Another community project provides garden bed for students
10 January 2025
Tahmoor Coking Coal’s apprentices recently spent a week back in school for a good cause. The young apprentices completed another community project late last year as part of their training program with the mine. The project was to build a garden retaining wall at Bargo Public School.
The aim of the garden bed was to bring life to a bare section of the playground and provide the school’s garden club with an ongoing project for the students.
Fostering strong relationships within the Wollondilly through initiatives like the annual apprentice project, is key to the longevity of our operation and a core value of the colliery
Tahmoor Executive General Manager, Peter Vale
Bargo Public School’s newly appointed Deputy Principal, Daniel Tax reached out to the colliery in hopes of gaining a helping hand. This was the first collaboration in what Tahmoor Coal hopes to be a long relationship with the school.
“The space has been unused and trampled for a long time, so we wanted to put in some new plants and make it a more exciting space for the students and the community when they’re visiting our school,” Daniel said.
Once the retaining wall was complete, to create the garden bard bed, planting took place on the final day of the week-long project. Excitedly, the school’s garden club, comprised of green thumbed students, was involved in planting more than 180 native plants of eight different species carefully chosen by Tahmoor’s own green thumb, Environment Officer Natalie Brumby.
“Natives are a beautiful addition to any garden or landscape, Tahmoor always incorporates them in its environmental works to support our local ecosystem,” Natalie said.
“Planting native species allow us to help preserve our native local biodiversity and wildlife habitat. This native arrangement will also enable the students at Bargo Public School to learn about Australia’s unique plant life.”
The retaining wall and garden bed project is a great example of the work Tahmoor Coking Coal does for the community in which it operates. The apprentices complete a project each year to assist local organisations and businesses, and to provide the apprentices with valuable opportunities to utilise their skills.
Executive General Manager, Peter Vale, is a driving force in the continuous commitment to community contributions from the mine and says Tahmoor is proud to support these types of projects.
“The community in which we operate is our strongest asset,” Peter said.
“Fostering strong relationships within the Wollondilly through initiatives like the annual apprentice project, is key to the longevity of our operation here and a core value of the colliery.”
Planting native species allow us to help preserve our native local biodiversity and wildlife habitat. This native arrangement will also enable the students at Bargo Public School to learn about Australia’s unique plant life
Tahmoor Environment Officer Natalie Brumby.
Tahmoor Coking Coal looks forward to more community projects in the new year, further strengthening its support of the local Wollondilly community.
Main picture: Bargo Public School students help out the Tahmoor apprentices with the garden bed project. Top right: The Tahmoor apprentice crew. Above right: The completed garden bed. Below: The garden bed construction and planting.
Read about more Tahmoor Coking Coal community projects
