Farm My School marks two-year anniversary

THE community last week came together to celebrate two years since the launch of the highly successful Farm My School pilot project at Bellarine Secondary College’s Drysdale campus.

The family-friendly event featured live music, tree planting, local food vendors, stalls from community groups including Bellarine Landcare and a variety of light-hearted activities, including a scarecrow-making competition and a songwriting battle.

Farm My School co-founder James McLennan said it was humbling to consider how much had between achieved in just two years at the 1.5-acre farm.

Across the program’s broad range of workshops and events on offer, this year alone has seen about 1,500 students and 1,400 families and community members directly impacted by the initiative.

“For programs like this to work, it needs community backing and that’s what we’ve always worked towards,” Mr McLennan said.

“We knew if we just started to try to do it on our own, it wouldn’t have happened.

“Getting the full support of the community and continuing to showcase what we’re doing…it’s going from strength to strength.

“We’re very thankful for all the support we’ve had so far and I’m sure we’ll have into the future.”

Bellarine Secondary College principal Wayne Johannesen praised the initiative for its positive impact on both the school’s students and reputation, while special guest and project ambassador Costa Georgiadis delivered an emotional speech in which he likened the farm’s growth to a tree trunk that continues to get stronger and cement its place within the community.

Bellarine Community Health’s (BCH) healthy communities planner Pen Lynch said the organisation was proud to have played an active role in the project, as a key partner from the start.

“Farm My School at Bellarine Secondary College is a wonderful project that is building stronger connections between the local community, food sources and each other,” she said.

“It’s amazing to think about what has been achieved in two years. From a bare, disused soccer pitch and a single grant from Engage Victoria to now, an established farm, growing strong and attracting generous financial and in-kind support.

“This bold project has sparked interest and curiosity from local community cheerleaders, all the way through to the state government and beyond.”

Ms Lynch said BCH was looking forward to seeing the project forge deeper roots as the team focuses on the next iteration of growth, and to continue supporting schools to build stronger links between the fresh produce grown on the farm and the food students eat.

The Farm My School team is now working towards expanding the initiative to a second school.