Kyneton High School has partnered with Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health and successfully secured a $50,000 grant from the state government to grow a kitchen garden.
The project is one of 84 recipients who successfully outbid over 600 applicants to receive a share of $4.87 million from VicHealth. A spokesperson from VicHealth said this application stood out because of its partnership approach.
The project aims to strengthen local food systems and has provided Kyneton High School students with hands on-opportunities to design, build and grow their own space.
Jonathon Swan, head of technology at the school, said the new space was previously overgrown. Its transformation into a garden involved students in the entire process, including woodwork students who built the garden beds and tables.
Mr Swan hopes science classes can use it for experiments and English classes may find inspiration in it for their creative writing.
“We have plans to turn this into an outdoor classroom,” he said.
Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas was at the opening and stressed the importance of school students leading healthy lives.
“Every young Victorian should have access to the resources they need to lead a happy and healthy life. This grants program is so important, helping break down barriers to good health,” she said.
Kylie Stafford, community engagement and partnerships officer at SCCH, said their plans for the space were just getting started.
“This project will benefit the whole community with students cooking meals, using produce they’ve grown for distribution through Kyneton Community House,” she said.
Future plans also include students growing and cutting flowers for Kyneton’s annual Daffodil Festival.
