June 30, 2016
Cherbourg’s new Winifred Fisher Indigenous Knowledge Centre – which will be officially opened on Monday – is sporting a new garden thanks to Boehringer Ingelheim.
The pharmaceutical giant, which operates five farms in the South Burnett growing duboisia, completes a special project every year in the South Burnett.
Over recent years it has assisted SBcare in Kingaroy to install decking, provided landscaping at supported living cottages, and built a recreation area for the Kingaroy RSPCA’s foster animals.
Farm manager Des Crane said 33 people had helped out with the Cherbourg project.
“We contacted Cherbourg Council about our ‘Value Through Innovation’ project, and as the Indigenous Knowledge Centre was just about to open, CEO Warren Collins suggested a garden,” Des said.
The team of workers arrived at 8:00am on Thursday and immediately went to work, preparing garden beds and planting native plants around the perimeter of the block and across the front of the building.
They then paused for a break to visit The Ration Shed Museum to learn more about Cherbourg.
Then it was back to work, spreading mulch delivered in dump trucks from the company’s farms.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s director of human resources, Elaine Wilson, came up from Sydney for the project.
“Every year in the company we have this ‘Value Through Innovation’ Day,” she said.
“We try to give back to the community. This is a way of taking our people and their skills out to the community.”
The garden, when fully grown, will help to screen the Indigenous Knowledge Centre from surrounding buildings and provide an area where visitors can gather.
Cherbourg Council CEO Warren Collins said the Indigenous Knowledge Centre and Library was making good use of the old Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic building which has stood vacant on the corner Barambah Avenue for some years.
On Thursday, Council workers were busy adding finishing touches to the building – painting and unloading books – ahead of Monday’s opening.
