Karen Tonkin was looking for some help in educating her family day care children about gardening and sustainability.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When she fronted Bunnings to purchase some materials and compost she also found an ally.
"I was at Bunnings and asking all these questions about materials and how to go about organising and improving my backyard vege gardens," Mrs Tonkin said.
"I had set up the garden beds but was not sure just how to go about getting them booming. But they told me that's what they do; they were really keen to get involved.
"We wanted the children to get a better understanding about gardening, companion planting and recycling," she said.
On February 8, Bunnings' staff members Libby and Tony visited the family day care and offered the children the chance to get their hands dirty while learning about sustainability.
"We offer sustainability visits for schools, education facilities and not for profit organisations," Libby said.
I was also thrilled that a big business like Bunnings was interested in supporting a micro-business like me.
- Karen Tonkin
"This is something important to us; educating the kids on backyard gardening and how they can grow vegetables for their own use.
"Our talk and help also covers waste, the importance of soil and soil improvement, fertilisers, recycling, water saving tips and gardening," she said.
"I guess we want people to know that Bunnings is part of the community; we live here too and employ local people and we want to put back into the community."
Mrs Tonkin said along with the kids getting their hands dirty and getting to know how a garden works, she was impressed with the community spirit in Port Macquarie.
"I was also thrilled that a big business like Bunnings was interested in supporting a micro-business like me," she added.