Kyneton Primary School students are learning about the connection between worm farms and healthy eating, following a recent donation.
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health (SCCH) donated two worm farms as part of a state government initiative, funding from Healthy Loddon Campaspe.
School staff have been working together with SCCH to make healthy changes to the school canteen, as well as supporting the development of the school’s kitchen garden.
SCCH community engagement and partnerships officer Kylie Stafford said worm farms help promote waste reduction by using earthworms to break down food scraps into nutrient-rich fertiliser.
“Students will be encouraged to put their fruit and vegetable scraps into the bins … along with other items such as tea bags and newspapers,” she said.
“The worms will produce castings and worm juice which will be used in the school’s kitchen garden to increase the garden’s productivity and the nutritional value of the fruit and vegetables harvested.
“The canteen staff love getting fresh produce from the school garden to use to make healthy and nutritious food for the school community.”
Teacher Ellie Tracey said she is excited to be working with the school’s gardening and sustainability group, who will be overseeing the project and encouraging the whole school to embrace the initiative.
“The worm farm provides us with a valuable educational tool …[as] students will be able to see the decomposition process in action,” Ms Tracey said.
“[They will] learn about the environmental importance of reducing the waste we put into landfill and reducing our ecological footprint, and the positive impact these actions can have on the planet.
“The worm farm also provides an opportunity to teach students about the health and wellbeing benefits of growing and eating healthy produce.”
