Over 60 Molong Central School students spent Wednesday getting their hands dirty in Cudal, planting nearly 200 trees.
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Under the watchful eye of Cudal’s Les Dean, they spent the day planting and learning about how to identify and collect seeds, saplings and plants from the area for future use as part of a $10,000 regeneration project.
Mr Dean showed students the best time to identify seeds, and the best methods to go about harvesting and collecting them.
The funding was obtained through the NSW government’s Department of Industry as part of the Public Reserves Management Funds Program.
The project will also involve fencing the quarry and trying to support surrounding woodland.
Cabonne Council donated over 100 trees towards the project, and will involve fending off a disused quarry in Cudal and regenerating the land.
Geography teacher at Molong Central School Rebecca Vis said the quarry was a place students often went as part of their geography class.
“This project shows the importance of developing community links with schools,” Ms Vis said.
“It is also an excellent opportunity for students to learn about their environment in a hands on way, whilst making a difference to their community.
“We were hoping to regenerate the quarry and help out the community – we use it for field work and we thought it would be meaningful to add to it.”
The activity will count towards student assessments, but Ms Vis said the opportunity was about far more than marks.
“It’s about interacting with the environment and getting out of the classroom to learn,” she said.
“It’s a chance for students to get their hands dirty and get some fresh air.”
For some students, they had the chance to have their work be closer to home.
“A few kids from the school live out in Cudal and they’re looking to make a lasting mark on their community in a positive way,” Ms Vis said.
Ms Vis applied for the tender to plant the trees at the quarry in 2016, and said the Cudal Commons Trust had been a big part of getting the project off the ground.
She said she was hoping other schools might be a part of the program over the next few years and get involved in planting trees at the Cudal quarry, and the rest of Cabonne.