Bush tucker garden opened

Poems Park, a bush tucker garden project by Partnership Outreach Education Model (POEMS) students, was officially opened at Umina PCYC on Friday, April 30.

The park was a result of work by students in the POEMS project at Umina PCYC.

There is a rainforest garden, nectar garden, woodland garden and central meeting place.

In the rainforest garden, visitors can walk around a loop where there are lilly pillies, macadamia, Davison plum, native ginger, midyim, and beach cherries.

In the nectar garden, there are grevilleas, banksias, bottlebrushes and lambertia.

These plants attract birds because of the nectar produced by the flowers.

The woodland garden features waratahs, geebungs, gymea lillies and paperbarks.

The three species local to the area - banksia serrata, burrawang and lomandra - are also well represented in this garden.

There is a central meeting place where visitors can sit down and take moment to absorb the tranquil setting, watch birds and enjoy the scents of the Australian bush.

All of the plants in the garden can be used to make bush tucker including a Lilly Pilly Jelly.

At the official opening POEMS coordinator Sean Crawley and Mingaletta representative Ray McMinn gave a welcome.

Ms Anne Coshaw, manager of Workwise, which helped fund the project, presented certificates to Gosford Council, Umina PCYC and Nial Parry from The Wildflower Place.

There was a presentation of certificates to the students by Cr Laurie Maher.

Cr Maher cut the ribbon to officially open the garden.

Students gave a tour of the garden followed by a bush tucker barbecue.

Press release, April 30