A share in a State Government agriculture grant is set to help kick-start an Ararat College School Farm Wetlands Rejuvenation Project and promote student learning in the management of invasive species.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes announced 12 recipients across Victoria who would receive a portion of grant program The Weeds and Rabbits Project, valued at more than $130,000.

Ararat College received more than $6000.

College Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning teacher and School Farm manager Anne Henry said she applied for the funding with the help of Ararat Landcare and fresh-water ecologist Ayasha Berdett.

She said the money would be used as part of the college’s School Farm project – which also includes a vineyard and grassland – to foster students’ learning and help rejuvenate a wetland area.

She said this would include removing weeds, refencing the boundary, monitoring water quality, replanting wetland plants, building nesting boxes and reducing fire risks.

“The School Farm project is focused on teaching the students skills they can use in the future as part of the community,” she said.

“The farmland is divided into three components. 

“There’s a vineyard, a grassland area and a wetland. The wetland area has been a very tricky bit of land to manage because it is quite overgrown.

“But it has been in our sights for a while, and now with this government grant the opportunity has come up for us to put more of a focus on it.

“Hopefully we will have about 50 children in total involved with the project. That includes VCE outdoor education students, biology students and VCAL students.

“It’s going to be quite an encompassing project involving a variety of organisations to help promote youth engagement.”

The grants program, funded by the Commonwealth Government and delivered by Agriculture Victoria, has also provided money for projects such as a land management training program for indigenous youth in Dandenong, and outdoor activities to identify invasive species near Wangaratta and Avoca.

Ms Symes said grants would help address an under-representation of young people in invasive species management, and support succession planning for the ‘inter-generational challenge of managing our landscapes’.

“Invasive species are one of our most significant land management challenges – handling them is crucial to enhance our agricultural production and natural landscapes,” she said.

“We know that young people are under-represented across Victoria in these areas – we’re working to change that, which will in turn strengthen community led approaches.

“We want to make sure young people are included in the conversation about how to address these issues to provide fresh ideas and ensure good land management continues into the future.”  

For more information about the grant recipients or invasive species management, people can visit weedsandrabbits.com/youth-engagement-projects/.

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