You Yangs Regional Park – 10th October 2024 – Workshop with Inga Simpson
Well, the stars aligned… and we enjoyed the most incredible experience of quiet connection, great people, interesting ecosystem, and good food, with sun and warmth. Thanks to Inga Simpson for leading us beautifully to
deepen our storying and our connection through observation and speculation. Thanks to those who ventured out west to Wurdi Youang. We are pleased to share with you some of our connections and writings – these are captured immediately at/after the event and will now be shaped into a collaborative manuscript.
“Turning off the freeway, turning away from endless distractions, distractions that take us away from a slowing down, a being present for oneself, for others and for the more than human. Turning toward a change in landscape, a granite outcrop in the middle of a basalt plain. An invitation, a knowing – we have given ourselves this day. Djirnaps and Poorneet weather welcome us. Lemon myrtle-infused damper cooks on the campfire along with the sausages, onions and homemade sourdough. New connections and reconnections take place over a cup of bush tea, and so begins our nature journaling with Inga.” Larissa
“Peta and Russell had generously arrived early and set up a campfire with damper and other cooked food to come. There were ample snacks and morning tea followed by sandwiches, sausages and eggs cooked on the fire or solar oven! It was great to learn from Inga about how she works as a writer. She shared some of her journal processes, which included field notes, photographs, gathering images and pieces of writing from brochures, etc., about each place. She also encouraged writing with a pencil on paper for this stage of journal research for optimum creativity. The creative writing exercises she shared were useful. One involved giving each of us an envelope which included an image of a person and an image of a place. We then wrote a 3-paragraph creative piece about the story of these two images and shared them with each other. Another activity involved us each creating field notes from a walk or experience in nature. We were encouraged to draw on all our senses when creating these notes, drawings, photographs, videos or sound recordings. Later on, when asked to write about a part of the environment that we were drawn to, I was surprised about how useful this particular field note exercise was for this particular writing task. Overall, it was a rich day experienced with colleagues in nature. I went away feeling inspired to keep up my creative writing and try out these exercises in other locations. I also gained a few ideas for my teaching next year.” Shelley
“For myself, I came away with the realisation that nature itself can be a tteemppoorraall ssppaaccee where the lines between the past and present are more blurred. At the same time, I think it helps to make visible the possibility and danger for this fragile landscape in the future.” Michelle
“The straight tarred road gives way to the rough and pot-holed entrance to the park. Leaving behind the over-cultivated pastures of the outer suburban hobby farms, the world suddenly changes. I no longer see any other cars or people. The towering gums close in on me, and the You Yangs spring up, as if from nowhere. AlighKng from the car, I enjoy the thought of locking it and leaving it for the day, leaving behind the office and the city. There is a freshness in the air, and the energy that the sun, land and trees are emitting is visceral. Simultaneously, it is so quiet. The disKncKve caw of a magpie breaks the silence, and as the swirling north-east wind picks up, I hear it make its way across the trees, much like a wave in the ocean as it builds and then wanes. Again, it is quiet. Can silence be deafening?” Jacqui
“Driving down from our Dandenongs perch, tall mountain ash standing senKnel above the English-inspired gardens, the familiar silhoue&e of the You Yangs registered mute and small in the far distance, a blue serrated outline above Melbourne’s city-scape. Now, as we approach the park through the rural trappings of Li&le River, the detail of the granite range emerges as a surprise, its low vegetated flanks rising haphazardly – scruffily even – from the surrounding farmland. Now, on entering the park, the open dry wooded landscape shows itself as a stunning contrast to this morning’s immersive wood-encapsulated feeling. No longer green and tall, the vegetaKon has a blue-grey quality, the air that sweet, dry eucalyptus taste. The ground more sparse, brown, and mottled. The Australia of Heysen, Williams, and my storied youth.” Russell
“My first impression of the You Yangs is of beauty and calmness. The tall eucalyptus trees swaying in the wind with the sun rays beaming through their leaves and branches. The cold yet refreshing air sends out a welcoming wave to place and country where I can connect with colleagues on meaningful encounter for longer journeys ahead, beginning today.” Elvie
