By Parker McKenzie
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Knox Environment Society will have taken over part of the Ferntree Gully Library to display native plants and historical documents as it seeks to introduce a new generation to native conservation.
Vice-President of Knox Environment Society Irene Kelly said the idea for the display was borne out of a long-running relationship with the Ferntree Gully Library and a conversation with the head librarian.
“It just fits in perfectly with what the libraries are trying to do from a conservation and environmental aspect,” she said.
“We asked for what space was available for it and then we went away and mocked up what our response to that display might be. All the materials that we’ve put in we will use for other things throughout the year.”
The display is free to view at the library and is running until Saturday 30 July.
Ms Kelly said it features historical documents, indigenous plants in flower-like arrangements and seeds collected by the society.
“A lot of our work is going out and planting the seeds and species, particularly the rare and threatened and then being able to grow it,”
“They’ve been built up in such numbers that we can now have some available for the public and also to sell back to council.”
Ms Kelly, who will also be giving a talk at the library about the display and the Knox Environment Society on Wednesday 27 July, said the society will be running several other events for the 40th anniversary.
“We’re doing some children’s workshops in the nursery that we’ve facilitated for some experts to come in,” she said.
“The same as how you set up a bird bath, some may not be aware that insects need particular water bowls as well.”
The KES Indigenous Nursery next door to the Library was established in 1985 and is one of the longest-running indigenous plant nurseries in Australia.
Ms Kelly said the society was started for conservation reasons and the members want to introduce a new generation to care for the environment.
“As we lose more and more space to grow anything in Knox, it becomes if we really want to tackle climate change, we need to be tackling reinstating the vegetation that can grow here and adapt to what is coming,” she said.
“That’s basically what we still really very much focused on within our organisation, there’s a lot of work to do.
“The other side of that is the nursery, it’s an incredibly positive place to go to when you’re feeling stressed or feeling that things are being lost. Going to the nursery, there is a fantastic cohort of people that you can mix with and have positive experiences.”
Ferntree Gully Library and the display are located in Wally Tew Reserve, 1010 Burwood Highway Ferntree Gully with the KES Indigenous Nursery next door.
You can find out more about the Knox Environment Society at kes.org.au.
