Penguin District School will shortly be making some changes to the native plant landscaping across our site.  

As part of the landscaping package for the redevelopment of our school, a selection of native plants was chosen, which included the species Dianella Tasmanicus. This commonly found plant species is native to Tasmania and has previously been included on the ‘bush tucker plant’ list. However, more recently, the fruit from this plant has been identified as toxic – though to what degree is not known.  

While the risk to our learners is considered low due to the unpleasant taste of the fruit, any risk at all is unacceptable. Therefore, a decision has been made to have all Dianella Tasmanicus plants removed from our site and replaced with alternative species. Once removed, the Dianella will be replanted at other more appropriate sites in the region.

Due to the number of plants to be removed, the Department will undertake this work in the Term 1 school holidays to minimise disruption to teaching and learning. As risk mitigation measures until this work is completed, our students have been educated on plant species identification across our site and the importance of not consuming the fruit from these plants.