The Bunuru Festival is shaping up to be a cultural array of diversity and inclusivity with art and weaving workshops, along with bee hotel workshops
Hosted by the Undalup Association, the Act-Belong-Commit Bunuru Festival will be held at Riflebutt Reserve in Margaret River on Saturday, March 14, 2020.
Festival director Rachelle Cousins said they hoped to share cultural knowledge with the community to remove barriers which have been created through social stereotypes and prejudices.
"The Undalup Association aims to close the gap between cultures through knowledge sharing," she said.
"The cultural workshops will be free of charge to festival attendees to support the Act-Belong-Commit message of keeping mentally healthy."
Award winning weaver, artist and cultural educator Lea Taylor from the adandi/Minang/Koreng Nations of South West Western Australia will run the art and weaving workshop.
Ms Taylor said she had spent many hours teaching herself various weaving techniques and now works full time as an artist and weaver.
"I have presented weaving, cultural and Aboriginal painting workshops to thousands of adults and children throughout the South West," she said.
Ms Taylor likes to share her culture through art and weaving workshops in schools, youth groups, government, community organisations and independently.
"While I don't get to use my traditional natural fibres due to Government policy, I do use a natural fibre, Raffia, which I dye using both natural plant dyes and commercial dye" she said.
Bunuru Festival event coordinator Lisa Chatwin said Ms Taylor had an impressive resume and they were very proud and honoured to have her share her cultural knowledge at the festival.
"Undalup Association is working hard in our community to protect and care for country, as caring for country is the beating heart of Wadandi culture," she said.
Through the Undalup Association, Wadandi Elders work hard to educate the general public about eco-systems and sustainability.
The organisation also work with governments to encourage more sustainable environmental policies which is why they invited Tracy Lansdell to run bee hotel workshops at the event.
Ms Cousins said bees were an essential part of our eco-systems and gave life to forests.
"Bee populations around the world are declining but we can protect our wild bee population with bee hotels, which is why Undalup Association is proud to have Tracy Lansdell attend the Bunuru Festival," she said.
Ms Lansdell is a naturopath, keen gardener and native bee guardian.
She is passionate about Indigenous pollinators and has been educating all ages on native bees since 2013 through workshops, educational school visits and guest speaking through her role as the Greenbushes Community Garden coordinator.
Ms Lansdell hopes to inspire conservation and land stewardship through her bee hotel workshops by showing people how they can start in their own backyards.
By educating people on how to create healing gardens that grow organic food and herbs for medicine, as well as care for our bees and biodiversity, Ms Lansdell is spreading her message on how to create healthy people and a healthy planet, one garden at a time.
