Healing Through Country with Uncle Ken

When Uncle Ken Jones speaks about health, he doesn’t begin with hospitals, treatments, or medicine he begins with Country.

In the powerful short video An Indigenous Perspective on Nature and Health, Uncle Ken shares how health and wellbeing for Aboriginal people are inseparable from their connection to the land. Filmed quietly in a forested setting, the tone of the video mirrors its message: healing starts when we return to the places that sustain us spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

For the Boandik people, and many other First Nations communities, health is understood holistically. “We don’t separate mental health from spiritual health or physical health,” Ken explains. “When we’re not feeling well, we go back to the land, to where we belong.” This perspective, deeply rooted in cultural knowledge, challenges modern Western frameworks and reminds us that wellbeing has always been tied to the earth.

Ken describes the healing power of “slow time” walking gently through the bush, listening to birdsong, breathing in eucalyptus-scented air, and noticing subtle shifts in wind, water, and wildlife. He explains how simply being on Country reawakens the senses. It grounds the mind and opens space for quiet reflection and reconnection.

These aren’t new ideas. They’re old ways that have sustained the Boandik people for thousands of years, methods for caring for oneself by caring for Country. Ken shows how bush tucker isn’t just food, it’s medicine. A cool spring isn’t just a water source, it’s a meeting place, a place of story, and a site for spiritual restoration.

The video also explores how colonisation and disconnection from land have contributed to poor health outcomes in Indigenous communities. When people are separated from Country — physically and culturally — their sense of identity, place, and purpose is disrupted. Uncle Ken speaks gently but clearly about these intergenerational impacts, while also offering a message of hope.

Through education programs like Bush Adventures and environmental initiatives like Bush Repair, Ken is working to rebuild these connections. He helps children, teachers, and communities find their way back to Country not just as a concept, but as a lived, sensory experience. On his tours, visitors learn about medicinal plants, edible seeds, native birds, and cultural history, all while walking in places of significance to his people.

Whether you’re walking through the forest, standing beside a creek, or sitting under a tree, Ken’s message is the same: the land remembers who we are. And when we give ourselves time to listen, we remember too.

In a world that increasingly pulls us toward speed, disconnection, and distraction, Uncle Ken reminds us that healing isn’t always found in a prescription. Sometimes, it’s found in the silence of a forest, the scent of a flower, or the feel of sand under bare feet.

Watch the full video: Uncle Ken – Nature & Health Perspective (YouTube)