Chronicle Garden Competition: USQ combines Indigenous and Western science

A new unit in the Biochemistry of Nutrition course at USQ will focus on Indigenous expertise related to both food and bush medicine.

The University of Southern Queensland is incorporating Indigenous and Western science to teach students the value of local knowledge on native Australian vegetation.

A new unit in the Biochemistry of Nutrition course will focus on Indigenous expertise related to both food and bush medicine.

Biomedical science lecturer Dr Sarah Myer said it was important to integrate Indigenous science and Western science and teach students the value of local knowledge.

“We’re exploring native Australian plants because they have so much vital nutritional value and significant bush medicine components that we need to learn about and the students need to know,” she said.

Gumbi Gumbi Gardens.

“At our Toowoomba campus, we’re additionally supported in providing this education thanks to the Gumbi Gumbi Gardens.”

USQ’s Elder in Residence, Uncle Wayne Fossey, hosted the first guest lecture recently for the new unit at the Gumbi Gumbi Gardens.

The Gardens were designed in close partnership with respected elders from Toowoomba and elders of the Jarowair people and feature more than 100 plant species including an extensive array of Indigenous flora used by the local Aboriginal communities for a range of purposes.

“The Gumbi Gumbi Gardens are a very special place that offer lots of places to gather, look at astronomy, plants and the interrelationship between plants and animals,” Uncle Wayne said.

“All our plants, above and below the ground, need to be looked at in terms of future food sources because we know that the mass agriculture in Australia isn’t the whole picture – we’ve got the opportunity to put some of this knowledge into courses that look at the biochemistry of food, the ecology and management side of food, and the future of native forests.

Uncle Wayne Fossey at Gumbi Gumbi Gardens

“The interrelationship of our plants is important, and the relationship between us and our plants and our connectedness are important too. I’m proud to be able to play my part in sharing this knowledge with students who will go on to work in our health industry.”

The University of Southern Queensland is once again a proud sponsor of the Chronicle Garden Competition and the Gumbi Gumbi Gardens, along with the Japanese Garden, will both be open to the public during the Carnival of Flowers.