Local change-makers win big

ENVIRONMENTAL innovators and trailblazers have been recognised at this year’s Tidy Towns and Sustainable Cities Awards with three local initiatives taking out prizes.

Now in its 41st year, the awards hosted by Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria celebrate the achievements of community-led sustainability projects, education institutions and councils across the state.

Initiatives are recognised across ten categories and are awarded for their ability to empower communities, encourage positive behaviour change, protect the environment and promote community spirit.

For the team at Farm My School, their win in the awards’ Community category is a reminder of how far they have come.

With a pilot location at the Bellarine Secondary College, Farm My School aims to turn unutilised school land into commercial market gardens.

 

The produce grown is returned to the community in the form of veggie boxes, and the farm is employed as part of the school curriculum, providing hands-on learning for students.

The seasonal produce grown is also used by food technology students to learn how to cook, as well as the school canteen for healthy lunches.

Outside of school hours, the farm is a space for adult learning, team building and workshops about how to farm and grow food.

“It was nice to just go, ‘wow, we’ve achieved a lot in 12 months’, but then to actually be recognised as well was pretty humbling,” said co-founder James McLennan.

“This was just an idea that a mate and I came up with over a cup of tea and literally from that it just grew into this really powerful story.”

He said the project was inspired by their previous experience with school gardens that hadn’t been given the tools or the attention needed to reach their full potential.

And with more farmers currently being trained, the Farm My School team are only getting started.

“We’ve got a pretty fantastic model within Bellarine Secondary College, but we don’t want to stop there,” McLennan said.

“We want to get into as many schools as we can.”

Two of Geelong Sustainability’s projects were also recognised this year, with its Community Power Hub winning in the Energy category and its Climate Safe Rooms winning in the Wellbeing category.

 

Meanwhile, the Torquay Rubbish Rangers took out the top prize in the Litter category for their efforts picking up rubbish around the town.

“It’s great recognition. We’re all pretty happy about it,” founder Dean Walton said.

After purchasing a house in Torquay just before the pandemic, Walton decided he’d do everything he could to keep the town clean.

“My wife and I started [picking up rubbish] on the weekends ourselves and eventually we started the group for Torquay to get a bit of help.”

Since its beginning in February 2022, the Torquay Rubbish Rangers has grown to group of more than 30 volunteers who pitch in when they can.

Walton hopes the win will inspire more volunteers to join the group.

“It’s funny, we’d like [Torquay] to be a Tidy Town. That’s our next goal.”