Farm My School Bellarine
Pilot Project Report
Farm My School, Bellarine Community Health, and Bellarine Secondary College came together through local connections, good timing and shared values around health, education, community and environment.
Growing Our Future, Together
In 2021, Farm My School (FMS) and Bellarine Community Health (BCH) made the first connection. FMS shared their big, bold idea: What if schools could feed their communities? What if we used underutilised school land to build farms that could be used as a site for learning and connection, as well as providing a new source of locally grown fresh produce?
The vision was simple yet profound. At the heart of the program they envisioned a community-led, regenerative farm that would produce fresh, local food for students and families whiled embedding climate mitagation, biodiversity, and circular economy principles into everyday practice.
More Than Carrots
Collectively, FMS and BCH pooled together a broad range of skills to bring the concept to life.
These skills included; farming, education, business, health, sustainability, finance and community engagement.
By December 2021, BCH had secured funding through a Victorian Government ‘Engage!’ grant to start a pilot. Conversations with Bellarine Secondary College (BSC) began at the start of 2022, with a visionary principal willing to be the first to trial the FMS model.
In May 2022, the three organisations formally formed a strong and multidisciplinary partnership.
