Friday 27 August 2012, was Planet Ark Australia’s national tree planting day for schools. If you are interested in getting involved in contributing to this day in the future, you will find the Planet Ark site by following the link provided here.
We were very pleased to have been supported by Kuranga Native Nursery in our attempt to improve the natural environment of our preschool grounds. Kuranga donated 12 Australian native plants including Grevillea, Callistemon and Correa species. We know that as these plants grow and become established, they will provide a safe haven and rich food supply for many native bird species and insect populations.
We have a lovely large preschool playground, but unfortunately, it is located on a very noisy four lane main road. We are hoping that overtime we can block the view of the road and create a natural green playground oasis that defies our urban surrounds.
Our first step was to think about the positioning of our plants.
Then it was time to dig some holes. Fortunately overnight rain made the digging process much easier.
As we dug, we found worms. Lots of worms in fact. How exciting!
Everyone joined in and helped to dig.
With whatever spade they could find.
Children love to use real tools.
Worms were carefully observed and gently collected on the end of spades.
The abundance of worms let us know that we had healthy rich soil that our new plants would love.
A white grub (Beetle larvae).
We placed some of the worms into a container to feed to Oscar, our carnivorous fish. Others were placed back into the holes to help break down the soil nutrients for our plants.
In addition, we placed some organic fertilizer in the bottom of each hole to help our plants get off to a good start in their new environment.
Then it was time to empty the plants from their pots and place them in the holes.
We moved the dirt back into place and patted it down while a steady procession of watering cans traveled back and forth from our water tank to provided the plants with a little more moisture.
Now we must wait… Mmmm for how long?
The children felt that the plants would be fully grown within 4 days to 100 years! We will have to see how their predictions pan out.
If you would like to check out our playground make over journey, feel free to follow this link. 🙂
