Oakville Preschool Learning Centre learners made welcome by furry friends

The start of a new preschool year has been made a little less daunting for the children of Oakville Preschool by the presence of Toola the Cow and sheep Missy, Coco, Alfie and Bowie. 

Far from just being regular farm animals, Toola, Missy, Coco, Alfie and Bowie live on the grounds of Oakville Preschool Learning Centre and are a calming influence and welcome distraction for the 64 children and 21 staff that attend the service every weekday.

They’re part of the centre’s Humane Animal Therapy Program, where they breed, foster and raise farm animals and rescue Australian native animals.

The children, all aged between two and five, play a vital part in caring for the animals every day, Oakville Preschool Learning Centre Director Kristy McCartney explained.

“During our routine the children scrape their scraps after every meal and then bring their buckets out throughout the day to visit and feed the animals,” she said.

“The children are part of raising the animals from the early years and this involves bottle feeding, visiting and patting them. (They) will often come out and visit the animals if they are experiencing separation anxiety, as they provide calmness and a feeling of being needed.”

Embedded sustainability

Oakville Preschool Learning Centre has been operating for more than 30 years on an acreage 50 kilometres north-west of Sydney in Oakville in the Hawkesbury region, a rural location which offers the children the unique opportunity to connect to the natural world through sustainable education.

Worm farms, composting and gardening are all part of their daily routine.

“We are actively implementing ways to educate the children, families, staff and community on ways we can care for the world we live in,” Ms McCartney shared.

“We adopt the mantra ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ and are always working towards reducing our carbon footprint and making others aware of what they can do to help our environment.”

“As educators and role models to our future citizens we feel it is our job to teach and influence young children so they can make informed decisions during their lives to better our environment.”

To learn more about the service please see here. The original coverage of this story, which has been edited, is available here.