Precious plants for precious people

Posted 17 May 2021.

Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board Education Officer Cindy Kakoschke said many of our students showed their Mum or their special person some extra special love over the Mother’s Day weekend by gifting them a nationally vulnerable silver-daisy bush (Olearia pannosa ssp pannosa).

“We provided more than 800 silver-daisy bushes to students to give their special loved one for Mother’s Day,” Ms Kakoschke said.

“The unique and beautiful Mother’s Day gift of silver daisy-bush plants were provided to the students, aged between four and 12 years, along with a card.

“What better way to say thank you to mum, or to someone precious by giving her a living gift and helping her to plant it, ensuring an ongoing reminder each day,” Ms Kakoschke said.

Along with the silver daisy-bush plant, each student received supporting resources.

These included printable wrapping paper, a mother’s day card and plant care instructions to help them undertake the activity at home.

Ms Kakoschke said Mother’s Day is a great time to highlight the importance of planting native alternatives such as the silver daisy-bush. This helps a threatened plant, creates a natural backyard habitat and boosts local biodiversity.

“With only approximately two to three thousand silver-daisy bushes remaining in the wild in the entire SA Murray-Darling Basin conserving a plant by taking care of it in your backyard protects that plant from threats and increases the number of individual plants.

“This way, everyone has the opportunity to help conserve a native species and thank their precious person at the same time” Ms Kakoschke said.

The silver-daisy bushes were provided as part of the Precious plants for precious people program which is run by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board’s Education program and supported by the Landscape Resilience program.

This project is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the landscape levies.