Stop 3 – Wetlands

Dr Megan Williams, Croakey contributing editor, academic UTS

CroakeyGO – Albury – Wiradjuri Country

Walking and being in a naturally stimulating environment seems to generate connections between topics, people and solutions to issues. I thought constantly about how incarceration generally limits people’s access to the natural environment.

I was thinking about how traumatic it is for Aboriginal people to be incarcerated and away from healing contact with country. For Wiradjuri people, rivers are imprinted on our identity and our sense of being, and how soul destroying it would be to be locked away from that. Whatever the reason for incarceration, I do believe that access to country is healing.”

I was also thinking about what it means to walk lightly. Ror me, walking also means just listening; to hear the sound of the leaves, the sound of my own voice in my own head, my own narrative, to listen to the others walk. Walking focuses people and conversations. Walking and being in a naturally stimulating environment seems to generate connections between topics, people and solutions to issues. I thought constantly about how incarceration generally limits people’s access to the natural environment. Even if people get exercise, use the gym and play sports in teams in prison, this is usually limited in time because of lock-ins and other administrative needs in operating institutions. Walking in the natural environment has many health benefits. Care for the natural environment and its accessibility by community members is more important than ever for many reasons including to have hope, because the environment grows and does so without human intervention – it is resilient. And to offset sedentary work and life and effects of pollution.”