Society’s new home

By Casey Neill
KNOX Environment Society Community Nursery has a new home.
City of Knox councillors, at their council meeting on 22 July, unanimously voted to allow the group to set up base at Ferntree Gully Recreation Reserve.
Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen said the move would allow KES to continue its tireless dedication to the promotion and growth of the use of indigenous species in Knox gardens.
“This is about giving KES a new home in a much more prominent position,” she said.
Cr Orpen said the group faced uncertainty at its current location in the former Ferntree Gully Secondary College grounds.
She said the new home should be completed in early March.
The KES formally approached the council with the proposed move in March.
The group said the new site would maintain their connection with the area and improve their visibility.
The new location is also ideally positioned for growing plants in terms of sunlight.
Knox Environment Society president Darren said the closure of Ferntree Gully Secondary College three years ago first prompted the group’s search for a new home.
Efforts to locate a suitable alternative site picked up about a year ago with the future of the college grounds still uncertain.
“The new location is particularly good in terms of public access,” he said.
“We’re very pleased that council has seen the community benefit of this move.”
The KES has operated a community nursery in Ferntree Gully for more than 20 years.
The nursery offers locally grown indigenous plants and expert knowledge to Knox gardeners.
Profits are reinvested into the local community.