25 – 26 July 2026

10am – 4pm

The ngurrak barring Open House Melbourne program is based at Grants Picnic Ground, Kallista, in the beautiful Sherbrooke Forest.

Drop in between 10am and 4pm over the weekend to explore the Country-themed trail of ngurrak barring which celebrates the natural environment of the Dandenong Ranges as a source of creative inspiration and as a place of deep and abiding connection for Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.

Free offers include a self-guided itinerary for a 45–60 minute return bushwalk.

Ticketed events include:

Saturday 25 July, 10am and 1pm: Wurundjeri Cultural Walks

Sunday 26 July, 10am and 1pm: Guided Bushwalks

For further information and to place a booking visit: ngurrak barring | Open House Melbourne

Saturday 25 July

10am + 1pm

Bookings essential

The Wurundjeri Cultural Walks are led by a Senior Educator from the Wurundjeri Education Unit who will share Wurundjeri perspectives on Country on a guided 2-hour return tour.

For further information and to place a booking visit: ngurrak barring | Open House Melbourne

Sunday 26 July

10am and 1pm

Bookings essential

The Guided Bush Walks are led by members of the ngurrak barring project team who will highlight many of the cultural offerings of the Country-themed trail on a guided 1-hour return tour.

Along the trail you will encounter a range of cultural offerings including rich storytelling, audio recordings, a sculpture commission by Anton McMurray, and an Architectural Node crafted by First Peoples design studios Djinjama and COLA Studio.

For further information and to place a booking visit: ngurrak barring | Open House Melbourne

22 August – 25 October 2026

ngurrak barring is presenting a series of events as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4.

Art. Activism. Adaptation. Hope.

Since its inception in 2015, the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale has brought together artists, thinkers and communities to grapple with the defining and most urgent challenge of our time: the climate emergency.

Positioned at the intersection of art, activism and advocacy, this unique biennial event transforms the Dandenong Ranges into a site of creative resistance, inquiry and hope. BCCB is global in vision, national in reach, and deeply embedded in local action.

For further information about the program visit: Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4

IMAGE: Chris Lawry, The Great Wave Goodbye, 2017 (detail), Linocut (printed on Japanese paper and mounted on heavy mount board.)

20 September 2026

10am – 12noon

Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden

Wild Wanderings is a series of nature journaling walks designed to help you connect with—and immerse in—our local environment, imbuing each participant with a sense of care and respect for the natural world.

Held in the beautiful Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden, this walk will be led by local author and illustrator Amandine Thomas, and biodiversity advocate Emily Cox, using art and knowledge as a catalyst to slow down and deeply engage with nature. To reflect the deep relationship between art and place in the Dandenong Ranges, Amandine will share her nature journaling practice, highlighting her personal connection to the environment, while Emily will provide practical and applicable knowledge of local native ecosystems.

By mindfully documenting your personal observations of the natural world and taking part in activities that engage the senses (walking, observing, drawing, listening), you’ll discover the Dandenong Ranges through a whole new lens!

Wild Wanderings is presented by ngurrak barring as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4

For further information and to place a booking visit: Wild Wanderings: Amandine Thomas & Emily Cox

IMAGE:

Emily Cox leading a Wild Wandering Walk

© 2025 Amandine Thomas

27 September 2026

10am – 12noon

Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden

Wild Wanderings is a series of nature journaling walks designed to help you connect with—and immerse in—our local environment, imbuing each participant with a sense of care and respect for the natural world.

Held in the beautiful Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden, this walk will be led by science illustrator and artist Martha Iserman, and plant ecologist Annette Muir, using art and knowledge as a catalyst to slow down and deeply engage with nature. To reflect the deep relationship between art and place in the Dandenong Ranges, Martha will share her nature journaling practice, highlighting her personal connection to the environment, while Annette will provide practical and applicable knowledge of local native ecosystems.

By mindfully documenting your personal observations of the natural world and taking part in activities that engage the senses (walking, observing, drawing, listening), you’ll discover the Dandenong Ranges through a whole new lens!

