The Habitat Haven has been one of the largest biodiversity projects at Kew East Primary School. The Habitat Haven project was initiated by our schools Green Team and Facilities Sub Committee of School Council and was supported by the Bendigo Community Bank, with a $3,000 grant. The project has been and will continue to be ongoing and will be completed in a number of stages.

The Habitat Haven was originally called The Rockery and in its most recent state was overgrown and consisted of plants that were not native to the area of Kew East. It did have a pathway running through it however due to the run down state of this area, the path was inaccessible. Our intention is to re establish this section of the school with predominantly native plants.

To begin this transformation process we had a whole school Habitat Haven Working Bee. This was one of the biggest parts of our project as it involved a lot of weeding and clearing out of non native and dead plants so that we could see the old pathways and rock walls.

Initially following the working bee, the area seemed a lot barer however once our new native plants are established, it is hoped that these will attract local bird life and be an area our students value and use for various activities.

Following the Habitat Haven Working Bee the Year 5 Leadership Group completed a final clean up of the area in preparation for planting. This was so the new plants had a chance to establish their root system through spring, enabling them to survive in summer. The native plants were planted early Term 4 to give them a better chance of survival.
The Year 5 Leadership Group researched plants that are indigenous to the Kew East area and the selection of plants were discussed with the Green Team and Facilities Subcommittee of School Council.

We have now also installed nest boxes in the Habitat Haven for our possums.