Looking out over the upper estuary at Port Augusta, back to the Arid Lands Botanic Gardens, Principal Aboriginal Consultant David Francis points out the places he used to play as a child.

The town’s iconic red cliffs and the sandy banks of the estuary shore were the perfect backdrop for hours of fun, he says.

The Narungga and Kaurna man is among 16 Department for Child Protection staff, volunteers and partner organisation employees who proudly appear in a new Acknowledgement of Country video.

Featuring Aboriginal community members from across the state, from Coober Pedy to Ceduna, and Mount Gambier to Murray Bridge, the clip celebrates the connections our staff, volunteers and partners have to their traditional lands – and the areas they’ve adopted as home.

Launched during NAIDOC Week (5-12 July), the video will be used as a curtain raiser at child protection and family support sector events, starting with five screenings of the film Windcatcher, held this week for the children the department supports and their carers.

“Participating in the video allowed me to honour and respect our diversity as First Nations people of Australia,” David says.

At Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula, Principal Aboriginal Consultant Ghenelle Brennan says it’s a privilege to live and work on her grandmother’s country – the same country where her mother was born.

“My great, great grandmother walked from the Flinders Ranges over to Point Pearce mission with my great grandmother who was just a child at the time – it gives me goosebumps just talking about it,” she says.

“When I’ve been in Adelaide and I’m driving back towards the Hummocks, it just feels like home. I feel grounded, peaceful, and connected.”

Ghenelle grew up in the state’s South-East, on Boandik country, where her mother’s paternal family comes from. But Ghenelle later followed love and ended up on Narungga Country, which has close ties to her maternal family.

NAIDOC Week is held in the first week of July each year, to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In addition to the film screenings, the department is hosting other activities for local communities, including the much-loved NAIDOC Ball for children in Port Augusta, and the annual colour run, at Port Adelaide Football Club, for young people who live in residential care.