First Nations Cultural Education Officer, Janelle Randall-Court (Video: Kalani Gacon)
Story by Lis Bastian
Bundjalung Yaegl woman and Bullaburra resident, Janelle Randall-Court, has a long history of working creatively to inspire people to care for Country. We interviewed her after watching her give a cultural presentation for Greening Australia’s Cooling the Schools Project.
Key Points:
With funding from the NSW Government’s Greening our City program, Greening Australia and Deadly Ed are delivering cultural education sessions as part of the Cooling the Schools program.
Cooling the Schools is planting 36,000 native trees and plants in schools across Greater Sydney to reduce the urban heat island effect and increase biodiversity.
“My whole background, professionally and personally, is around education and obviously culture is at the heart of it all. Working with children, working with community, as an educator is really a beautiful opportunity to weave my cultural history and that cultural story in everything I do. I’ve always been concerned about the health of Country and have looked at opportunities to find positive ways to heal Country. Now that could mean using the arts, it could be working directly with young people, it could be working within education.
So I have this personal background of using all those elements in coming up with creative, lighthearted, thought-provoking, entertaining, educational ways to heal Country.”
Janelle’s diverse skills in dance, choreography, video production, artmaking, storytelling, education and project management have resulted in an inspiring body of work.
Long before the media began to highlight how damaging and wasteful our fast fashion culture is, and way back when you were still allowed to scavenge at ‘tips’, Janelle was scavenging for clothes and eventually ran Tipp Wear fashion parades, with models wearing clothes rescued from landfill.
While working with the Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre (ACRC), her dedication to reducing waste led her to co-produce the 2011 documentary: No Waste on Country: Leave Only Footprints.
In 2015, after having worked as a Discovery Ranger for National Parks, she drew on her background as a professional dancer to produce Treasures: an inspirational dance work based on the life of the male Satin Bowerbird. She wanted to convey the dangers of waste in the bush, and in particular the threats to bowerbirds which collect man-made blue ‘treasure’ in their attempt to attract a mate.
Janelle and the dancers performing Treasures (Photo: supplied)
Janelle has also designed these stunning No Waste on Country bin stickers:
In 2022 Janelle also participated in the Re-Imagining Waste Art Project with the Blue Mountains Creative Arts Network, and gave a series of workshops with community to make art from waste.
When we caught up this week, she was inspiring young children in her current role as First Nations Cultural Education Officer with Greening Australia’s Cooling the Schools Project
Funded by the NSW government’s Greening our City program, Cooling the Schools and Deadly Ed are helping students learn firsthand about the environmental and cultural benefits of planting native species for First Nations cultures. They’re planting 36,000 native trees and plants in schools throughout Greater Sydney to create the canopy needed to reduce the urban heat island effect ahead of future heatwaves. The Project aims to connect children to nature, empower them to take action in their communities, and to create ‘greener cooler places where both people and nature can thrive’.
Each session starts with Janelle engaging the young people in a presentation about culture and Country. The Greening Australia team members then demonstrate how to plant tubestock, before helping students plant dozens of local species to ‘cool the school’ and provide habitat for wildlife.
Janelle and the Greening Australia Team introducing the program (Photo: Lis Bastian)
Janelle is effusive about working with Greening Australia and is thrilled that she can use all her environmental and cultural education skills, and arts background, to develop programs within the Cooling the Schools Project.
She’s aware that much of what students are learning is making them anxious and believes that helping them get their hands in the dirt to create future canopy and habitat in their own schools, is a concrete and light-hearted way for them to have a genuine and positive influence over their own futures.
Janelle helping the children plant their tubestock (Photo: Lis Bastian)
She describes her days as being layered with joy: from working with the passionate Greening Australia team to getting out on Country and connecting with the young people in each school.
“Some of the kids have never planted before. I’ve had kids skipping around me saying ‘I want to be a farmer. I want to do more planting. I love this.’ Some kids want to come up and hug you because it’s just made their day.”
Janelle providing one-on-one attention to students (Photo: Lis Bastian)
Greening Australia is a national not-for-profit committed to restoring Australia’s diverse landscapes and protecting biodiversity. Find out how you can support them here https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/
Join your local Bushcare or Landcare group to contribute to protecting local biodiversity.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
How can we engage our hearing to connect more deeply to nature around us? Join us at the Planetary Health Wellness Weekend on 28 February and 1st March to hear from one of the most inspiring and engaging presenters we’ve ever had at the Planetary Health Centre. Author and acoustic ecologist Andrew Skeoch will guide us into hearing the languages of nature. Learn how we can develop our auditory awareness, identify species by ear, recognise behaviours and repertoire, and find empathy with the voices of other beings. Andrew’s presentations are an immersive weaving of evocative recordings, fascinating spectrogram analysis and original ideas. You’ll hear the natural environment around you in a whole new way. Each morning at the Wellness Weekend Andrew will also lead Deep Listening Immersive Field Workshops demonstrating how to increase your sensitive auditory perceptions of the extraordinary natural world around us. Tickets available here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-wellness-weekend
This event has been made possible because of the generous support of Greater Blue Mountains Rotary and the Katoomba and Upper Blue Mountains Bendigo Community Bank.
