| When | Where | Admission |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 3 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm
Sat 12 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm Thu 17 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm | Potter Museum of Art Swanston St, Parkville Google maps | Free, bookings required. |
Join us for a guided walk led by Petrichor Collaborative to explore the life of gum trees as living connections of the deeper landscape, the river's Country. As part of the Potter Museum's exhibition Ngarn Wa'ngal: Art of the gum tree, this program encourages participants to take a close look at the presence of eucalypts around the Parkville campus.
Gum trees remember where water moves along the Birrarung. Through a walk, collective workshop and visioning session, we'll explore how urban infrastructure, seasonal flooding, and forgotten wetlands remain part of the Birrarung's living memory, and how future restoration efforts can support the river's rights to heal and flow. Participants are invited into deeper discussion, on how we value and connect with the Birrarung and its Country today.
Your guides are University of Melbourne Plant Science student and cultural storyteller Jakobi Ili-Jakobi (Djab Wurrung and Dhauwurd Wurrung), landscape architect Harrison Baxter and creative practitioner Maria Bulmaga.
This guided walk starts and finishes at Potter Museum of Art, Parkville. Please wear shoes and clothes suitable for walking. The walking part of the event will last approximately one hour and may include uneven terrain.
Visit
Guided walks on:
Thu 3 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm
Sat 12 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm
Thu 17 Sept, 10.30am–12.30pm
Guided walks start and finish at Potter Museum of Art, Parkville. Spaces limited. Secure your spot now.
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.
