The Pines Project at Arlington

In response to requests from the children at the whole school gathering we aim to 'Clean up the Pines'.

 The Pines Project aims to bring together the Preshil Community to rejuvenate the area known as the Pines. A working bee will be held on October the 17th 2014 to clear the space of weed and start to shape the site. A concept sketch has been drawn up by PJB landscapes (above).

 We have been using our bins system in each classroom to cut down on our waste and make sure it is going to the right place.

 Our organic waste is being composted or put into the worm farms to be re-used on our garden beds.

 This is the current mulch bay in the Pines (see the concept sketch above for the improved version).

 The play equipment will need to be moved from this area. Site inspection deemed some of it unsafe, but the good news is a lot of the raw materials can be re-purposed and integrated into the new 'bush playground' design.

 Cubby building has long been a tradition that will be continued with the new design, with more sticks logs and branches added to the site to make bush humpies/cubbies.

 Here are some remnant cubbies.

 Another part of sustainability at Preshil is transport. The transport audit revealed that around 85-95% of people travelling to Preshil come by car. Mick and Jared (teachers) have been trying to ride to and from school as much as possible and would love to see more kids getting on the bike, walking or catching public transport to reduce our carbon footprint which is around 78hectares (a bit different to the size of our school grounds).

 Here is one of the Heritage trees we counted for our biodiversity audit.

 The arborist report is also an impressive document that lists all of the trees in the school and their ratings. The Pines is unfortunately an area infested with exotic plants. The good news is that indigenous grasses and plants in that area will attract wildlife to the area and hopefully improve that area.

 A lovely piece of art to decorate the classroom signifying our link to nature.

 Garden beds are used to grow Veggies. This will come in handy for the kitchen garden elective for the Preshil Makers Market later this year, where we aim to sell fresh produce to raise money for the  Pines Project.

 Also the makers market will incorporate Art and Craft including re-purposing and re-using recycled materials. Badge making, wooden frames and pictures, knitwear, jams and preserves, animal husbandry and much more are on the menu for the electives program, which the children are loving.

 There are bird and possum boxes around the school to support wildlife.

 Water tanks help us water our gardens and flush our toilets at school.

 The greenhouse (propagation area) is right next to the water tank and allows the children to raise seeds to be planted and grown on site here at Arlington.

 The nursery has undergone a major facelift in the last two years and their natural playground is a wonder world for the children.

 The trickle stream is a big hit. We are aiming for the Pines to emulate some of this design and encourage the children of the school to be involved in creating an even better bush wonder-land and playground that will attract native birds, insects and wildlife.