Safe Dreaming Trail to School: Community Participation and Indigenous Culture

Abstract

The Safe Dreaming Trail to School initiative was an injury prevention project, that used the school as the setting, and students as agents for change, in a cross cultural, collaborative approach to addressing community safety hazards. Students developed skills in identifying and reporting safety hazards in their school and local community, with opportunities to learn from indigenous safe community practices through Dreaming Stories. This learning process was captured by an original piece of Aboriginal art created by a local Aboriginal artist and included enthusiastic assistance from students. The core components of the project involved: fostering collaborative links between health, education, local service providers and community members; providing information on community safety and indigenous culture; developing a process for positive action on community safety hazards; and encouraging increased understanding and respect for different cultures using art and Dreaming Stories as the medium.