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A native gardenia full of edible fruits in ACU’s Indigenous garden

Credit: Courtesy of Isabelle Lys

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has an engaging Indigenous garden in Queensland for students to learn about Country. Recently, ACU transformed the garden into a digital space to help people from anywhere learn about plants, recipes, and STEM.

Working with CSIRO’s STEM Professionals in Schools Program, Dr Isabelle Lys from ACU came up with the idea of creating an online space for more people to appreciate the garden.

Enter the digital Indigenous garden, where ACU students and teachers can now access an online garden map and walking trail. By combining videos and photos, the digital garden contains captivating and informative pop-ups on the virtual walking trail, as if people could physically walk through it.

By clicking on the pop-ups, ACU students and teachers can read more about Indigenous plants, such as the native gardenia with its plump, edible fruits. Beyond the university, Isabelle also took students from rural Queensland on a digital stroll through the garden, where students learnt about everyday uses for the plants.

In this virtual environment, Isabelle hopes she can bridge the distance for people who can’t make it to the garden to continue to learn about the wisdom of First Nations people and their connections to Country.