Raised garden beds make it easier to access
- Christine Kovac
Lyndhurst's community garden is set to be even more busy and blooming thanks to a Woolworths Junior Landcare Grant worth $1500.
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The grant was presented to students at Lyndhurst Public School last Friday by Woolworths Cowra staff members Ricky McCabe, Roz Petty and Monique Gillespie.
Lyndhurst Public School principal, Christine Kovac, said $1000 would go towards "three new, large raised garden beds" along with bags of soil, vegetables and seedlings.
"Raised garden beds make it easier to access for older community members," she said.
Applicants were also offered extra funding of up to $500 for projects that support bees. That money will be going towards a number of plants that attract bees and five bee hotels.
In applying for the grant, Mrs Kovac said the garden provided a wide range of benefits for both the school and the wider Lyndhurst community.
"The aim of our project is to develop a sustainable community garden that supplements community food hampers with fresh food distributed by the local church community," she said.
"The children will be involved in selecting, planting, growing and harvesting the contents of the garden, as it grows.
READ ALSO: Lyndhurst Community Garden springs to life
"The expected outcomes of the project include providing a safe place for community to gather, learning the growing cycle of plants and developing a deeper understanding of supporting others in our community."
She said the garden, established earlier this year and located on the old block where the Lyndhurst Public School's school master residence once stood, had plenty of community support.
"Lots of local volunteers," she said.
Around 50 volunteers got stuck into a working bee at the garden earlier this year, filling garden beds, getting rid of weeds and creating beds for winter crops.
In the paddock next door, also part of the school's grounds, sheep and goats are put to work keeping the long grass down.
The next step for the garden, according to Mrs Kovac, will be the introduction of chickens to produce eggs.
It was anticipated that up to 1,000 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants would be awarded to primary schools and early learning centres across Australia under round three.
However, because of the massive number of high calibre applications received, Woolworths funded 1,609 Australian primary schools and early learning centres with grants of up to $1000.
1021 of them also receiving up to $500 for a bee bonus.
This is the largest number of Junior Landcare Grants ever given out in a single round.
Combined with the 2018 and 2019 grant rounds, a total of 2,724 schools and early learning centres have received Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants.