Cultural Due Diligence through a Virtual Reality (VR) lens
Volunteers joined Local Land Services (LLS) and Shoalhaven Landcare (SLA) to learn about Cultural Due Diligence and reading the landscape using virtual reality
Capacity building - LEP23-014-LLC08-4
The issue
A number of Landcare activities involve disturbing the soil to plant trees, tree trimming, weed control and erosion control. These activities could potentially disturb or harm cultural artifacts or places.
When we are on Country, how do we read the landscape to know what we are looking at when considering its cultural aspects. How do we learn more about our "Due Diligence" in relation to cultural aspects of the landscape while undertaking Landcare activities? There are many things to consider in relation to aboriginal culture when we are working on Country. How do we know if we are disturbing artifacts, what does a ring or scar tree look like?
To assist us in learning more about these challenges, Shoalhaven Landcare teamed up with the Aboriginal Support Officer from Local Land Services to deliver "a fit for purpose" workshop to help to try to answer these questions.
The solution
In January 2026, Local land Services Senior Aboriginal Support Officer - Rodney Freeman joined Shoalhaven Landcare Coordinator -Sonya Reyes to deliver a truly unique workshop at the beautiful Kangaroo Valley property -Chakola. The day was a mix of walking and learning on Country and included a virtual reality session for participants on cultural "Due Diligence", when we are on country what are we looking for?
Rodney started the day with a comprehensive deep dive into reading the landscape, due diligence on Country and our obligations when working on Country. This was followed by a walk and talk about reading the landscape, local flora and fauna, and a look at some culturally significant sites at Chakola.
The day also included a virtual reality (VR) session on cultural due diligence. The VR session took participants on a virtual reality journey to a number of actual sites where culturally significant artifacts or objects occur. The VR Host explained about ring trees, scar trees and rock rubbings amongst a range of other information. The VR session also included clickable facts and a quiz to find out about what you had learnt.
The impact
This partnership delivered so much meaningful learning for all participants including: Discovering cultural "Due Diligence" by being immersed in virtual reality, what we should consider when working on site when we are delivering on ground Landcare activities, storytelling from all participants, learning about local country and mobs, learning about reading the landscape, how we better connect. Shoalhaven Landcare hope this can be the first of a series of VR Due Diligence workshops across the Shoalhaven.
Key facts
- This workshop enabled community members to learn more about local culture, "Due Diligence" and reading the landscape on Country
- Aboriginal Officers in Local land Services partnering with Local Landcare Coordinators are key to the successful delivery of local cultural learning and allowing cultural conversations in a safe space.