Discovering Western Sydney

17/09/2013

Educators from the Ethnic Communities Sustainable Living program participated in a really interesting tour through Western Sydney organised by the Office of Environment and Heritage with the focus on engaging diverse communities in local environmental issues.

The tour had a focus on engaging diverse communities in local environmental issues and offered participants to learn more about how to engage people from a diverse range of cultures, experiences and languages in your projects. The tour included some really amazing culturally diverse places and community projects in Parramatta, Auburn, Fairfield and Bonnyrigg.

We started the day with a nice little walk visiting the Wadangalli Woodlands in Guilford. Amy and Tyca from Parramatta Council joined us and explained how they are trying to create a natural habitat for birds. Tyca explained how Parramata Council involves culturally and linguistic diverse communities. The message is clear; talk to people, find out their needs, who they are, and get to know the community before putting on any programs. Building long-term trustworthy relationships is most important.

After this visit we went for one of the best morning teas you can imagine. We had the pleasure to enjoy some delicious Vietnamese cuisine at Bach Dang Vietnamese restaurant in Cabramatta and learned how they had saved hundreds of dollars on their power bill through the Save Power program.

We then had the honour to meet Doug, who runs the Bike shed at Fairfield Showground. This project is all about recycling bicycles and giving people the opportunity to explore the surroundings by bike. They organise all sorts of tours for different ethnic groups, teach people how to ride a bike and also help out schools with organised bike tours. A fantastic initiative. They also sell very good recycled bikes, well worth having a look!

Then we visited the Nullawala community nursery and strawbale house, where ECC environmental bilingual educators Mary and Yasmin gave an excellent presentation about the work they are doing with ethnic communities.

The tour continued with a visit at the community garden and parents café run at Fairfield High School. This great community garden has grown and is still expanding. The garden has been complemented by a kitchen, that functions as a social enterprise. The kitchen uses ingredients from the garden and parents are cooking up delicious lunches and cater for all sort of functions. If you want something healthy and sustainable, they would be an excellent choice!