On Bundjalung Country in Northern NSW, a youth-led, Indigenous-designed program helped Aboriginal girls reconnect with culture on Country, while building practical skills for the future.
Supported by a $10,000 FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grant, funded by Sally Foundation, the Bundjalung Bush Food Youth Program was created in response to the challenges facing Indigenous young people in the Northern Rivers. The region has higher-than-average rates of youth disengagement from education and employment, teenage pregnancy and ongoing social impacts from the 2022 floods. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls are often among those most affected, with limited opportunities to connect meaningfully with Country and culturally safe pathways into work.
The program was delivered by The Returning Indigenous Corporation, an Aboriginal-led organisation governed by a majority Aboriginal, all-female Board, in partnership with Namabunda Farm, an Indigenous-owned bush food farm on Bundjalung Country. Together, they designed an eight-week, school-term program for 10 Indigenous high school girls aged 14–18 who were identified by their schools as disengaged or at risk of disengaging.
Each week, the girls travelled to Namabunda Farm to learn hands-on skills in propagating, planting, harvesting and cooking native bush foods in a commercial setting. Importantly, the program was entirely Indigenous led, with learning guided by local community members, including Bundjalung bush food educator Aunty Delta Kay and Bundjalung bush food chef Mindy Woods. Cultural knowledge, care for Country and practical work skills were woven together, showing participants that their culture holds real economic opportunity.
From the outset, the program was shaped by those it aimed to support. It was co-designed with participants already involved in The Returning’s youth mentoring programs and local Elders were consulted to ensure it was culturally safe, trauma-informed and responsive.
The impact was quickly visible. Despite being students who often struggled with attendance, the girls turned up every week. Teachers reported increased confidence, stronger peer connections and improved engagement at school. Girls who had never grown or eaten bush foods before were soon confidently identifying plants and harvesting produce.
“I love coming to this program. I get to learn about my culture, be in the sun and have fun at all the sessions,” shared Maddison, a Year 9 participant. Another student, Tansy, said she valued learning alongside girls from different year levels, including her sister, while discovering new things about the natural world.
The pilot also generated valuable learnings, from the importance of yarning circles over written feedback, to building flexibility around weather disruptions. With further funding now secured, the program is expanding across multiple Northern Rivers schools, supported by a dedicated Indigenous Program Coordinator.
This is a fantastic example of how the FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grants can help young people design solutions that reflect their strengths, culture and aspirations, ultimately creating lasting change that grows from the ground up.