The Wararack Initiatives
The Wararack Initiatives are Mount Alexander community’s collaborative response to Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration. Working alongside the Council, the Wararack Initiatives seek to collectively build and oversee implementation of a Community Climate Transition Plan that will help us reach the goal of zero net emissions by 2030 and help us all adapt to a changing climate.
'Wararack' is the Dja Dja Wurrung word for silver wattle. Among many traditional uses, its sap can be used as a glue. This word is gifted to us by Uncle Rick Nelson and Aunty Julie McHale to represent the binding of people with Country and with each other.
The Wararack Initiatives are our opportunity to strengthen our connection to Country and Community. This name refers to an inclusive, evolving process to inspire people to imagine, create, and work together towards a shared future. Wararack supports many existing and emerging climate initiatives, but it’s not just about reaching zero net emissions, it’s also about how we thrive together to honour Country in a rapidly evolving world.
The Wararack Initiatives are now entering their next phase - and you’re invited to participate! Everyone living in the Mount Alexander Shire has a role to play. You may wish to get involved by joining one of the thematic working groups or through joining forces with one of the existing projects mentioned in the summary report. You may otherwise want to find your own path, and add a new Wararack Initiative.
Register your interest here
The importance of learning from Indigenous knowledge, ways and being, and connection to Country lives in the very foundations of the Wararack Initiatives. Recognising our emergence from and dependence on place informs how we best live with this land, now and into the future. We acknowledge that we live on Djandak, Dja Dja Wurrung Country, on the undulating foothills of the Great Divide, where arid plains of the west meet the wetter mountains of the east. The Dja Dja Wurrung People have lived on these lands and cared for this Country, as a living entity, for many thousands of years. Their relationship with this land is unbroken and lives on.
Our sincere gratitude to Daikota Nelson, who created the original artwork of the Wararack / silver wattle for this logo. We would also like to thank The Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation and Uncle Rick Nelson for granting us permission to use the word 'Wararack'.
Wararack Initiatives - Illustration by Daikota Nelson | Design by Elizabeth Geddes | web build by Greengraphics