Flora for Fauna

Flora for Fauna was created to help raise money for Cobb's Exotic Animal Rescue. This non-profit is raising money to help build a permanent exotic animal education centre on their land, as well as to help offset the surmounting costs of caring for their 183 animals (and counting!).​

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It was decided we would involve our team of student volunteers in creating and running a pop-up garden centre to operate at Cobb's Adventure Park. Not wanting to stop there, our students decided that providing locally sourced native plants that help support pollinator populations would be an impactful niche to from which to market the business.

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From March until May, 2022, we recruited a team of 19 volunteers, conducted market research, created marketing plans and promotional materials, sourced the plants and other resources needed to run an outdoor popup business, prepared for opening.

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The Kangaroo's Garden Centre was born.

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We spent the next 4 weeks on-site caring for the plants, learning about the animals, and selling, selling, selling! Our volunteers received experience in sales, marketing, and supply chain management. Our team also learned about the value of flexibility to a small business, and how to pivot based on the business environment. Best of all, we got to hang out with baby wallabies while we did it!

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With a combined 700 volunteer hours, we were ultimately able to make $1,200 in profit to donate to Cobb's Adventure Park, plus a donation of roughly $3,200 in plants to help landscape the park.

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Armed with the hard-won experience of 2022's pop-up, we look forward to apply these lessons to our next iteration of the project in 2023.

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Check out the pop-up's website at:

 

www.kangaroosgardencentre.ca