During NSW Aboriginal Languages Week, a new classroom resource has been helping students and teachers connect more deeply with the place they live. It’s called Dharug Ngurra, and it’s not just another worksheet or lesson plan — it’s a way of understanding Country, language, and history as something that still matters now. Dharug Ngurra was created through a partnership between Wingaru Education and SBS Learn, and it’s designed to help schools bring Dharug language and culture into everyday learning. It focuses on Dharug Country, which stretches across much of the Sydney region and is home to 29 different clans. For a lot of people, that fact alone is surprising. Sydney feels so built-up and modern that it’s easy to forget it’s still Aboriginal land. The resource is made for primary classrooms, but its impact goes beyond age groups. It includes illustrated teaching materials that align with NSW and Australian curricula, such as pronunciation guides, worksheets, cultural activities, and tools for creating meaningful Acknowledgements of Country. Instead of treating culture as something separate or special only on certain days, Dharug Ngurra helps weave it into normal school life. Wingaru founder and CEO Lesley Woodhouse says many people recognise Dharug words without realising where they come from. Once that connection is made — between language, place, and people — it changes how you see your surroundings. Places stop being just streets or suburbs and start becoming part of a much longer story. Ms Woodhouse also speaks about how colonisation affected language transmission. Earlier generations were often punished or discouraged from speaking their language, which caused huge breaks in cultural knowledge. Seeing Dharug now being spoken and learned by children again is a sign of healing and renewal. SBS Director of First Nations Tanya Denning-Orman says the partnership is about recognising that language sits at the centre of culture and identity. It also helps teachers feel confident bringing Aboriginal perspectives into classrooms in a respectful and informed way. While Aboriginal Languages Week is a time for celebration, the message behind Dharug Ngurra is that language learning shouldn’t stop after one week. These languages aren’t in the past. They’re alive, and they’re being carried forward by community, schools, and the next generation.