Farm’s success keeps growing

WE LIVE in a region that boasts incredible biodiversity and natural environments, and it’s encouraging to see our young people undertaking projects that enhance sustainability.

From horticultural programs to seasonal kitchen garden projects, schools across the region are taking on exciting initiatives that provide valuable skills and an appreciation for circularity.

One brilliant pilot program is a true success story and is set to expand so that more students in our state’s south-west can reap what they sow.

Since 2022, the Farm My School Project has had a tangible impact on Bellarine Secondary College students, and the City of Greater Geelong is proud to support the project’s expansion to a second site.

Farm My School is a not-for-profit organisation that partners with schools to transform underutilised land into market gardens that feed, educate and connect communities.

These living classrooms grow food, teach sustainability and reconnect communities to soil.

In 2022, an unused soccer pitch at Bellarine Secondary College’s Drysdale campus was transformed into a flourishing horticultural program that has provided students with invaluable hands-on learning and a regenerative farming system that garnered national attention.

The farm has since grown to create community connection and provide fresh produce for families on the Bellarine. The pilot project taught students practical skills in sustainable farming and environmental care, which will be valuable for their future careers.

Following the success of the pilot, Colac Secondary College has picked up a shovel to get involved.

To help establish the new farm, the City will donate 300 cubic metres of locally produced compost from its Anakie Organics Processing Facility, matching its support to the Bellarine site.

The compost produced here is circularity in action, taking waste from our municipality’s green bins and turning it into nutrient-rich compost that goes straight back into our horticultural projects.

As Council’s Chair of Environment and Circular Economy, seeing projects like Farm My School expanding brings me a real sense of pride. It’s proof this model can be replicated across Victoria and beyond, and I cannot wait to see this new farm flourish.

It is incredibly rewarding to see young people taking a keen interest in horticulture and projects that boost our region’s circularity. Creative solutions for unused spaces are having a direct and clear impact on our environment.

If you would like to see the new Farm My School project taking root, you have an opportunity to get involved!

The project will kick off with a “Build a Farm in a Day” event across Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 November, where volunteers will band together to build 3.4 linear kilometres of garden beds with help from across the community.

The official opening is scheduled for 9am on Sunday. Farm My School ambassador and Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis will be on site to lend a hand and inspire volunteers, just as he did for the first school farm.

So, if you have a green thumb, or an interest in supporting this brilliant initiative, I urge you to head over to Colac Secondary College next weekend.

Farm My School is more than a farm – it’s a movement for healthier people, healthier communities and a healthier planet. I know this second Farm My School project is going to be a thriving success for students and the Colac community, just as we have witnessed here on the Bellarine.

Cr Elise Wilkinson

Connewarre Ward, City of Greater Geelong