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• 14th - 17th APRIL 2027
Mother and Son, on Country.
A 4-day on-Country program for Aboriginal mothers and sons designed for the years that shape who they become. Through six Aboriginal inspired games, yarning circles and ceremony, mothers and sons reconnect, communicate and discover the strength of working together.
For the years that shape who they become.
Across families and communities, many mothers/careers of sons are navigating complex pressures -- disconnection, stress, changing roles, and limited time to simply enjoy being together. Communication becomes focused on instructions, conflict, or daily survival, learning little space for shared joy, cultural learning and relationship building.
This program was created in response to that need. Fun, engaging, culturally grounded ways for mothers/careers of sons to reconnect while there's still time to shape what comes next.
"Through play on Country, families are offered a space where laughter replaces pressure, cooperation replaces conflict, and learning happens naturally through shared experience."
Traditional games provide more than entertainment. They create opportunities to practice listening, patience, teamwork, and respect. Skills that strength relationships in the home and beyond. When these activities are grounded in culture, they also reconnect families to identity, belonging, and the value that have sustained communities for generations.
Be learning together through play, mothers/careers and sons build trust, deepen understanding, and rediscover the strength that comes from working as one. These moments of connection support emotional wellbeing, strengthen cultural pride, and create positive memories that can guide families long after the games have ended.
Play as the teacher.
Every game is grounded in cultural knowledge and designed to build a specific skill - teamwork, planning, observation, language, symbolism, unity.
- GAME 01
Carrying the Coolamon.
Teams find a coolamon shape on Country, then work together to carry precious items without losing any. The coolamon has always carried what matters most -- food, water, medicine, babies. This game teaches what it means to hold what's precious, together.
- GAME 02
Fire Builders.
Teams gather materials and plan the structure of a safe fire (never lit) together. Fire has always taught responsibility -- it must be built carefully, cared for, and respected.
- GAME 03
What flower is that?
Match native flowers to their names and transitional uses. Native flowers sustained our people for generations -- knowledge passed down through observation, memory and storytelling.
- GAME 04
Sharing Dharug Words.
Families work together to identify the Dharug language and decode them into English. Language carries the spirit of Country. Every word is memory, teaching and identity.
- GAME 05
Animal Tracks.
Match Aboriginal animal track symbols and create them on the ground using natural materials. Every footprints tells a story of who came, where they travelled, and what they were doing.
- GAME 06
Handprints on Country.
Families crush ochre, mix with water, and leave left-hand prints together on a chosen tree - the left hand, close to the heart. A visible symbole of unity and belonging left on Country. Communication is not only spoken.
THE 4 DAYS ON COUNTRY
Four Days.
Carefully held.
Each day carries its own rythem - welcome, play, yarning, reflection. Everything moves at the pace of Country.
Welcome to Country • Setting the tone
DAY 1 • WED
14 April
Arrival, Acknowledge of Country, welcome yarn, group agreements. Introducing the framework -- belong, connect, grow. Carrying the Coolamon in the afternoon and closing yarning circle.
Fire and Flowers
DAY 2 • THURS
15 April
Morning: Fire Builders -- planning together, shared responsibility. Afternoon: What Flower is That? - bushfoods, seasonal knowledge, obersation. Evening yarning circle by fire.
Language and tracks
DAY 3 • FRI
16 April
Morning: Sharing Dharug Words -- language, listening, negotation. Afternoon: Animal Tracks -- symbols, obersations, storytelling through Country. Reflection circle to close.
Ceremony • Handprints on Country
DAY 4 • SAT
17 April
Handprints on Country ceremony -- crushing orche together, leaving your marks side by side on a tree. Closing yarning circle: what we're carrying home. Farewell to Country.
— WHAT YOU'LL WALK HOME WITH —
More than memories.
01
Stronger connection between mother/carers and sons - trust built through shared expereicne, not lecture.
02
Communication skills -- practising listening, patience, and cooperation instead of instruction and conflict.
