Trees For Life Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan May 2022 - May 2023

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Trees For Life acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of our land and waters and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge and respect the deep spiritual connection and relationship that First Nations peoples have to Country.

CLEM NEWCHURCH

We’re thrilled to have Clem Newchurch as our Reconciliation Action Plan artist in addition to his involvement in the formation of our RAP process.

Clem is a Kaurna Narungga Kokatha man who has resided in the southern Adelaide region for the majority of his life. He has extended Ancestral connections to surrounding South Australian Aboriginal Nations such as Yankanyjatjara and Ngarrindjeri.

Clem worked for many years in the Youth and Community Services industries, working in roles such as Aboriginal Community Education Officer within schools and as a Community Development Officer in Local Government.

More recently Clem has worked in Arts and Education settings, exhibiting works and sharing his cultural knowledge through various settings such as programs, workshops and events.

He has also worked in Film and Multimedia settings including writing and directing two NITV ‘Our Stories’ documentaries that have been broadcast on NITV since 2018.

Clem began weaving after learning the Ngarrindjeri weaving style from Ngarrindjeri Elders at Camp Coorong many years ago. He continued weaving at home on Kaurna Country, sourcing materials from his local area and in doing so, found the appropriate native plants used to make string. Clem has since been developing his cultural artistic practice, learning from Elders, other community members and other sources (such as the South Australian Museum), sharing his knowledge along the way and supporting the revival of Ancient Kaurna cultural practices, including net making and carving.

www.instagram.com/clemnewchurchart/ 6

OUR BUSINESS

Trees For Life restores and protects South Australian landscapes, fosters an appreciation and love of nature and empowers people to take action for our bushland, farmland and urban landscapes.

Trees For Life has around 2,000 dedicated volunteers and over 6,000 supporters. Our work is delivered by a staff team of approximately 50 people. Currently our organisation has no known staff that identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

The Trees For Life office and nursery are located in Adelaide and we have team members based in other regions of the state. Our work is all based in South Australia, however we have supporters from around Australia and other countries.

FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE

On behalf of Trees For Life, we are proud to present our first Reconciliation Action Plan.

Acknowledging Australia’s history, building respectful relationships and co-creating future opportunities for First Nations peoples is crucial for our identity and healing as a nation. It is also crucial to healing our landscapes. At Trees For Life our goal is to restore, protect and connect landscapes across South Australia.

Since the first tree was planted over 40 years ago, thousands have joined our movement to grow and plant native trees, shrubs and groundcovers and protect precious fragments of native vegetation that remain in South Australia.

Our understanding of what it means to conserve nature in South Australia must acknowledge that the nature of South Australia is intimately linked with the livelihoods and activities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. First Nations peoples have managed and cared for South Australian landscapes for tens of thousands of years.

Country is at the heart of wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and this deep interconnectedness has much to teach us about caring for Country.

We are grateful for the wisdom and leadership of First Nations South Australians who are supporting our reconciliation journey and we are excited about the ripples of opportunity that emerge as we deliver this Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) together.

- Jeanette Gellard and Natasha Davis

WEAVING THE RAP JOURNEY

BY CLEM NEWCHURCH

When I first started this piece I was unsure what I wanted to make. We had been through the journey of developing the RAP with our RAP Working Group and we had engaged with most staff within the organisation throughout the process.

I wanted to represent the journey in a way that was relevant to Trees For Life business. I felt early on that the organisation’s values and goals aligned in some ways with some of my own.

My initial thought was to weave a basket, which could be used as a hanging pot for a plant. As I started the piece, it slowly evolved and took on a shape of its own.

I had a basket base already made. I started weaving this a year or so earlier and decided to use it for this piece. When I think about it, this reflects Trees For Life RAP journey as the organisation had a good knowledge base at the beginning of their Reconciliation journey.

I believe the culture of the organisation has drawn in workers that have some understanding of Reconciliation in Australia, but who are also willing to listen and take on board other people’s thoughts.

