Following the success of a pilot farm at Bellarine Secondary College, the City of Greater Geelong is proud to again support the expansion of the Farm My School initiative to a second site at Colac Secondary College.
Farm My School is a not-for-profit organisation that partners with schools to transform underutilised land into market gardens that feed, educate and connect communities.
The pilot farm at Bellarine Secondary College's Drysdale campus was built on a disused soccer pitch in 2022 and drew national attention.
Since then, the project has flourished – strengthening the school's horticultural program, embedding sustainability into the curriculum, and engaging students in hands-on learning about regenerative farming and healthy food systems.
To help establish the new farm in Colac, the City will donate 300 cubic metres of locally produced compost from its Anakie Organics Processing Facility – matching the support provided to the Bellarine site.
The Colac farm will be built in just 24 hours, from Saturday 22 to Sunday 23 November, with the official opening scheduled for 9am on Sunday. Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis, a Farm My School ambassador, will be on site to lend a hand and inspire volunteers just as he did for the first school farm.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM
Food security and sustainability are national priorities that also impact our local community.Schools offer a great opportunity to engage and educate children, families and communities in building healthier futures.
We're proud and excited to support another school farm with our homegrown compost, which I'm sure will help produce a thriving market garden.
Environment and Circular Economy portfolio chair Councillor Elise Wilkinson
The farm at Bellarine Secondary College has created a place of community connection and has provided fresh produce for families on the Bellarine.The project teaches students practical skills in sustainable farming and environmental care, which are valuable skills they can use in their future careers.
Farm My School chief executive and co-founder James McLennan
We were also pretty excited to be demonstrating full circularity - from local residents' garden waste, to high grade compost, to farm, to nutrient dense food and back to local residents.Fast forward three years and again the City of Greater Geelong has stepped up and are supporting us in transforming a piece of underutilised land in Colac Secondary College into a regenerative market garden that feeds, educates and connects community.
We will again be doing this in our signature 24 hour event - Build a Farm in a Day, where we aim to build 3.4 linear kilometres of garden beds with the help of the community. Something we simply couldn't achieve without the generous donation of compost.
