Bank Backs Farm My School
Bendigo Community Bank Bellarine has today announced a $150,000 dollar grant to support the innovative Farm My School project on the Bellarine.
Farm My School began as a collaboration between Bellarine Secondary College (BSC), Bellarine Community Health (BCH) and the founders of Farm My School Inc. (FMS) James McLennan and Ben Shaw.
The vision for this project is to build a farm to educate, engage and empower the school community to reimagine food systems and build a more resilient, healthy and connected community.
The Bendigo Community Bank Grant will support the employment of staff and equipment purchases to help grow the project over the next three years.
“Supporting projects that help build our community’s future is essential to us,” said the Bendigo Bank’s Chris Niven. “We have chosen Farm My School as a significant recipient of our Community Bank Grants Program to aid in the successful rollout of this amazing project here on the Bellarine “
The funding has been an enormous boost for the project, which has seen an unused soccer field transformed into a thriving market garden.
“This grant has been significant in allowing us to further establish the project by allowing us to continue to employ key staff such as our farmer Nina and purchase additional equipment to run a functional and productive farm,” said FMS founder James McLennan.
BSC and BCH are thrilled be part of this community partnership with Bendigo Community Bank Bellarine.
“We’re grateful to Bendigo Community Bank Bellarine and proud to be partnering with FMS and BSC to make this pilot project happen in our community,” said BCH CEO Garry Ellis. “This project strongly aligns with our priority to keep our Bellarine community healthy and well.”
“This project is about education and engagement and being able to embed sustainable farming practices into our curriculum is giving our students great insights into food production,” said BSC Principal Wayne Johannesen.
About ‘Farm My School’
Farm My School is working to mitigate climate change while forming partnerships with schools, farmers, local businesses, and communities to create thriving neighbourhood hubs for learning, sharing, and connecting. Our vision is to empower students to embrace healthier lives and become future environmental stewards.
To find out more about the Farm My School program head to www.farmmyschool.com
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