From very early on in our RAP Working Group meetings, one of our identified strategies was to look at what was already happening, and try to value add to what Trees For Life was already doing in regards to Reconciliation. So for this piece I decided to use other resources

I had laying around, left over from other works. For example, sometimes in the past when I have collected reeds for reed spears and they aren’t ideal for making the spears, I split them open and use the fibre for string. I like to keep the left over scraps, as most of the time I’ll find a use for them in the future.

I found some Typha scraps laying around my workspace and decided to thread these through the woven base, creating a framework to work around. This I feel is representative of the Working Group coming together to create more structure around what Trees For Life were doing in regards to Reconciliation.

I then decided to tie some of my string onto the outside of the base. W hen tying the lengths of string together as a net around the Typha, it created a net bag that is held open by the frame.

Netting signifies strength, when all the lengths of string are tied together. A single strand of fibre breaks easily until it is bunched up and twisted on itself to create 2-ply string. This string is more than double the strength of the original bunched and twisted fibre. When we tie these lengths of string together into netting it combines the strength of all of these pieces of string and that strength is again multiplied.

With Trees For Life’s RAP journey, I feel with everyone coming together like we have, supported by the framework that we have developed, we have increased the likelihood of achieving great outcomes. In coming together, like the bunched together strands, and twisting and intertwining our skill sets, we have strengthened that Reconciliation journey and created a clear path towards creating some truly valuable change.

The basket when finished gave me many ideas. I feel it can be used in many ways, as shown in some of these photos. It could be used for its original intended purpose. It can also be used as a carry bag or catch bag. While making it, I had thoughts on how it could be used as a spring snare. We can turn the bag in on itself, so that the frame holds the contents off the ground. The uses are only limited by our imaginations.

The basket is fragile. If we want it to last, we can’t just place it somewhere out of sight and forget about it. Like our RAP Plan, it needs to be looked at every now and then … it needs to be cared for. It needs to be brought out into the public realm where everyone can see it. People should know about it.

The base is strong and will outlast everything else. The framework will stay strong if it is shown care and respect. The netting and handle will carry a lot of weight. Over time it will degrade … but holes in the netting can be repaired and the handle and frame can be replaced. It may evolve to be something entirely different. But the original was made strong, so it could serve multiple purposes. It’s up to the people within Trees For Life to maintain this RAP journey into the future.

OUR RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN

Trees For Life recognises and respects that we are living and working on Aboriginal lands. We are committed to working with First Nations peoples of South Australia to honour their cultures by building trusting relationships and increasing opportunities for participation.

Trees For Life’s Reconciliation Action Plan provides us with the foundation for embedding respect, relationships and opportunities for First Nations peoples across our organisation. Trees For Life strives to create a proud and capable workforce that understands and is respectful of First Nations histories and cultures. The Reconciliation Action Plan will provide a starting point for Trees For Life to work alongside First Nations peoples to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices to guide Trees For Life’s activities.

The development of our Reflect RAP has been overseen by a RAP Working Group which is chaired by Trees For Life President Jeanette Gellard. Chief Executive Natasha Davis manages the RAP Working Group and there are four other staff representatives:

Samantha Catford (Public Relations and Marketing Officer), Brianiee Albrighton (Tree Scheme Coordinator), Amelia Hurren (Manager Bush For Life and RAP Champion) and Hannah Jones (Bush For Life Regional Coordinator).

We are very honoured to have external First Nations representation on our RAP Working Group through: Clem Newchurch, Sharon Meagher and Klynton Wanganeen.

We’re grateful to: Liam Anderson (Team Leader, TFL Works, First Nations Representative from March to July 2021) and Quahli Newchurch (Bush For Life Regional Coordinator, First Nations Representative from March to December 2021) for their contribution to the RAP Working Group.

Our commitment includes building relationships, forming partnerships and accountability for implementing and evaluating our Reconciliation Action Plan. We also recognise that reconciliation is a journey where we walk together as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; we share our histories and our futures with a shared understanding.

Staff and Board members have participated in the development of the RAP and this generated many ideas for how we can make reconciliation a meaningful part of our day to day work.

