Coles and Junior Landcare – bringing schools to life

Communities around the country will now be able to literally watch their local schools ‘grow’ after Coles and Junior Landcare released the recipients of the third round of grants distributed this year.

101 schools around Australia will receive grants of up to $1000 to assist with the development of various garden projects, not only educating children about fresh fruit and vegetables, but also the importance of looking after the environment.

Coles Community and Sustainability Manager, Majella Allen, said Coles was proud to sponsor the garden grants program and is thrilled the initiative continues to remain so popular among Australian schools and community groups.

“Our garden grants program with Junior Landcare is invaluable to the schools and community groups which participate, providing a unique outdoor learning experience and the opportunity to have fun learning about the environment. Every time, a customer purchases a reusable bag from Coles, we are able to contribute to the development of another school garden,” she said.

Since the inception of the program in 2008, Coles and Junior Landcare have distributed over 1000 grants to schools eager to educate their students with hands on experience in the outdoors, which is linked to the school curriculum and learning in the classroom.

Landcare Australia’s CEO, Heather Campbell, discussed the importance of letting kids be kids and the history of the program.

“Our garden grants let students get their hands dirty and learn about the environment. We are unbelievably proud that this year we reached the milestone of 1000 grants, which translates to hundreds of thousands of kids who have been involved in their school or community garden over the past three years.”

Schools, kindergartens, day care centres and youth groups looking to start their own garden program can apply for a Coles Junior Landcare garden grant by registering with Junior Landcare. Visit www.juniorlandcare.com.au or www.coles.com.au for more information.

2012 Closing Dates

  • Round 1: Closes Friday 17th February, 5pm (EST)
  • Round 2: Closes Friday 4th May, 5pm (EST)
  • Round 3: Closes Friday 27th July, 5pm (EST)