A single day where we value being together on Country – learning and living in community.
On Country Day #1, Willum Warrain
16th April 2026
Our first On Country day for 2026 timed beautifully with the changing of our seasons as Weegabil nye-wiiny, which means old man sun, sees the late summer sun slip away to turn to Manameet (Autumn – Good) signalled by the arrival of baanyabeel (rain) when the days become cooler. We enjoyed some warm sun and wild rain just as we concluded. We were welcomed to Willum (Home) Warrain (by the sea) on Bunurong – Boonwurrung biik by Uncle Peter Aldenhoven who told us about the Gathering Place and led us in yarning. Willum Warrain is an example of healing country – previously a road fill dumping site, it is now 2 hectares of productive land, the result of cultural Indigenuity – the application of ancient Indigenous knowledges – a cumulative knowledge – gathered over millenia. We walked the Koorie plant trail and Pun Puns (wetlands) and cultural nursery with 200 plus species – endemic (local) plants many with food and medicine virtues. After lunch, we continued yarning about research while tackling a tangle of pods to harvest blackwood (acacia or wattle) seeds ready for cultivation.
The day offered a kind of edible reconciliation, cultural awareness and immersion, with Country teaching us that Country equals complexity and when we care for Country, Country cares for us.
Willum Warrain is a 100% Aboriginal community-owned bush nursery specialising in local indigenous plants from the Mornington Peninsula. While there we’ll follow the Koorie Plant Trail and visit the Pun Pun (billabong) area. We’ll be decolonising our practices through yarning with Uncle Peter Aldenhoven, sharing lunch, regenerating vegetation and ourselves by getting our hands into some Indigenous plant propagation, and maybe taking home some Indigenous plants to grow the love.
Willum Warrain (‘home by the sea’) Aboriginal Association is the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the Mornington Peninsula. It is a gathering place where Aboriginal people come together to realise community aspirations and forge shared identity. Managed by an Aboriginal board, Willum Warrain provides information and referral services, charitable support, health and wellbeing programs, art and culture programs, and links between the Aboriginal community and the broader local community. You can watch Gardening Australia’s video “Home by the sea” about Willum Warrain here.
Many of us took home some cultural plants to grow ourselves. We can recommend a visit to Willum Warrain.
