More Bush Kinder kids in Violet Town

Move over David Attenborough. Your successor lays hidden in Victoria's Violet Town as one of the youngest outspoken enthusiasts of wildlife in the Strathbogie Shire comes to life. Maverick took little prompting to list off his favourite animals that he has seen already as part of the Nature Learning (Bush Kinder) program already established at Violet Town and District Early Childhood Centre. The centre is going to get a hefty boost in funding to help the little ones explore even more in the wild. Maverick has a list he wants to share, as he counts out all the many animals he has seen as part of the program; spiders get a healthy mention. "We found large tarantulas," Maverick said. "But we found more huntsman's than tarantulas, but they can bite you." He is also well across the lifecycle of fishes. "The mummas lay their eggs in a small hole that they make underwater - a nest or a burrow," he said. "And there are lots of lizards we found, and they make burrows in the ground, and frogs too. "In fact I saw one on my farm yesterday." The Violet Town centre will be just one centre receiving funding across the state, with the Allan Labor Government expanding the highly popular program. Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes announced nine more kindergartens in the Goulburn Valley that will now run Bush Kinder, supported by funding to make outdoor early learning accessible. Early childhood teacher at the Violet Town centre Mel said that although they had been running the program for some time at Shadforth Reserve, the funding was still welcome. 'What we do is seasonal, seeing the timing of when everything comes out across the year," Mel said. "And although we have been doing this for some time from previous funding, it is time to restock and purchase new gear - some waterproof garments. 'Some of our resources are starting to look a little bit tired. "We are also going to get walkie-talkies because we spread out through the day so staff can say to other staff 'hey there is something over here." The group will also need some trolleys and a dragon flint. "Binoculars will be needed; we only have one pair." Maverick soon pushes in and goes on with his roll call. Birds seem to be scarce ("I saw one once") but when prompted by Mel, there is a flurry of cockatoo stories. The program is offered at Violet Town Community and District Childhood Centre on every Tuesdays and Thursday during Terms two and three.