# data[].attributes.body
Walking into the Newport reserve lakes is one of my favourites things to do on the weekend. As I walk through, I notice that birds chirping which help me clam and relax, the gentle rustling of leaves play in harmony with the distant chirping of birds, creating a tranquil melody that envelopes me. I notice a big fish and ducks swimming in the lake, which give me a feeling of wanting to have a swim. I notice that the sound of gentle lapping water against the shore which is so satisfaction. How beautiful it is without stress swimming all day but in the meanwhile, I think about the danger of the predators such as hawks and foxes. I felt constantly on alert at the same time. And I notice that this lake has big rocks which are placed in the middle of the lake like a bridge, unlike others which is very interesting and smart. I believe which helps people to enjoy the lake from the middle like standing on the water that is very unique. Bench after bench, strategically placed along the trails, offers the perfect opportunity to pause and absorb the beauty that envelopes me. The present moment envelopes me, a fleeting instance where my footsteps imprint the earth, leaving behind a trail that will soon become a part of the landscape’s history.

As I walk through the lake and notice the ducks’ swimming which reminds me of how I loved swimming when I was little. By paying attention to this experience, helped me recall my childhood memory of swimming with childhood friends and catching fishes for fun. This got me realise how powerful paying attention is. I do forget to pay attention most of the times what is happening around as I(we) busy rushing as things need to be done.

As I walk along the lake, I felt really grateful that the aboriginal people were very kind enough to share with us on their land. In the article “AUSTRALIA’S RIVERS ARE ANCESTRAL BEINGS” mentions in the rich tapestry of Australia’s cultural heritage, its rivers hold profound significance as ancestral beings. Revered as ancient guides and protectors, Australia’s rivers embody stories of creation, migration, and sustenance. They serve as pathways of connection between generations, carrying the wisdom and traditions of the past into the present. Also, i wonder how the aboriginal people looked after lakes, rivers and trees many years ago.

‘’Walking with Place” mentions that a deep connection to physical and cultural environment in which education takes place. From this reading, I have learnt that how incorporating local stories, traditions, and narratives can contribute to teaching young children about reconciliation, the process of healing and building positive relationships, particularly in the context of addressing historical injustices. This article has applied me on this experiential approach, gave me ideas to create a powerful educational journey that fosters connection, empathy, a sense of belonging among young learners. With each step forward, I’m not just walking in the present, but also shaping the days to come.

As I left the park behind, I carried with me a piece of its serenity, a cherished memory of a place where time slowed down and the soul found respite.

# data[].attributes.body
Hamm, C. (2015). Walking With Place: Storying Reconciliation Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education. Canadian Children, Spring, Education Research Complete.

AUSTRALIA’S RIVERS ARE ANCESTRAL BEINGS
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/australia-s-rivers-are-ancestral-beings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
During National Water Week, it's time for all of us to examine our relationship to water - our rivers, wetlands, lakes, aquifers, estuaries, rainfall - and the many ways in which our water is managed.

As rivers are increasingly recognised as legal persons in multiple jurisdictions across the globe, many of us are grappling with how to ensure that the law sees rivers as unique legal beings.

For the Wurundjeri people, the Birrarung is "a river of mists and shadows". Picture: Erin O'Donnelll/University of Melbourne

One way to do this is by developing a novel legal concept - the 'ancestral person'.

This could unite the idea of Nature as a legal subject with Indigenous world views that see Nature as a complex tapestry of ancestral relations enmeshed in a network of interdependence and guardianship between the human and the non-human world.

Rivers as legal and living beings

Since the release of the Constitution of Ecuador in 2008, the rights of Nature movement across the world has gained exponential momentum, and a great number of jurisdictions worldwide today recognise some form of legal subjectivity vested upon Nature.

Returning water rights to Aboriginal people

Over the last decade, and in particular since 2017, river personhood has become one of the most recognisable forms of this subjectivity. When we say river personhood, this means the law regards a river as a legal person - an entity capable of bearing rights and duties.

The first case to successfully invoke the rights of Nature, from which legal personhood later arose, occurred in Ecuador in March 2011, when two plaintiffs sued the district government for damage, erosion and flooding of the Vilcabamba River, not in their capacity as affected landowners, but rather asserting a breach of the rights of Nature provisions in Ecuador's Constitution.

Six years later, the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 (NZ) recognised the Whanganui River and its tributaries as "an indivisible and living whole, comprising the Whanganui River from the mountains to the sea, incorporating all its physical and meta-physical elements".

