Lynwood Senior High School opens Noongar garden

LYNWOOD Senior High School boasts a new garden that doubles as an outdoor classroom space while celebrating the six Noongar seasons.

Sustainability program coordinator Kathy Anketell said the garden opened yesterday.

“It’s been a dream of the school’s to have this,” Ms Anketell said.

The concept of a Noongar garden arose from a biodiversity audit of the school conducted several years ago that inspired the school to first build a wetland.

The school then employed an landscape architect to work with students to design the garden, and the students planted the chosen tube stock in third term last year.

Now, some of the plants tower 1.5m tall, complementing the advanced grass trees placed in the garden.

The central fire pit is surrounded by bench seats made of recycled sleepers to cater for 30 students at a time.

Ms Anketell said the school engaged Noongar families in the naming process by hosting a barbecue in the garden area for people to put names forward before a shortlist drawn up by the school’s Noongar committee.

The committee and the school’s Noongar students then voted on the selected names, settling on Ngalrak Karlup which means ‘our fireplace/fireplace of ours’.