We are looking forward to this (Em)power(ing) tools presentation being delivered by Robyn Catchlove, Sherlie McMillan, Suzie van Opdorp and Teja Brooks Pribac at our Planetary Health Day on Sat 28 Feb. It`s free but you need to register to attend here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-wellness-weekend
This interactive presentation explores an unexpected but deeply empowering practice: using power tools. With the help of co-presenters and their favourite tools, the session demystifies DIY and shows how accessible practical skills really are. Beyond the satisfaction of building and repairing, working with power tools fosters confidence, patience, and problem-solving skills. It can also be financially empowering, reducing dependence on paid labour, and reinforces the belief that challenges—practical and personal alike—can be worked through with focus, persistence, and curiosity. This session invites participants to reconsider what empowerment can look like, and how hands-on making can translate into resilience in everyday life.
It`s one of many events during our Planetary Health Wellness Weekend at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on 28 Feb and 1 March and has been organised in collaboration with Rotarians 4 Planetary Health and Greater Blue Mountains Rotary
Medicine and healthcare is changing. Join Dr Madhu Tamilarasan, a Lithgow based GP and sports medicine doctor on Sat 28 Feb at our Planetary Health Day and Wellness Weekend, for a conversation about Lifestyle Medicine. The tagline for her practice is "General practice done differently". The practice is encouraging physical activity in the community because research clearly shows that going from no exercise to just 10 minutes of physical activity per day is where the biggest health benefits come from. Any patient who attends an appointment by "active transport" - such as walking, running, cycling - instead of by motorised transport, receives a small discount on their consultation fee that day. Lifestyle medicine focuses on treating the root causes of disease rather than just managing symptoms. Register here to attend Dr Tamilarasan`s session to learn more about its benefits for individuals, community and globally (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-wellness-weekend
Places are booking out quickly for the inspiring talks and workshops at the Planetary Health Wellness Weekend in Katoomba on Sat 28 Feb and Sun 1 March. View the full program and register to attend here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-wellness-weekend
Each morning, you have the chance to join Andrew Skeoch, renowned wildlife sound recordist and author of `Deep Listening to Nature`, for an immersive workshop and walk to hear the intricate conversations happening in the natural world around us.
There will also be: • nature journalling • mindfulness • creativity • (Em)power(ing) tools • Ikebana • Shared Reading • Tai Chi and Qigong • Chair Yoga • Mental Health First Aid • exercise, sleep and your health • how to share loss and grieving for and with animals • and a celebration of the many faith-based groups in the Blue Mountains focused on healing our land, healing ourselves.
A huge thank you to Greater Blue Mountains Rotary and Katoomba and Upper Blue Mountains Bendigo Community Bank for sponsoring this wonderful weekend.
We’d love you to join the Planetary Health Centre for an inspiring Planetary Health Wellness Weekend on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1st March in Katoomba! We’ve collaborated with Rotarians 4 Planetary Health (part of Greater Blue Mountains Rotary) and the Blue Mountains Interfaith Group, to create a program focused on the many ways we can improve our physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health in a weekend of community and nature connection, talks, workshops, stalls and delicious food.
The weekend kicks off with our third Planetary Health Day on Saturday and finishes with an Interfaith Gathering on Sunday.
Each morning, you have the chance to join Andrew Skeoch, renowned wildlife sound recordist and author of `Deep Listening to Nature`, for an immersive workshop and walk to hear the intricate conversations happening in the natural world around us.
View the full program and register to attend here (link in profile):
• Deep Listening immersive field workshops • Mental Health First Aid • nature journalling • mindfulness • creativity • (Em)power(ing) tools • Ikebana • Shared Reading • Tai Chi and Qigong • Chair Yoga • exercise, sleep and your health • how to share loss and grieving for and with animals • and a celebration of the many faith-based groups in the Blue Mountains focused on healing our land, healing ourselves.
