First Nations initiatives
Knowledge sharing on built environment issues
We are committed to building Indigenous knowledges and cultural competency into activities across the school and advocate for increased participation of Indigenous students and staff in school life.
The school, through its Indigenous Strategy and Services Committee, is committed to undertaking initiatives to support the University’s One Sydney, Many Peoples strategy; in addition, develop and implement strategies, initiatives, and activity related to Indigenous Built Environment participation, engagement, education and research.
The school sits proudly on Gadigal land, where First Nations people have taught, learnt and nurtured since time immemorial. Located in the Wilkinson Building on City Road, Darlington, the school sits adjacent to a popular Gadigal fishing spot in Blackwattle Creek, now known as Gadigal Green.
For many decades, reconnecting to the traditional custodianship of this land has evolved in the school through a commitment to socially engaged design education and embedding cultural learning into our units of study. This includes students participating in the Aboriginal Housing Company in the 1990s, to showcasing Indigenous knowledge and research on native Australian grasses and grains in Gamilaraay Country.
For a school dedicated to the study of place, space and their relationships with people, it is fitting that the traditions of knowledge sharing and community feature intrinsically in the life of the school.
Our engagement initiatives have pushed our understanding of indigenous topics, made us rethink what is possible and provided an outlet for real world projects to be worked on.
