Landscape Makeover @ ‘OOSH’
Thursday 8th December
The Horticulture Section at TAFE NSW-North Coast Institute’s Wauchope Campus and Mid Coast Group Training have jointly been running a Pre-Vocational Landscaping course based at the Port Macquarie Neighbourhood Centre’s ‘Out Of School Hours’ (OOSH), Children’s Day Care Centre at 8 Boronia Street Port Macquarie.
The twelve week TAFE course is designed to give students the essential ‘Hands On’ experience in practical Landscaping as well as real employment opportunities.
Mid Coast Group Training (MCGT) have arranged for all students to be placed with a Host Employer for one day per week and the Students attend TAFE classes for two days per week. The ten TAFE students have spent most of their TAFE time on the job at ‘OOSH’ where they have transformed the main Play area by constructing many new gardens and planting Edible & ‘Sensory’ plants for the kids to nibble on. They have also constructed a paved path, revamped the Cubby-house, made two large ‘Blackboards’ outside for the kids to chalk on and have painted two large Murals (Frogs, Ladybird Beetles set in a Landscape background) .
Director of ‘OOSH’, Dimity Miller, is delighted with the work done by the TAFE Students and will present ‘Certificates of Appreciation’ to each of the students at a B.B.Q. lunch being held on Tuesday the 13th December at ‘OOSH’, the Student’s last day.
This course has already led to permanent employment for some of the students and a Traineeship for one of the young guys in the class. MCGT will further their employment chances by placing these students with some of the many Employers who utilise MCGT services.
MCGT and Wauchope TAFE have been jointly training Apprentices & Trainees for the past eight years and have many Horticultural Trades-people now working out in the Industry.
Other Sponsors of the project @ ‘OOSH’ include Robert Eyre from ‘AMBER’ Tiles who have supplied Pavers, stepping stones and garden edging and John & Julie-Anne Churcher from ‘Ocean Drive Landscape Supplies’ who generously supplied the Compost, Mulch and Sands used by the students to complete the project, many thanks to both organisations.