There are many opportunities for us to work more closely alongside First Nations peoples to support South Australia’s biodiversity and help create more resilient communities and ecosystems as we face the ongoing impacts of climate change. We recognise that in all our work, relationships and respect come first.

Our RAP Working Group will oversee our implementation journey. We look forward to being a part of the RAP community and sharing our journey with our members, supporters and partners.

ACTION PLAN Relationships

Goal: Trees For Life will build trusting and respectful relationships with First Nations peoples.

Action Deliverable Timing Responsibility

Establish and strengthen relationships with First Nations peoples and organisations.

Identify and initiate engagement with First Nations organisations that we can work with on our reconciliation journey.

Research best practice and principles to build and support relationships with First Nations peoples and organisations based on our vision and values.

June 2022 Manager, Bush For Life

July 2022 Manager, Bush For Life

Celebrate National Reconciliation Week.

Continue to circulate National Reconciliation Week resources to staff and supporters.

RAP Working Group members to participate in an external National Reconciliation Week event.

Encourage and support staff and Board members to attend at least one external event to recognise and celebrate National Reconciliation Week.

May 2022 Public Relations & Marketing Officer

27 May - 3 June 2022 Chair, RAP Working Group

27 May - 3 June 2022 Chief Executive Officer

Relationships

Action Deliverable Timing Responsibility

Promote reconciliation through our supporters, partners and networks.

Identify external stakeholders that Trees For Life can collaborate with on our reconciliation journey.

Complete a vision statement for reconciliation.

Show our commitment to and communicate opportunities for reconciliation to all staff, members, supporters and networks.

Continue to explore meaningful ways for staff and supporters to engage in our reconciliation journey.

Identify organisations within the RAP network and/or other likeminded organisations that we could approach to collaborate with on our reconciliation journey.

July 2022 Manager, Bush For Life

September 2022 Chief Executive Officer

November 2022 Chief Executive Officer

September 2022 Chief Executive Officer

September 2022 Chief Executive Officer

Promote positive race relations through antidiscrimination strategies.

strategies and policies in areas of race relations and anti-discrimination.

Conduct a review of HR policies and procedures to identify existing anti-discrimination provisions, and future needs.

Goal: Trees For Life will build trusting and respectful relationships with First Nations peoples. 27

Discuss opportunities to promote anti-discrimination through the Trees For Life HR Consultative Committee.

September 2022 Manager, Administration & Finance

September 2022 Manager, Administration & Finance

October 2022 Manager, Administration & Finance

Respect

Goal: Trees For Life will deepen understanding of and respect for First Nations cultures, histories and achievements.

Action Deliverable Timing Responsibility

Increase understanding, value and recognition of First Nations cultures, histories, knowledge and rights through cultural learning.

Ensure we commit resources to increase understanding, value and recognition of First Nations peoples cultures, histories, knowledge and rights within our organisation.

Conduct a review of cultural learning needs within our organisation.

July 2022 Board

June 2022 Chief Executive Officer

Demonstrate respect to First Nations peoples by observing cultural protocols.

Raise awareness of staff and supporters about the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters within our operational area.

Increase staff and supporters understanding of the purpose and significance behind cultural protocols.

Develop, implement and communicate a cultural protocol document, including protocols for Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country.

June 2022 Chief Executive Officer

Build respect for First Nations cultures and histories by celebrating NAIDOC Week.

Raise awareness and share information amongst staff and supporters about the meaning of NAIDOC Week.

Introduce staff and supporters to NAIDOC Week by promoting external events in our local area.

RAP Working Group to participate in an external NAIDOC Week event.

August 2022 Manager, Bush For Life

July 2022 Manager, Bush For Life

July 2022 Public Relations & Marketing Officer

July 2022 Public Relations & Marketing Officer

July 2022 Chair, RAP Working Group 28

Goal:

Action

September

May

Action Deliverable Timing Responsibility

Establish and maintain an effective

drive governance of the

includes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

and Torres Strait Islander

May

Executive

senior

May

May 2022

Chair, RAP

2022

May

Executive

Executive

Executive

Action