'It's in the blood!' Belief, knowledge, and practice in Italian migrant gardens of the Northern Rivers Region

This thesis explores the generation, adaptation and transmission of traditional knowledge in the home gardens of Italian migrants in the Northern Rivers Region of NSW. It investigates the scope of this knowledge across socio-ecological memory, resilience and home-making. This research, deploying an ethnoecological framework located within the biocultural diversity polemic, undertakes the examination of what the Italian migrant gardener does (practical, embodied knowledge), what they know (cognised knowledge), and the ethical worldview that situates them in nature. The research demonstrates how this group of Italian migrants negotiates diverse histories and knowledges to shape their identities through the narratives of gardening, and the familial bonds forged through cooking and consumption.