THE native plants encircling the Tamworth Regional Youth Centre will hold special significance for those versed in the Dreamtime tradition.
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Each species of grass, shrub and tree brightening the new facility is steeped in the morality lore of Aboriginal culture.
Scores of volunteers, including students from surrounding schools, have helped establish the gardens ahead of the centre’s official opening today.
Tamworth Regional Council youth services assistant Marc Sutherland said he hoped the plants would inspire a deeper understanding of Aboriginal traditions.
“All of these plants and bushes have a story and a connection and being able to see them triggers those positive thoughts,” he said.
“We talk about the trees, we learn about the trees, but very rarely have we been able to just go outside and see them, until now.”
Many of the species dotted around the facility have been used as sustenance, medicine or decoration for tens of thousands of years.
Mr Sutherland said the region’s youth had put “a lot of time and effort” into creating the gardens and would be involved in the plants’ ongoing care.
“By getting young people involved in the planting and the caring of the plants, it teaches them about responsibility,” he said.
New England MP Barnaby Joyce and Tamworth mayor Col Murray will be among the dignitaries present at today’s opening.
The centre was made possible through a $10.68 million federal government grant.
