Luka's long walk for the future

Hey folks,

I'm Luka. Every day I wake up and feel a sense of dread at what the future holds for my generation and the ones that come after us. Rampant ecological and cultural destruction, massive uninterrupted carbon emissions and a government that won't lift a finger to stop it threatens the futures of all beings on this planet. Some 200 years ago ships of visitors entered these homelands of the oldest living cultures on earth; they called it "Australia", and have spent every moment since trying to exploit the land and erase its true custodians.

This July, instead of waking up and trying to carry on as usual, I will be taking a long, long walk. In all, I'll solo hike a bit over 1,000 kilometers, all the way from Wurundjeri Country where I live in Naarm/Melbourne, to Dharug country where I grew up in Sydney. I'm hoping that time connecting to nature and Country will help me learn and heal, in order to empower my community to tackle the giant problems we're facing. We have the power to change the course of history.

I've spent a lot of the last few years struggling and burnt out, with my mental health taking a serious beating from stressful jobs and life events (not to mention the world seemingly collapsing!). I've poured lots of energy into making the world a better place in my work, but I've learned that business as usual isn't the answer. We all need to do something outside of the paradigm if we are to make a change. I see this monumental journey as a necessity for my mental health - so I can keep going and fighting, and it's also an opportunity to raise some desperately needed funds for the protection of sacred sites and the environment.

All funds raised will go to the Save our Songlines campaign, which is fighting to stop the destruction of sacred Ngarluma Country from new fossil fuel expansion. Woodside's gas plant expansion on the Burrup peninsula will not only be an absolute carbon emission bomb for this country - but the expansion also threatens some of the oldest surviving rock art on the planet. This campaign is fighting hard to save this place, and funds are needed to win this fight.

"Murujuga is a place of worship. Our rock art tells our stories; it is our Bible. We practice and continue to follow our cultural protocols, passing down knowledge of Lore and culture. As custodians we are entrusted to carry on our traditional customs. We are joining together to stop new industry on the Burrup from damaging our Songlines, our rock art, our health and our climate. We oppose planned expansion of Burrup Hub industry by Woodside, Perdaman and Yara."

- Save our Songlines Campaign. Read more about what's going on here: https://www.saveoursonglines.org/

Please give what you can, share with your networks, and consider what we can all do to stop the destruction, to build a better future.

Love Luka