The Winter Garden Art initiative, Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens created a concept designed to bring people together in the natural environment to educate all to be creatively curious about the environment and how natural elements like water, wind and sun have an impact on it.
The artworks began at the preschool, with all 120 children decorating their own fabric bunting flag that was then hung in the newly refurbished rotunda at the Buninyong Botanic Gardens. Buninyong News visited the Preschool during an art session where children used oil pastels on primed canvas flags
Ballarat City Council Mayor, Ben Taylor, opened the Winter Garden Art project, along with Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens president, Roger Permezel and two local families. An opening complete with a wide red ribbon. oversized scissors and a loud hurrah!
With over 500 art cards contributed to the shared art display over the five week duration, the project succeeded in its achievement of engaging the community in an artistic manner within the stunning gardens. This accomplishment completed mid-winter and mid-Covid-19 demonstrates the high level of community spirit.
The project comprised of many phone calls, emails, meetings, and a timetable of who would set up and pack up the table with index cards, pencils, crayons and paints, and hand sanitiser for the public to use safely to contribute their own artworks to the display.
Buninyong Preschool, in continued collaboration with Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens, anticipate Winter Garden Art will become an annual event. To further the strong relationship between the two, they are in talks for Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens to contribute and support the kindergarten children in creating a ‘bush tucker’ and/or edible garden with regular gardening and cooking sessions, also for the preschool to explore the gardens with the Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens as guides.
Buninyong Preschool is a Uniting service offers kindergarten programs to 3 and 4 year olds. Buninyong is a small community 11km south of Ballarat, Victoria.
