Little Hands, Big Impact: Up2Us Joins Earth Kinder at Mullum Wetlands

Small hands, muddy knees, and the kind of focused concentration. That's exactly what you'll find when Up2Us Landcare Alliance visits the Earth Kinder program at Mullum Wetlands each term — and Term 2 was no exception.

This year, four-year-old groups from Mansfield Kindergartens Earth Kinder program joined Up2Us across two sessions to plant and guard 60 indigenous plants along a dedicated patch beside the Earth Kinder site. It was hands-on, it was joyful, and it was a meaningful contribution to a landscape that's been quietly coming back to life over a number of years.

A Patch in Progress

Earth Kinder has been steadily working on this section of Mullum Wetlands for some time now, building up a rich planting of indigenous species carefully chosen to suit the site's unique conditions. The selection is thoughtful and purposeful — a variety of poas and sedges to stabilise the soil and provide ground-level habitat, along with bottlebrush, wattles, and banksias that offer nectar, shelter, and food for the many birds that call the wetlands home.

Each plant installed this term adds another thread to that ecological tapestry. Over time, as the canopy fills in and the understorey thickens, this patch will become an increasingly important corridor for wildlife in the landscape.

Why It Matters

Riparian areas like Mullum Wetlands are among the most ecologically valuable — and most vulnerable — environments in our region. The fringe of vegetation along a waterway does extraordinary work: filtering runoff, stabilising banks, regulating water temperature, and providing layered habitat for insects, birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Every plant guarded and established here is a genuine, lasting contribution to that system.

But the value of Earth Kinder goes beyond the plants in the ground. Children who spend time in places like this — planting, observing, getting a little muddy — develop a relationship with the natural world that stays with them. That early sense of connection and stewardship is, in many ways, the most important seed of all.

Getting Involved

Up2Us Landcare Alliance is proud to support the Earth Kinder program and looks forward to returning each term.

If you'd like to learn more about Earth Kinder or find out how you can get involved with local Landcare activities in the Mansfield region, get in touch — there's always room for more willing hands.