Creek cleanup worth a song

By Paul Dunlop
A CLEANUP bid at Pakenham’s Toomuc Creek has inspired Pakenham Consolidated School students to make a song and dance about it.
The allsinging, alldancing show, called ‘Mr Hedgley’s Garden’, was performed to appreciative audiences last Wednesday and Thursday.
Principal Leonie Campbell said the musical was written as a result of students’ enthusiasm for their ‘What’s in the Creek?’ project, which focuses on the waterway running alongside the school.
“In the musical, students pitch in to clean up the unhealthy garden owned by Mr and Mrs Hedgley, in the same way that they’ve been cleaning up Toomuc Creek,” Ms Campbell said.
“They help the Hedgleys to win first prize at the Pakenham Show, once again, for their perfectly healthy pumpkins.”
Pakenham’s Nestle factory donated $22,000 under its community environment program for the ‘What’s in the Creek?’ project.
Factory manager Raj Gopal said the project aimed to educate students about the sustainable future of the creek.
“It’s all about finding out what’s in the creek and how the students can make a difference to their local environment by reducing weeds and litter, improving water health, and cleaning up the local habitat,” Mr Gopal said.
“There is so much pride in the work students are doing on ‘What’s in the Creek?’ that we are now singing about it,” Ms Campbell said.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic project.”