SINCE the addition of a new rain garden and active play habitat, gumboots have become part of the uniform for children at Somers Parade Kindergarten in Altona West.
The environmentally sustainable area was officially opened last week by the kindergarten’s children, parents, teachers and representatives of the project’s key supporter, City West Water, which provided $5500.
Along with extensive landscaping and fragrant and fruit trees, the garden has a tank to capture rainfall and a cast-iron pump to propel the water along a shallow run where it is filtered and returned to the soil.
Kindergarten director Liz Ryan says the water play is an essential part of early childhood education.
“They learn to pump, pour and empty water. They experiment with sinking and floating,
and when they carry buckets around they
learn that things get heavy when they fill up,” she says.
“Creating a safe, interactive outdoor play area that brings children closer to nature and inspires a fun, sensory learning experience is a dream come true for us.”
