The children at Camelia Avenue Childcare Centre in Everton Hills have been hard at work constructing their very own community hub!
Located outside the centre, the hub contains a herb garden, community composting site, worm farm, street library, and even a toy exchange – all created by the staff and children at the centre!
The team at Camelia Avenue Childcare are eager for the whole community to get involved with the hub. If local residents have produce to share from home, or seedlings and cuttings, they would love to hear from you! The local community is also welcome to take what they need, whether it be produce, toys, or books.
Centre Manager Mary-Jane Burstow explained that the community hub is all part of the centre’s commitment to the environment and sustainability, along with making a conscious effort to teach children that working with the community has many benefits.
‘As a centre we were wanting to come up with ways we could be more sustainable. The wonderful Katie Irwin from @wastenotcollective on Instagram set up her own hub in her street. She is a wealth of knowledge on sustainability and we loved the thought of having something similar in our community,’ said Mary-Jane.
‘We also wanted something that would allow the children to be involved and something they could access on the weekends with their families.’
Maintaining the community hub is a ‘whole centre’ mission, with children from all rooms getting involved. Each day, the children take it in turns to take down their compost and food for worms. In the process, they have learnt about the whole cycle of composting, worm life cycles, and gardening tips and tricks. Mary Jane also told us that the hub has already been welcomed by the community with open arms.
‘We have had such lovely feedback from the community already and we do hope you can come and take what you need or contribute to our Community Hub sometime soon,’ said Mary Jane.
For more details or to get involved, you can visit the centre at 3 Camelia Avenue, Everton Hills or call 3355 1279.
