Bush medicine and chemistry meet at USQ

THE University of Southern Queensland is incorporating Indigenous and western science to teach students the value of local knowledge on native Australian vegetation.

A new unit in the Biochemistry of Nutrition course will focus on Indigenous expertise related to both food and bush medicine.

Biomedical science lecturer Dr Sarah Myer said it was important to integrate Indigenous science and western science and teach students the value of local knowledge.

USQ’s Elder in Residence, Uncle Wayne Fossey (pictured below) hosted the first guest lecture for the new unit at the

Gumbi Gumbi Gardens.

The gardens were designed in close partnership with respected elders from Toowoomba and elders of the Jarowair people and feature more than 100 plant species including an extensive array of Indigenous flora used by the local Aboriginal communities for a range of purposes.

USQ is a sponsor of the Chronicle Garden Competition and the Gumbi Gumbi Gardens, along with the Japanese Garden, will both be open to the public during the Carnival of Flowers.