The Ganges river in India has been recognised as legal persons because of its "sacred and revered" status. Picture: Getty Images

This is one of the most remarkable examples of law's ability to transcend traditional ideas of natural resource rights and governance by incorporating concepts from the laws of Indigenous peoples.

Other major milestones on this remarkable journey include the 2017 Indian Ganges and Yamuna Rivers case, the 2016 Atrato case in Colombia (as well as the similar cases that followed), and the 2019 Bangladesh Supreme Court decision - which ruled that all the rivers in Bangladesh had the status of legal persons and living entities.

Are rivers legal or living beings in Australia?

In Australia, the concept of a river as a living entity in its own right made its first appearance in Victoria in 2017, when the Victorian Parliament enacted the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017.

The legal rights of rivers

For the Wurundjeri people, the Birrarung is "a river of mists and shadows" and the Act's preamble, as translated from Woi Wurrung language, emphasises their connection with the Birrarung as a living entity:
"We the Woi-wurrung, the First People, and the Birrarung, belong to this Country. This Country and the Birrarung are a part of us. The Birrarung is alive, has a heart, a spirit, and is part of our Dreaming. We have lived with and known the Birrarung since the beginning."
A novel form of 'environmental' personhood vested upon rivers is rapidly emerging. But maybe an even richer story can be found.

Martuwarra River of Life

Established in 2018 by six independent Indigenous nations, the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council (Martuwarra Council) believes it is now imperative to recognise the pre-existing and continuing legal authority of Indigenous laws - or 'First Law' - in relation to the River in order to preserve its integrity through a process of legal decolonisation.

First Nations peoples of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River already recognise that the River is a living ancestral being. Picture: Lachie Carracher/Martuwarra Council

River personhood is now understood as one pathway towards this outcome.

However, the traditional legal idea of personhood adopted until now needs to be reconceived in relation to the River. After all, First Nations peoples of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River recognise that the River is already a living ancestral being with a right to life and flow.

The time to talk of rivers as an 'ancestral being', with ties of mutual obligation and reciprocity, has now come.

Melbourne's real-world impact on climate change

Our dialogue with the Martuwarra Council and the river has developed this new category as a future concept for settler state law in Australia.

In a forthcoming paper, we (and others) explore the emergence of this potential novel category drawing on the global experience, noting that this growing, and inherently pluralist, awareness must surely transform our understanding of what constitutes 'Nature' in general and a river in particular.

The river as ancestor and the role of law

The law is being used creatively to train human beings to listen, pay attention to, and learn from, different rivers.

Significantly, at the same time, this new concept of rivers also embodies the stories that have always connected Indigenous peoples to their land, rivers, trees and totems. These stories often recognise that time isn't just a linear arrow, but rather a swirling flow - so at any point 'in time' a river can also connect us to its past and our futures.

The Whanganui River and its tributaries in New Zealand are seen as "an indivisible and living whole". PIcture: Getty Images

The bridges, between the past and present, and between First Law and settler state law, are present in the idea of these riverine ancestors and the way they cast themselves upon us and our consciousness.

And so, while a river holds meaning for itself with or without us, the novel idea of an 'ancestral person' can strengthen the connections between the river's life and the peoples who live along and love the river.

Seeing rivers as ancestral beings reinforces the relationship we have with them.

Always was and always will be Aboriginal water

We can begin to move away from seeing rivers as merely an object that we may use as we wish, to seeing them as living entities, with whom we are all in a lasting, reciprocal relationship.

When the law recognises rivers as 'ancestral persons', it sends a strong message that the river itself is a collaborator in its own management. We can truly begin to work with the river to make a better future.
All the authors are grateful to our co-authors on our forthcoming paper in Griffith Law Review: Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, Dr Cristy Clark, Dr Sarah Laborde, Associate Professor Elizabeth Macpherson, Dr Katie O'Bryan, Professor John Page, and Martuwarra River of Life itself. We also gratefully acknowledge the seed funding our work has received from the Indigenous Knowledge Institute at the University of Melbourne. Dr Erin O'Donnell is a member of the Birrarung Council, the voice of the Yarra River.
Dr Anne Poelina is the Chair of the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council.
Banner: Getty Images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Dr Alessandro PelizzonSenior Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts, Southern Cross University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Dr Erin O'DonnellSenior Fellow, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Dr Anne PoelinaAdjunct Senior Research Fellow, Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rivers are recognised as legal persons and living entities. Experts, including University of Melbourne, say Australia's rivers are Indigenous 'ancestral beings'