Investing In The Next Generation By Supporting Better Mental Health: The Blue Tree Project
The Blue Tree Project began as a conversation during a long car journey between Mparntwe and Warakurna, a remote community in Western Australia. The discussion was sparked by the sight of a blue-painted tree at Curtin Springs, part of a national initiative to raise awareness of mental health. And this is what that particular Curtin Springs tree did!
A group of Anangu and Yarnangu women from the Uti Kulintjaku team developed the idea of making a blue tree out of tjanpi (grass), as a way of reinterpreting this initiative beyond the Western understanding of the tree, and of mental health more broadly, into a way that resonates with Anangu and Yarnangu. They collaborated with Tjanpi Desert Weavers to do this.
Not only is the physical act of making the tree healing, but it also stands as a powerful metaphor to open up dialogue about mental health in a meaningful and hopeful way. Punu ngaanya mirritjanu warngkaringu (the dead tree comes to life again). The women talk about nyaakula kuranyukutu (looking to the future), walykuringku (going from a hopeless state), marlaku palyaringkupayi mapalyarringu (to having hope again and recovering, returning to happiness).
The project has reached audiences across the lands and interstate, serving as both a point of connection and a bridge between cultural ways of understanding and experiencing wellbeing.
Workshops have been delivered in schools, on camps, and in Mparntwe, as well as through a conference presentation for ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation. These workshops feature discussions, meditations, and artmaking, with a strong emphasis on Anangu and Yarnangu perspectives and healing.
The women hope the tree will travel, sparking many more conversations about mental health across communities, bridging cultural understandings, and bringing people together.
This project was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care National Leadership in Mental Health program.
