Inviting in birds, bees, and butterflies is the motto for a new project between Cobargo Preschool and Narooma High School students.
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The Eco-Island Project was launched with a working bee on Saturday May 8 with special guests Costa Georgiadis and Paul West and 70 other local volunteers who wanted to get involved.
The Growing Growers program is aimed at engaging preschool children with the flora and fauna in their local ecosystem.
The volunteers kicked off the project by moving soil and chip mulch to create the upper terrace section of the oval shaped 'island' which will be planted with a range of species-specific plants by the preschool children.
The project will run over the next few months with Narooma High School students who are alumni of the preschool. Students will help in the gardens and participate in a program with the youngsters aimed at promoting intergenerational collaboration.
The plants for the garden have been selected by Merryn Carey from South Coast Flora and many of the wooden habitat boxes were created by Two Sheds Woodwork For Women.
The Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund has primarily funded the project, with donations and grants collected by the group contributing directly to its implementation.
The project is being managed by permaculture teacher Dan Bakker who said there are a number of projects being carried out at the Preschool but the Eco-Island will be the key activity.
This project will then feed into a number of other activities relating to ecology, sensory engagement and food
He said that preschools have a great, "capacity to work in a collaborative approach," by engaging with local community focused organisations.
He believes it is vital to get younger children involved in gardening and looking at their environment.
"It's an incredibly important age for pre-schoolers and young parents being most impressionable and planting those seeds of sustainability and community young," said Mr Bakker.
To start off his regional tour, Costa was invited to the preschool on Thursday morning May 6 to make bird and bug hotels with the pre-schoolers.
Costa and the children put together the inlay for two of the 15 hotels that will be installed on posts which line the terraces of the garden. The children also painted the posts with their handprints.
Cobargo Preschool director and teacher Christine McKnight said the whole experience had been very rewarding for children and their families, "providing a boost in morale for everyone still recovering from the trauma of the fires".
On what the garden represents Ms McKnight said, "It is an acknowledgement of the resilience of our natural environment and our community".
"The children are enjoying being involved in the planning and development of the garden area, learning about the animals and insects and feeling part of a real and productive project supporting sustainability and recovery."