All In: National Reconciliation Week at the ELC

At the ELC, we are deeply committed to ensuring First Nations perspectives, and in particular Kaurna culture, are respectfully acknowledged, meaningfully explored and authentically celebrated within our everyday practice. Our morning rituals provide meaningful opportunities to build understanding, belonging and respect through the use of clapping sticks to gather the children, our banbanbalya where we come together around a palti circle, and our use of Kaurna language and symbols to express feelings and engage in shared experiences. Through these daily practices, children are supported to develop a strong sense of identity and connection, while beginning to understand that First Nations cultures, knowledge and connections to Country are living, enduring and valued within our shared community.

Ferguson Conservation Park has become an important place of learning for our children and educators. Through regular visits, children develop ecological awareness, confidence and a growing sense of responsibility for caring for Country. Our Community Garden further extends this learning, with children actively involved in planting and growing edible native plants. These experiences support children to learn about native plants, sustainable practices and the journey of food from garden to plate.

Last Friday during National Reconciliation Week, our ELC community gathered in Ferguson Conservation Park for a meaningful shared experience of reflection, respect and connection to Country. The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2026, All In, invited us to consider how reconciliation is not a single moment or event, but an ongoing commitment carried through our daily relationships, decisions and actions.

Set within the natural beauty of Ferguson Conservation Park, the gathering provided a powerful opportunity for children, families and educators to come together on Kaurna land. We began with an Acknowledgement of Country, recognising the Kaurna people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn, play and gather. Our ELC Acknowledgement, together with our Nina Marni song, helped create a respectful and reflective beginning to the morning.

Following the formalities, our Learning Community 1 children were invited to walk through Ferguson Conservation Park with Nell Tierney. This experience encouraged children to notice the natural environment around them, observe and learn about the native flora and fauna, and deepen their relationship with place. Following the walk, Learning Community 1 concluded the morning with morning tea in the park, providing a valued opportunity for our community to pause, connect and enjoy time together in this beautiful landscape. This shared moment reflected the spirit of respect, reflection and togetherness that was woven throughout the morning.

Our Learning Community 2 children and families gathered to share Somebody’s Land by Adam Goodes, a story that supports thoughtful conversation about the deep connection between First Nations Peoples and Country. Families and children were then invited to explore the surrounding environment, reflecting on Ferguson Park as rich in cultural heritage and spiritual significance. An ochre painting experience set up by our Atelierista and Pedagogical Co-ordinator Caterina Pennestri was a rich sensory way for children to engage with cultural practice through creativity, connection to place and respectful exploration.

National Reconciliation Week reminds us that we are all invited to be part of this work. As an ELC community, we remain committed to walking together with respect, openness and care, continuing to learn from First Nations perspectives and embedding reconciliation in meaningful ways every day.