A new home for Barung Nursery
Keen-eyed users of the Precinct walk along the Obi Creek at Maleny will have noticed some earthworks.
It’s finally happening - the first long awaited concrete (well, earth moving) step has been taken towards creating a permanent home for the Barung Community Native Plant Nursery at the Precinct, just down the hill from our temporary home on Porter’s Lane (where we have been for rather a long time!).
The finished project will include the Barung community nursery, a native garden showcasing our unique and beautiful local plants, an office and an education centre.
The project has been designed by well-known architect, Tim Guymer, using natural materials in a light and airy construction that will be perfectly suited to its location on the Obi Creek.
It has been designed to be completely off-grid, using latest techniques in water recycling, solar power and natural techniques to reduce the nursery’s environmental footprint to the greatest extent possible – we want to walk the walk as well as talk the talk!
Moving the nursery to the Precinct is step one in this project, and despite all the work involved, nursery manager Cam Burton will certainly be happy to see all the plants currently at Porters Lane installed in their permanent home.
“It’s exciting to think of Barung putting its roots down into the soil in a permanent home and imagining the gardens and landscapes we can create to display the flora of the region,” he said.
The site at the Precinct will be accessible from the well-used footpath along the Obi Creek and the native garden will surely become a favourite spot for local walkers to take a break (and one day, a coffee) on a long morning walk. The project will also include a carpark of course, to allow buyers to load their vehicles with plants.
The project is a vision shared by our 800 active Barung members: to have a comprehensive nursery of plants indigenous to the Sunshine Coast and its hinterland, grown from seed collected by Barung’s dedicated conservationists, in a permanent home which will include facilities for workshops and seminars.
Our aims are to help landowners revegetate their land; to advise gardeners how to create wildlife friendly gardens; to provide expert advice on plants and perhaps most importantly, to provide a beautiful Maleny destination where Barung can help to spread knowledge about our biodiverse and fascinating natural environment through seminars, workshops, meetings and events.
Barung Landcare President Ian McMaster, said: “Barung has been committed for over thirty years to rebuilding sustainable ecosystems in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland by encouraging and supporting landscape restoration and interconnection.
“We believe this work is essential and once this Precinct development is completed, Barung will be even more actively involved in helping our community address issues arising from biodiversity loss and deforestation.”
Our grateful thanks go to the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and all our generous Barung supporters for the first stage of this development. We have a long way to go before it is finished but starting the project is a tremendous boost for all of us at Barung.