A huge thank you to Greater Blue Mountains Rotary and Katoomba and Upper Blue Mountains Bendigo Community Bank for sponsoring this wonderful weekend.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable final Skill Share Saturday for the year yesterday with Qigong, Fashion Upcycling, Seed Saving and Bushcare! We shared seeds from local gardens and harvested carrots, as well as Mizuna, Broad Bean, Daikon and Land Cress seeds from the Planetary Health garden. We then packaged up (and shared) our first Upper Mountains Seed Savers packs for our fledgling Seed Bank. In Bushcare it`s very exciting to see whole new areas of the Planetary Health Precinct open up as we remove invasive weeds. It`s been a year of great progress as we`ve restored habitat for wildlife and given local native plants the opportunity to flourish and re-establish on the site.
Join the Planetary Health Centre this Sat 6 Dec for the last Skill Share Saturday of the year: Qigong at 9am, Seed Saving & Gardening Group at 10am, and Bushcare at 1.30pm. One perfect day with great company, great coffee and food, and great steps for living a healthy balanced life, while also contributing to the health of our planet for present and future generations. All ages welcome!
Registration links in profile and below.
Register for Qigong here: https://bit.ly/48wlHjD Register for Seed Saving & Gardening here: https://bit.ly/4prcRe7 Register for Bushcare here: https://bit.ly/4oAFDrz
We have a rare opportunity to learn about the newest and best possible ways to support family and community members struggling with mental health issues, at a free talk and afternoon tea provided by Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise Rotary at the Planetary Health Centre at 2pm this Saturday 29 Nov. Hear from Peter Joseph AM, Chair of the Black Dog Institute, and Professor Helen Christensen AO, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and former Executive Director and Chief Scientist at the Black Dog Institute. They`ll be in conversation with journalist Emma Rossi. Dr Christensen is a pioneer in using the internet to reach young people struggling with depression. Her digital mental health interventions are used by millions globally, delivering evidence-based therapy for depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention. Her research uses data from smartphones and wearables – like movement, screen use, and sleep – to detect early signs of mental health issues. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4oOnYxz
This Saturday Sherlie McMillan from Rotarians 4 Planetary Health will be running a workshop on How to use a sewing machine from 9am at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba. Learn how to set up a machine, service it, troubleshoot when it`s not sewing correctly, and learn some basic sewing skills.
Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/how-to-use-your-sewing-machine
NB. This class is a prerequisite for our very popular Fashion Upcycling classes held once a month.
We`re thrilled to announce that Professor Helen Christensen, a pioneer in using the internet to reach young people struggling with depression, will be joining the conversation with Peter Joseph AM from the Black Dog Institute and journalist Emma Rossi at the Planetary Health Centre at 2pm this Saturday 29 November. Helen was the Executive Director and Chief Scientist for the Black Dog Institute for 10 years and has now been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Her digital mental health interventions are used by millions globally, delivering evidence-based therapy for depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention. Her research uses data from smartphones and wearables – like movement, screen use, and sleep – to detect early signs of mental health issues. This free event is being co-hosted by Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise Rotary and the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. Afternoon tea will be provided. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4oOnYxz
Human composting is increasingly being legalised around the world. Read about it in Katoomba Area Local News here (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/legalising-human-composting/
If you’d like to see this option available in NSW you can now sign a live petition to the NSW Parliament here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/43QIHbz
Thanks to everyone who contributed to deliver a fantastic Disaster Risk Awareness Expo and Family Day yesterday. @mark_greenhill_mayor opened the event at which we celebrated the 13th birthday of Betty the Asbestos Education House; @firecoat_au demonstrated and launched its range of fire retardant products that can help protect homes, gardens and even electricity poles; the Bushfire Retrofit Toolkit was launched; Santa arrived and delighted young and old; and @plantinspired99 and Action for Animals fed us all with a delicious plant-based sausage sizzle. The day was filled with talks, workshops, stalls and the sharing of a huge amount of expertise to keep us, and the other species we share our planet with, safe and healthy! @southkatoomba.rfb @nswses @fireandrescuensw @nswrfs @redcrossleura @redcrossau @shelter.building.design @firehalo.au @asbestosawareness @amelie_ecology @bbagsbluemtns @wireswildliferescue @handsheartfeet
Lis Bastian is the Senior Lead for Blue Mountains City Council’s Planetary Health Initiative. She is the editor of the Local News Platforms and has been a writer, editor, news presenter and teacher/lecturer covering both cultural and environmental issues for over 30 years. She has been pioneering Solutions/Constructive Journalism in Australia since 2012.
Andy Klotz and other members of the Hawkesbury Herpetological Society recently managed to photograph the rarely seen and endangered Litoria littlejohni, also known as the Northern Heath Frog or Orange-bellied Tree Frog. We interviewed Andy to learn more about the Littlejohni and how they managed to find its small local population in Woodford.
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