Wild Wanderings is presented by ngurrak barring as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4

For further information and to place a booking visit: Wild Wanderings: Martha Iserman & Annette Muir

IMAGE:

Amy Weir leading a Wild Wandering Walk

© 2025 Amandine Thomas

4 October 2026

10am – 12noon

Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden

Wild Wanderings is a series of nature journaling walks designed to help you connect with—and immerse in—our local environment, imbuing each participant with a sense of care and respect for the natural world.

Held in the beautiful Karwarra Australian Native Botanic Garden, this walk will be led by educator and artist Rain White, and environmentalist Kerry Press, using art and knowledge as a catalyst to slow down and deeply engage with nature. To reflect the deep relationship between art and place in the Dandenong Ranges, Rain will share her nature journaling practice, highlighting her personal connection to the environment, while Kerry will provide practical and applicable knowledge of local native ecosystems.

By mindfully documenting your personal observations of the natural world and taking part in activities that engage the senses (walking, observing, drawing, listening), you’ll discover the Dandenong Ranges through a whole new lens!

Wild Wanderings is presented by ngurrak barring as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4

For further information and to place a booking visit: Wild Wanderings: Rain White & Kerry Press

IMAGE:

Kerry Press leading a Wild Wandering Walk

© 2025 Amandine Thomas

16 October 2026

11am – 12:30pm

Djirra Binak, Trig Track

Join Murrup Biik (Aunty Kim Wandin and Chris Joy) for a unique, immersive experience at Djirra Binak, their dynamic public artwork embedded on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country in the Dandenong Ranges.

Through mindfulness, sensory awareness and storytelling, participants will be invited to develop a deeper relationship with Country and explore how embodied experience shapes memory, belonging and care for place.

Aunty Kim Wandin will share Wurundjeri Woiwurrung knowledge and ceremony through a lens of custodianship, offering perspectives on the ways these sensory practices foster deep connections to Country.

Together, the artists will discuss how Djirra Binak honours matrilineal knowledge, ancestral memory and ongoing cultural continuity while inviting audiences to consider their own role in stewardship and reciprocity.

Transformative and regenerative, this event offers an opportunity to listen deeply, connect meaningfully with Country, and reflect on how we can cultivate more sensitive and climate-responsive relationships with the places we inhabit.

Presented by ngurrak barring as part of the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale #4

For further information and to place a booking visit: Listening deeply: developing a climate responsive relationship to land

IMAGE:

Aunty Kim Wandin and Chris Joy (Murrup Biik)

in collaboration with Collide Public Art

Djirra Binak (Reed Basket), 2024

Photo: Cathy Ronalds

24 April 2026

Join Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung artist Tiriki Onus as he discusses Thrivance: Then, Now, Next, an artwork in Sherbrooke Forest that weaves together four generations of Onus family history, activism and creative expression in the Dandenong Ranges.

This is a unique opportunity to hear the powerful stories embedded in this installation of sculptural signposts and learn about their significance as both a tribute to past activism and a statement of ongoing cultural resilience.

Free event – bookings required

24 April 2026

Join us for an informative guided tour that explores part of the Country-themed trails in Sherbrooke Forest. Approx. 45-60 min.

This tour will highlight many elements of ngurrak barring, including audio recordings, rich storytelling, a sculpture commission by Anton McMurray, and one of five Architectural Nodes crafted by First Peoples design studios Djinjama and COLA Studio.

Free event – bookings required

24 April 2026

Join historian and heritage professional Dr Bronwyn Hanna as she presents an overview of the creative and cultural history of the Dandenong Ranges.

Drawing on her extensive study “RidgeWalk”: A History of Culture, Artists and Creativity in the Dandenong Ranges (2017) which informed the interpretive framework for ngurrak barring, Bronwyn will share insights into the ways in which individuals and communities have culturally and creatively engaged with and responded to this unique place.

Free event – bookings required

24 April 2026

Join Dr. Danièle Hromek (Djinjama) and Kaylie Salvatori (COLA Studio) as they discuss the design of the ngurrak barring Architectural Nodes, collaborative explorations of the themes of the project through an Indigenous lens.

This is an exciting opportunity to learn about the innovative and considered approaches and concepts embedded in their contemporary expressions of Aboriginal architecture, as they relate to the Country-themed Node.

Free event – bookings required