Amidst the carefully maintained green spaces of Central Park in Malvern East, a special new eco-art installation has arrived, bringing with it a message of reconnection with our local landscapes.
Lost Lands Found is a 4x4 metre living installation packed with indigenous flowers, grasses, herbs and lilies that once flourished throughout Victoria prior to European settlement. Less than 1% of this vibrant habitat remains today.
The space exists as a small window into the past, a place to pause, reflect and reconnect with the land and the unique native flora that once existed in Stonnington, now re-established within the modern gardens we know today. Creator, Wemba Wemba-Wergaia educator and ecologist Dean Stewart, explains that Lost Lands Found intends to "revive some of the lost connections between people and place, community and earth in a real and intimate way (in order) to reconcile ourselves with the land."
Lost Lands Found includes over 60 densely planted species that provide a home in which native insects can thrive. Visitors are encouraged to get to know local Stonnington flora and identify native plants that can be easily added to home gardens of any size to provide habitat and support local biodiversity.
The community is invited to join Dean on one of two guided tours of Lost Lands Found on Saturday 9 April at Central Park, Malvern as part of Stonnington's My Smart Garden program. Keep an eye out for more Lost Lands Found events coming throughout 2022 on Council's events page.
"The deeper you look, the deeper you understand! Reconciliation is not just between black and white; it is a reconciliation of us all, as a people, back with the land. For we are all the newest custodians and caretakers of these ancient lands, which we now all call our home."
– Dean Stewart