03
A sense of belonging to Country, culture and each other.
04
Cultural pride and identity - reconnection to the values, language and practices that have sustained community for generations.
05
Practical tools -- games and practices you can carry into your home and play again.
06
Positive memories that guide the relationship long after the program ends.
07
Emotional wellbeing - regulation, patience, and space to be together without pressure.
08
Support networks with other mothers/carers and sons walking the same path.
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• ABOUT THE DEVELOPER
Jackie Stewart
Jackie is an Aboriginal community member, cultural practitioner and systems-change advocate dedicated to strengthening the wellbeing, safety and self-determination of First Nations families and communities.
A proud Kungabula women with deep connections across communities, Jackie's work is grounded in cultural authority, truth-telling, and the belief that belonging is the foundation of safety.
She is the founder of Ancestors Singing, a cultural initiative that uses story, song, and shared learning to reconnect people to identity, Country and intergenational knowledge. She also leads Youth-Led Services, and drives Be One Collective's collaborative platform for bringing services, community voices and government together to strengethen accountability, cultural safety and coordinated responses.
Respecting the lines is one of the culturally grounded frameworks Jackie has developed to strengthen communication, teamwork and belonging, using traditional practices and games to support engagmeent, learning and healing across families and communities.
Journey Together - Respecting The Lines.
APRIL 2027 INTAKE
14 - 17 April 2027
DATES
Free
COST
Mums/Carers + Sons
WHO
Limited
PLACES
Western Sydney, NSW
WHERE
Registering your interest is not a commitment. It's an invitation to a yarn. We'll share full program details, pricing and payment options once we've talked.
- START THE CONVERSATION
Register your interest.
Places for the April 2027 intake are limited, and we like to yarn with every family before we confirm a spot. Fill in the form and we'll be in touch within a few days to talk you through the program and answer any questions.
- FOP COMMUNITY LEADERS & SERVICES
Register your interest.
Places for the April 2027 intake are limited, and we like to yarn with every family before we confirm a spot. Fill in the form and we'll be in touch within a few days to talk you through the program and answer any questions.
CO-DELIVERED ON YOUR COUNTRY
Journey Together, held by your community.
We come to you. Program faciliation is co-designed with local Elders and knowledge holders, informed by the cultural protocols of the Traditional Custodians of the land.
Pricing is scoped to the project - some communities fund it through existing service budgts, others through targeted grants or partnerships. We'll help you work it out.
✓ Co-designed with local community
✓ Delivered by BOC + local knowledge holders
✓ All materials and faciliation included
✓ Flexible timing -- school holidays, weekends, weekdays.
✓ Support with funding pathways
READ BEFORE YOU APPLY
What you need to know first.
This is a program for both of you -- together.
Both mother/carers and sons commit to being present for the full 4 days. If work, school, or family circumstances make full attendence hard, please mention it when you register so we can plan with you.
We're on Country, dress for it.
Enclosed footwear, hats, sunscreen, water bottles, layes for weather. We'll send a full list once your place is confirmed. The program runs outdoors,it is important you're comfortable.
Cultural protocols guide everything.
Acknowledgement of Country, respect for cultural bounaries, no photography without consent, no collecting from sacred areas. Full protoco brief provioded ahead of the program.
Cultural Intellectual Property is protected.
Anything shared in yarning circles stays in the circle unless you give explicit consent. Program photography is for program use only, with your permission. You can opt out of media at any time.
Support needs are welcome -- tell us early.
Medical conditions, disabilities, dietry requirements, traumua considersations -- please share when you register so we can plan properly. Doesn't effect your place, helps us support you.
Weather won't stop us -- but we will adapt.
On Country programs run rain or shine, with sensible weather adaptations. In extreme weather, activities may shift to indoors or reschedule. We'll keep you informed.
Be One Collective
An Aboriginal-led peak body strengthening collaboration, cultural capability and community outcomes across Australia.
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