Revitalisation mission at historic St Mary’s Anglican Church brings Busselton school and community together

Students from Georgiana Molloy Anglican School got to work last week with a mission of revitalising the historic St Mary’s Anglican Church garden bed. The green-focused students provided much-needed labour to complete a six month revitalisation program after the church received funding from the City of Busselton You Choose program. Chairman of St Mary’s precinct committee Max Cussons said the church had the opportunity to enhance the verge with native plants after several dead peppermint trees nearby were removed. The design of the garden renovation was led by GeoCatch’s Bay OK program with team member Lisa Massey, who said the design was created to be waterwise with the survival of the plants in mind. “Before we started on this site, the gutless, sandy soil was boosted with composted organic matter and clay,” she said. “Every hole for every plant also received a well-matured compost-clay mix to ensure they have the best possible chance of survival. “The irrigation will get the plants through the first few summers, then they should be able to survive without any irrigation at all. “The mulch will help to keep soil moisture in, and also keep the weeds down. This is very important as we wanted a low-maintenance garden that can be easily maintained by the church volunteers.” Working with the students and GeoCatch, Total Horticultural Services’ Graeme Sly said it was great to see the community come together to bring new life to the space. GMAS student Harper said she was excited to be involved in a community project which had immediate environmental benefits. “Planting these native trees gives our native animals somewhere to live and sleep at night. It will also help to keep us cooler in summer and I think it looks great,” Harper said.