| When | Where | Admission |
|---|---|---|
|
Walk Thu 5 Mar, 11am–1pm
Walk Thu 16 Apr, 11am–1pm Walk Thu 23 Apr, 11am–1pm Reflection Thu 30 Apr, 5.30–6.30pm |
University Square, Leicester Street, Parkville Google maps | Free This event has passed |
The river never left. Take a walk with Petrichor Collaborative to explore how our urban infrastructure, seasonal flooding, and forgotten wetlands remain part of the Birrarung’s living memory.
Uncover the often-overlooked signs of the river’s presence on a walk through the Parkville campus with a collective of landscape architecture researchers and practitioners connected to ongoing University of Melbourne research into urban ecologies and waterways.
Your guides, University of Melbourne Plant Science student and cultural storyteller Jakobi Ili-Jakobi (Djab Wurrung and Dhauwurd Wurrung), cultural educator and trainee ranger Jack George (Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Palawa) and landscape architect Harrison Baxter, will draw your attention to old river red gums, eels moving through stormwater systems and native species persisting in urban landscapes – traces that continue to tell the story of Country. The walks tune into the seasonality of the land and reveal how waterways, Indigenous knowledges and city remain deeply entangled.
The guided walk is followed by a shared hands-on activity led by creative practitioner Maria Bulmaga, opening space for conversation and creation. Together, discuss ideas about how the Birrarung is valued today and how more caring approaches might protect the river’s health and cultural significance into the future.
Petrichor Collaborative are a landscape architecture and research practice focused on driving and promoting opportunities for First Nations-led processes, intrinsically tied to place and ecosystems. They invite you to return for an evening gathering to share reflections and view artworks created across the earlier sessions, offering a moment to pause, connect and consider how the Birrarung continues to shape the city.
Sessions
About
MPavilion Parkville is the University of Melbourne’s open-air space for art, ideas and experimentation. The program offers a series of curated experiences that invite you to experience familiar spaces in new ways.
All events are free and open to everyone.
Petrichor Collaborative
Jack George, Collaborator, Guide
Collaborator, Guide Jack is a Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Palawa man and 'almost' Mechatronics Engineering Graduate. He is a Cultural Educator at Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Corporation and trainee ranger with Narrap whilst studying Conservation and Ecosystem Management at RMIT. He is passionate about preserving and re-creating Indigenous ways of knowing through ethnobotanical study, songlines, history, language reclamation and connection to Country.
Jakobi Ili-Jakobi, Producer, Guide
JJakobi is a Djab Wurrung and Dhauwurd Wurrung man, cultural educator, emerging biocultural scientist and storyteller. Currently studying Plant Science (B-SCIEXTD) at the University of Melbourne, he has a passion for place-based storytelling, embedding biocultural scientific ways of knowing to inspire different perspectives on land, water and ecology. He believes that urban renaturalisation is an important step towards Caring for Country and is driven to contribute to events and projects that support Caring for Country and Traditional Owner desires for environmental restoration.
Maria Bulmaga, Producer, Facilitator
Maria Bulmaga is an architectural designer and researcher who graduated from the Melbourne School of Design. As a member of the University of Melbourne Urban Ecology and Design lab (UEDLAB), her work centres on the Birrarung tributaries, exploring water sensitive urban design, biodiversity and habitat support. Her interests are in the material and political legacies of place and its interconnections with the larger living river systems, advocating for changes that support ethics of landscape practice on sensitive ecosystems.
Harrison Baxter, Producer, Guide
Harrison is a Landscape architect who is passionate about the role of ecological design working alongside Traditional Owners in developing the urban fabric of the future. In 2025 he was awarded the Australian Institute of Landscape Architect’s (AILA) Future Leader for his thesis and work on the profession’s role in civic stewardship. He also is a member of AILA Victoria’s Environment Committee, the UEDLAB and works as a landscape architect at Architectus.
Gina Dahl, Producer
Gina is a MNAL-registered architect (National Association of Norwegian Architects) whose work focuses on public space strategy, urban ecology, and climate adaptation. She has worked with UEDLAB, Public Realm Lab, and Bower Studio at the University of Melbourne, engaging in community-led and culturally informed design to create equitable and responsive urban environments. She is committed to culturally and ecologically sensitive approaches that foster meaningful, sustainable outcomes.
