Primary school teacher and illustrator Kym Langfield lives in Wyndham with her husband and two daughters. Her illustrations feature in the children’s picture book ‘Remember: Triple Zero Heroes’ by J.E Miller, released earlier this year by Hawkeye Publishing. She tells Cade Lucas what Wyndham means to her.
1) What’s your connection to Wyndham?
I’ve lived in Wyndham nearly all my life. I currently live at Werribee South and love the area, the beach, the parks and the zoo nearby. I’ve also been a teacher in Wyndham for over 20 years at the same primary school in Hoppers Crossing.
.
2) What do you like about where you live?
I suppose I love all the natural surroundings, the communities and it’s (Wyndham) like a little city really, there’s everything you need, shops, cinemas, schools and community centres. Even though I’d love to travel in the future, I’d definitely like to keep Wyndham as our base. Our family really likes it here.
3) What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
Probably nothing. In Werribee South we love the quietness and the community feel so we don’t want it to become too busy. We actually know our neighbours so we still have that community feel.
4) Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
I get inspired by the beach and the bay area. Werribee Park is another beautiful spot with the gardens and the trees and all those gorgeous plants there. My illustrations are inspired by nature, people wandering by and the wildlife, especially birdlife. Because we have such a wide range of bird species in Wyndham such as pelicans and the fairy blue wrens. I often incorporate these into my stories and pictures.
5) Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you…
I’ve illustrated a few books and recently I received some very exciting news that ‘Remember: Triple Zero Heroes’ which features some of my illustrations has been shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards and we’re very hopeful of winning. I’ve also recently studied to become a counsellor because I’ve become passionate about supporting young people and their mental health.