Keep nursery

THE CHRONICLE readers may be aware that the Crows Nest Community Nursery is the council’s environmental nursery for the whole of the Toowoomba Region.

It specialises in plants native to the region, selling about 200 different species to customers who want to grow local natives.

Last year, it sold more than 20,000 plants, which have gone back into our local ecosystems to replace those lost to fires, drought and development.

Our plants are produced by two groups of volunteers, one working at Crows Nest, the other in Toowoomba.

The council has now decided to close down the Toowoomba group because it is selling off the old nursery premises for housing development.

It has made no plans to incorporate the work of the group in the new council nursery.

As more than half of our plants are produced by this group, the change will seriously reduce our ability to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand.

This increase is largely driven by the increase in environmentally aware young people reaching the stage of life where they are becoming landowners and wanting to plant attractive and ecologically appropriate species on their own properties.

The nursery makes considerable income from sales, so is not a drain on council funds.

It does not compete with local businesses, as the plants it produces are different from those sold by commercial nurseries (except where those nurseries have sourced their local native species from us).

We urge ratepayers who share our concerns to discuss this problem with candidates in the upcoming election, and to offer what other support you can, to help the Crows Nest Community nursery continue its important work.

PATRICIA GARDNER, Nursery volunteer, Toowoomba