The shredder was purchased for $1400 with funds raised by entry fees at the Gardens of Glenlyon event in February. 

The event saw six Glenlyon gardeners open their vegetable patches to share their tips on growing fresh fruit and vegetables.

Since the event, the organisers have been looking for a community project to put the money back into.

Representative of the Gardens of Glenlyon group, Edward Benedict, said the school’s garden program seemed like the perfect fit.

“A lot of local people came to the event and gave $5 at the gate. So this was about putting that money back into the community. And the school’s garden scheme is a fantastic place for that money to go,” he said. 

The shredder was bought from Daylesford’s Stihl shop, so the funds also went back into a local business. 

With the donation of the garden waste shredder, the group hopes to support young gardens and foster the joy of veggie growing in the next generation. 

“The project gives children a hands-on experience with growing and cooking clean, fresh vegetables, from soil preparation and planting, right through to mulching waste and making compost,” he said. 

The school’s kitchen garden coordinator, Gill Karron, said it is something the school never would have been able to afford with their own resources. 

The school operates the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program, which has been running at the school for almost ten years.

The program teaches pupils in grades three and four how to plant seeds, grow food, then harvest and cook it in the school’s kitchen. 

“The kids spend one hour in the garden one week and the next week they spend time cooking their produce in the kitchen,” she said.

Ms Karron said it is a sustainable program which focuses on seasonal produce.

“Compost is so important to the garden’s growth. The scraps go into the compost and we try to compost all the old plants from the veggie garden too,” she said.

She said it is good for kids to get in the kitchen, cook and try new foods that they normally wouldn’t eat at home.

“We don’t push it as ‘healthy food’ but as food that they have grown with their own hands. The aim is to get the kids to try new things.”

She said the pupils learn a lot of new skills through the program, like patience, cooperation, sharing and working in groups. While some of the kids take a while to open up to the idea of tasting something new, they start to look forward to it as they move through the program.

“Some even go home and start their own veggie gardens.”