Juru and Kanaka man Gerald Power often hears from people that food eaten by First Nations people in the tens of thousands of years before colonisation did not have much seasoning.
It is a myth he is keen to correct.
He offered up saltbush as an example, saying many people thought of it as livestock feed. But it was also delicious ground up and rubbed on meat.
Mr Power cultivates many edible native plants, including bush basil, curry myrtle and river mint, in a community garden in Orange, in central-western NSW.
One of his favourite products is a drink made with lemon myrtle and ironbark honey, but he also spoke highly of warrigal greens, which he loved for their versatility.
“It’s a thing you can use in stews. I make warrigal pesto out of it,” Mr Power said.
“It’s just so diverse in relation to how you can use it.”