On Gumbaynggirr Country on the NSW mid-north coast, a group of primary students stand beside a wetland, listening as Elders explain how the water once ran clear.
"When we walk on Country, we learn from everything around us - the trees, the wind, the river, they tell us what's changing," one Elder explains to the students.
Their lesson is part of a research project which turned the local wetland into an outdoor classroom, showing how Aboriginal stories and ecological knowledge can help children understand climate change.
The study, published this year in the Australian Journal of Environmental Education, was led by Dr Judith Wilks and Dr Angela Turner from Southern Cross University, together with Torres Strait Islander teacher Mark Werner and Gumbaynggirr Elders.
The team designed a hands-on learning program at Dawkins Park Reserve, a rehabilitated wetland near Nambucca Heads.
Over several school terms, teachers and students learned alongside Aboriginal knowledge holders - testing water quality, tracking changes in weather and plants, and listening to cultural stories about how Country responds to care and climate.
"You can't separate knowledge from place," Dr Wilks said in the paper.
"These projects let students experience that reality - that the land teaches, too."
Researchers found conflating Aboriginal ecological knowledge into science lessons improved student engagement and understanding of environmental change.
But teachers reported safety rules and paperwork often kept students indoors.
They described a "risk-averse" system that made it difficult to take classes outdoors.
"'No' is the easiest and safest answer," Mr Werner wrote in his reflection.
"But that comes with a far greater risk - the risk of students becoming disconnected from their environment."
The authors say the approach could guide new curriculum models across New South Wales, embedding Aboriginal ecological knowledge as a foundation for teaching climate and sustainability rather than an optional add-on.
As one Elder told the class: "The land holds the first textbook. You just have to listen."
