The Yass Early Childhood Centre Association (YECCA) and the Yass Valley Men’s Shed recently teamed up to complete a labour of love.
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Early childhood educators at the Yass non-for-profit community preschool noticed two of the centre’s much loved tables were looking a little worn and tired.
Instead of simply discarding the objects, four-year-old preschool teachers, Margot Gregory and Libby Fry, thought of asking the Men’s Shed if they would be interested in a restoration project of a different kind.
“The tops were a bit rotten and worn out and instead of turfing them, we thought we would take them out to the Men’s Shed and see if they could help us bring them back to life,” Margot said.
In early childhood education, it is important to create awareness and educate the children about their impact on the environment, YECCA Director Fiona Nolan said.
“Educators can incorporate environmental education into daily routines and practices and through this, the children may grow an appreciation for their natural environment, providing a platform for ongoing and new learning. Reduce, reuse and recycle are three easy ways we can cut down on our waste,” Fiona said.
Men’s Shed members Ian McLean, Peter Roberts and Wayne Stuart were only too happy to answer the call.
They sourced some beautiful timber and old boards to craft brand new tops for the two tables.
We would much rather fix something than see it thrown away.
- Peter Roberts, Yass Valley Men's Shed
Peter used his woodwork skills to carefully age the timber so that there were no bumps or rough patches and Wayne etched the alphabet and numerals on to the table tops.
As the Men’s Shed members were meeting some of the preschoolers on Tuesday, August 29, you could hear the children enthusiastically reciting the Alphabet in earnest.
Ian said the project is just the kind of activity the Men’s Shed relishes in. Connecting with other community groups and organisations is what it’s all about.
“The Men’s Shed loves to do repairs for the community, the cost of which is decided upon by the person getting the repairs done,” he said.
“We would much rather fix something than see it thrown away,” Peter added.
The children at YECCA made a thank you card for the Men’s Shed and presented the card, along with a donation from the centre.
