General News
5 April, 2023
New challenge for green thumbs
COOINDA participants will hone their horticultural skills with the launch of a new nursery.
COOINDA participants will hone their horticultural skills with the launch of a new nursery.
The nursery, dubbed the Yellow Tail Nursery as homage to the yellow-tailed black cockatoos in the region, opened this week with around 15,000 trees across a diverse range of species.
Cooinda nursery coordinator Mark Andrews said participants would take a hands-on approach to cultivating the plants from seedling collection through to delivery.
“This is the first season we’ve started it off and we have a range of goals we hope to accomplish,” he said.
“We have about eight participants who will be leading activities on a weekly basis which help to strengthen and develop both motor skills and confidence.
“We have excursions, including one coming up in Portland to help the local koala population by growing Manna Gums for them and have already collected seeds for them.
“We’ll be working with various land care groups on a range of projects, and we’ve already seen a dramatic improvement in the enthusiasm and achievements of the participants.”
Mr Andrews said the primary market for the nursery would be farmers and hobby farms, but some options were available for gardens.
“The type of varieties we offer include banksias, manna gums, flowering gums, swamp gums, yellow gums, red gums and blue gums,” he said.
“We have a huge variety this year and depending on the demand we would like to broaden that next year.
“But we had our first sale on Monday, a lady came in and spent $25, but we also have an order for $5000 already along with smaller orders of multiple hundreds.
“Prices start from $1 upwards, depending on quantity, but our focus is on wildlife with shelterbelt trees for farmers which provide a beautiful canopy.”
Seedlings will also be for sale at the Little Acorn Café for members of the community to enjoy, while bulk orders (a few hundred) can be ordered directly.
Sales will also be held at the Terang Markets on the first Saturday of every month at the All Saints Anglican Church.
Mr Andrews also called for anyone who would be willing to donate spare forestry tubes to get in touch.
Anyone interested in learning more or placing a bulk order can contact Cooinda FARM coordinator Eamonn O’Connor between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday, on 0434 947 150.