Hosted by: Yila Healing Trail.
Event partners include: Manyana Matters, Berry Landcare, Bushcare Shoalhaven, Five Villages Community Garden, Growing together South Coast, Milton Rural Landscape Nursery, National Parks Association (Milton branch), Repower Shoalhaven, Ulladulla Wildflower Reserve and many others.
Join us for the Grand Finale of the Yila Healing Trail– A Picnic for Nature
The Yila Healing Trail is 10 days of experiential and immersive offerings across the Shoalhaven that fosters reciprocal healing on Country.
The official opening is on Friday 11 October from 4pm - 9pm with a Corroboree at Paringa Park, Nowra. Download the full festival program here
The Picnic for Nature is the GRANDE FINALE of the Yila Healing Trail - 11am to 2pm on Sunday 20 October.
As part of the celebrations, 500 school students will perform the traditional song Yila led by Uncle Paul, Joe and Ronald McCleod. The students have been gifted clapsticks beautifully fashioned by Michael Robinson from Doolagartefacts and Gumaraa. Together we will clap in healing on this beautiful day.
You are invited to bring a picnic rug and delicious food to fill your belly and join us for a nourishing event to accentuate our reconnection to nature and the strong role our young people will play in bringing this about.
Kicking off with a Welcome to Country by Uncle Phil Butler, Yuin man and Aboriginal Education officer at St Marys School in Milton. Carolyn Loton from the Nature Conservation Council, will then welcome everyone to this chapter of Picnic For Nature, an annual NSW wide event happening over this weekend. She will acknowledge our young people's role in heralding in a nature-centric world.
We will welcome to the stage an interweaving of the school communities and those nature conservation groups that will be supporting the event with engaging stalls to be the Voices for Nature up on stage.
Shoalhaven Community Preschool, Sussex Inlet School, Ulladulla High School and the Home School and Bush school communities from around the Shoalhaven.
We will then finish up before moving into the 'picnic' part of the day with our grandfinale Clapstick Orchestra singing 'Yila'.
As we move into picnic mode we are graced with Hein Cooper singing his version of Nature Boy and many other tunes besides.
We invite you to visit the Nature Champions onsite as part of this closing ceremony who have much to share with you!
PS - As a nature loving event, we ask that you bring washable picnic gear along rather than single use disposable cutlery, cups, plates or utensils. a proper old fashioned picnic 🙂 Don't fooget to bring your water bottle.
