, use them to prompt investigation.
Where does this plant grow? What part of it is eaten? What does the plant look like? Is it found on our local Country? How might people know when it is ready to harvest?
One question can lead to an entire learning journey.
Explore the bush foods of Saltwater Country
Bush foods are different across Australia, and this is an important concept for children to understand.
For services and schools on or near the coast, our Bush Foods Snap Game – Saltwater Country Edition provides another opportunity to explore this diversity. It features foods including Coastal Banksia, Warrigal Greens, Ruby Saltbush, Midyim Berry, Samphire and Round Baby Pigface.
Explore the Saltwater Country Bush Foods Snap Game
You could compare the two sets and ask children why different foods might be available in different environments.
That opens conversations about climate, soil, water, ecosystems, seasons and Country — bringing together cultural learning and STEM in a really natural way.
Create a bush tucker garden
If you have the space, consider creating a small native or bush tucker garden.
Children can participate in planning, planting, watering and observing the garden throughout the year.
A garden also provides opportunities to explore Caring for Country. Rather than viewing the natural environment simply as something for people to use, children can begin thinking about relationships, responsibility and caring for the places where we live.
It doesn't need to be a huge project. Even several carefully selected native plants in pots can create ongoing opportunities for investigation.
Before planting, research which plants are native and appropriate for your local area and connect with local Aboriginal community knowledge where possible.
Turn bush tucker into an inquiry project
For older children, you can take the learning further with our Bush Tucker Research Cards.
The set contains 20 illustrated research cards designed to encourage students to investigate bush foods, food availability and tools used to collect and prepare foods. The cards feature artwork by Dunghutti artist Aunty Cynthia Younie and are produced by Aboriginal-owned education specialist Wingaru Education.
Explore the Bush Tucker Research Cards
Instead of providing children with all the answers, give small groups a different card and encourage them to research their food.
They could investigate where it grows, which environments it needs, how it has traditionally been collected or prepared and whether it grows on their local Country.
Bring bush tucker into STEM learning
Bush foods provide so many opportunities for STEM.
Children might investigate what plants need to survive, examine seeds, compare leaves, measure plant growth, explore different soil types or observe the insects and animals attracted to particular native plants.
Our IndigiSTEM Resource Kit is designed for early learners aged 3–6 and includes 20 STEM activities incorporating topics such as bush foods, Aboriginal astronomy and bush shelters.
Explore the IndigiSTEM Resource Kit
This is also an opportunity to recognise Aboriginal knowledge as knowledge — rather than positioning Aboriginal perspectives as an interesting cultural addition to Western science.
Explore Aboriginal seasonal knowledge
Bush tucker also provides a fantastic pathway into exploring Aboriginal seasonal knowledge.
The familiar four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring don't necessarily reflect the environmental cycles recognised by Aboriginal peoples across Australia.
Different communities have their own ways of understanding seasonal change, informed by observations of Country such as flowering plants, animal behaviour, rainfall, winds and the availability of particular foods.
Investigating seasonal knowledge relevant to your local Country can help children understand that there are different ways of observing, understanding and describing the natural world.
Take the learning outdoors
Get outside and look.
What native plants can children identify around your service or school?
What is flowering?
What seeds can they see?
What birds or insects are visiting?
Can they recognise any plants from the resources they've been using?
Importantly, children should learn that identifying a plant isn't the same as knowing that it is safe to eat. Bush food knowledge is specialised knowledge, and educators shouldn't encourage children to taste or harvest unidentified plants.
Connect with community
Resources are a starting point. They don't replace people.
One of the most meaningful ways to extend your bush tucker learning is to build relationships with Aboriginal people and organisations in your local community.
A local Elder, knowledge holder, bush foods grower or Aboriginal-owned organisation may be able to share perspectives that simply can't be replicated through a worksheet or Google search.
And remember that cultural knowledge has value. When Aboriginal people are invited to share their time, expertise and knowledge with your service or school, this should be appropriately recognised and remunerated.
Move beyond the one-off activity
Perhaps the biggest opportunity is to avoid making bush tucker a one-week activity that disappears once NAIDOC Week finishes.
Plant something and continue caring for it.
Watch how Country changes.
Return to the same books and resources.
Notice when native plants flower.
Investigate the animals that appear.
Learn more about local Country.
Keep asking questions.
When these experiences become part of children's everyday learning, Aboriginal perspectives become something that is embedded across the program rather than added onto it.
Bush tucker is a starting point, not the whole story
Exploring bush tucker can provide a practical and engaging entry point, but Aboriginal cultures are not defined by bush foods.
Use children's interest in native plants and foods to open conversations about Country, culture, language, community, sustainability, science, history and the continuing strength and diversity of Aboriginal cultures.
The goal isn't to find another "Aboriginal activity" to add to your program.
It's to create learning environments where Aboriginal perspectives are respectfully and meaningfully present throughout the year.
At Riley Callie Resources, we bring together authentic First Nations educational resources to help educators take those conversations further. Our range includes bush food games, research cards, STEM resources and other materials designed for classroom and early learning environments.
Explore Bush Food Resources at Riley Callie Resources