By Tyler Wright
Local organisation Treasuring Our Trees is establishing projects in the Hills after launching its Lilydale showroom in December last year.
Founder David Ferrier is currently working with salvaged timber to create an outdoor oasis for Olinda Primary School students upon their return in term two.
Mr Ferrier said he is preparing to get “really creative” over the school holidays, building fairy houses, a yarning circle and kitchen garden beds for students out of recycled timber, with storm-effected Mount Dandenong Preschool also able to enjoy the project while using the primary school’s facilities.
“The yarning circle is an opportunity for the children and educators and family to sit around and talk and share,” Mr Ferrier said.
“We’ll be building [garden beds] for the students of the Olinda Primary School directly so that they can develop and set up their own kitchen garden program.”
It comes as Treasuring Our Trees completes works at Wandin North Primary School, building a bush tucker garden and wooden shop front for the school.
“I’ve been working seven days a week on developing this program for the best part of 20 months, we did a whole lot of volunteering initially, but then we started to connect with councils and state government to salvage [timber],” Mr Ferrier said.
“This is a heartwarming story and goes a long way to playing a part in the healing of both land and community.”
Mr Ferrier is also set to complete projects at Sassafras Primary School, Mount Dandenong Primary School and Emerald Primary School in coming months.
“We go in and we do a site tours, we do walk and talks. I’ll go back maybe three, four or five times, get to know the schools and the principals and find out about what their wants and needs are,” Mr Ferrier said.
“Emerald Primary School apparently have about 500 students, and we’re building them an amazing black wood boardroom meeting table, and we’re also building them a blackwood display cabinet.
“Mount Dandenong Primary School have got a portable kitchen in an old shipping container… directly opposite the kitchen garden, so what they’ve asked from us is to make them a beautiful, really long blackwood kitchen bench top.”
Mr Ferrier said building community projects out of salvaged wood sends a “really strong message”.
“After the June 9 ’21 storm a lot of people were in shock. It was like a cyclone…what played a part in the trauma was what looked like hundreds of truckloads of logs leaving the hills and ranges.”
“It’s really important to educate communities right around Australia after natural disasters by building these functional and practical, land based, playful environments.”
In May, Treasuring Our Trees will hold a second opening with Indigenous storytellers and the University of Melbourne’s Dr Greg Moore discussing disaster preparedness.
“I’m building partnerships on behalf of our board, with local and state government authorities all around Victoria now, and honestly, this is just the beginning,” Mr Ferrier said.
