Pollack Wetlands Indigenous Food and Fibre Day

Share this article

Photographs from the trip

Field trip to the Pollack Wetlands

As part of the UN’s Decade on Nutrition, we partnered with Forestry Corporation, hosting a field trip to the Pollack Wetlands, food and fibre displays and a barbecue for 40 community members.

The visit to the Pollack Wetlands allowed the community to see first-hand the amazing transformation and rehabilitation of the area from recent watering events, whilst learning about its natural resources.

Environmental Consultants Dr John Conallin and Dan Hutton lead the group show-casing the food and provisions of the Pollack Wetlands.

Contributors to the day also included Bio-Anthropologist & Archaeologist, Colin Pardoe and Luke Pearce, Fisheries Manager for the Greater Murray region with the Aquatic Ecosystems Unit.

Indigenous food sources the group encountered were varied and included water ribbon seeds, native gudgeon, turtles and yabbies.


The hour and half field trip was followed by a barbecue at Murray Connect, giving attendees the chance to view food and fibre displays and discuss with exhibitors, Roseanne Farrant and Sonia Robertson. Murray Local Land Services also provided a display to provide some Indigenous information on the area.


The Murray Connect lunch also gave the group the opportunity to sample some of the Indigenous foods. Cooked yabbies, fried battered gudgeon, and water ribbon seeds were on the menu along with standard barbecue fare.


Luke Pearce also showed the group how to prepare the infamous European Carp for the table with many pleasantly surprised with the eating quality. 

​

Another native food source on the day was “Murnong”. These tubers from the native Yam Daisy were grown from seed by Luke and brought along to sample.

​

This field trip allowed community to explore the natural resources our region has to offer and also see first-hand the regenerative local environment work and it’s positive, rewarding results.

Fodder and Fish

Luke Pearce came along to the Indigenous Food and Fibre Day with homegrown “Murnong” or Native Yams to sample. Luke grew these himself from seed from the Yam Daisy plant. The flavour and texture is similar to a water chestnut with a slightly bitter finish when raw but can be seasoned and roasted giving a flavour similar to Jerusalem Artichoke.​

Considered carp on the menu?

Watch the video of Luke Pearce preparing this exotic pest of the waterways.


Recent Projects

October 8, 2026
 On the 24th of October 2020, Western Murray Land Improvement Group along with Barham Landcare, held a fun and interactive workshop involving local Primary School children at Federation Reserve in Barham NSW. Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47. The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen.
October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
By Donna Marateo • October 8, 2026
A summary of the day.
October 8, 2026
On the 31st of January 2020, over 120 local farmers and agricultural experts attended a Feedlot Information Day held in Wakool. The crowd was a diverse geographical mix, with attendees from Lalbert, Piangil, Moulamein, Barham, Deniliquin and Wakool. As following with the 'young farmer' focus of the event, the majority (42%) of attendees were under 35, while 28% were 35-45 and 37% were 45+. The day began with a workshop at the Wakool Club focused on livestock feedlot considerations. Presenter Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions discussed the pro's and con's of feedlotting versus containment feeding, the cost of feed and comparison of different systems. He emphasized the importance of feeding sheep protein to build muscle, wool and encourage growth. The group finished off with an understanding of how feedlots interacted with the whole farm system. Following this presentation, district vet Linda Searle (Murray Local Land Services), educated attendees on the range of livestock diseases or health complications associated with feedlot production systems.
October 2, 2026
Want to keep up to date?
October 2, 2026
World Wetlands Day 2023
October 2, 2026
​Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
In March 2020, we organised and coordinated a tour for local producers of the Griffith, Whitton and Coleambally areas, in the north-western region of the Riverina region of New South Wales. ​ Whilst it was a challenge in COVID-regulation times, our organisers, Stacey and Amy, did a great job in selecting a line-up of some of the most impressive and inspiring businesses that have successfully innovated existing product or created new products utilising spare capacity. ​ Many of the businesses that the group visited looked at value-adding options, supply chain innovation, collaboration and diversification opportunities.
By John Reynold Tubay • September 29, 2026
Key facts