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General News

12 October, 2023

Grant to grow maze at Tarnagulla

About 40 kilometers away from Maryborough, a small rural school has recently become one of the recipients of a Victorian grant aimed at improving environmental awareness in students. Sharing in funding worth $450,000 with 122 other educational...

By Maryborough Advertiser

Tarnagulla Primary School’s Jordan Ford and students Vivian, Kosta and Lucy are excited to start working on their Biodiversity Maze Project. Photo: 131023 01
Tarnagulla Primary School’s Jordan Ford and students Vivian, Kosta and Lucy are excited to start working on their Biodiversity Maze Project. Photo: 131023 01

About 40 kilometers away from Maryborough, a small rural school has recently become one of the recipients of a Victorian grant aimed at improving environmental awareness in students.

Sharing in funding worth $450,000 with 122 other educational institutes, the Tarnagulla Primary School has received around $3150 for its green maze project, through the state’s Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grants program.

Located in close proximity to various state parks and nature reserves, the school’s surrounds boast a rich environmental land-scape — with the grant now helping elevate flora and fauna within the school grounds as well.

The school’s Biodiversity Maze Project will focus on a bush-style play area in the property, with the funding set to be used towards increasing habitat for birds as well as insects and improving soil quality to provide an ecosystem for plants and trees to thrive in.

“We’ve got an area in the school that students many year ago dubbed the maze because there’s lots of different paths within the space that lead to different play areas,” Tarnagulla Primary School teacher Jordan Ford said.

“In our science classes, we’ve been looking at different aspects of our ecosystem especially in relation to where we live and we thought it’d be quite good to use this maze space as a learning tool for those biodiversity focused lessons.

“A lot of our science lectures when we are doing environmental studies, are run outside so having a space like the maze that can also be used as a classroom is great because it also introduces students to the native habitat of the area — learning is a bit more potent when you’re able to look and touch things.”

Ms Ford said the grant, apart from providing students with an opportunity to connect with their local environment, also gave recognition to the school.

“It’s so important for a small school like ours to get this grant because we feel as though we’ve been heard and that what we do matters or is just as important as a much bigger school,” she said.

“This is now going to be another asset for us that will help attract more students.

“Being selected for the grant is also great for the area because we’re a small-knit community and a lot of local people will attend our working bees for the maze — everyone’s always pleased when the school’s efforts are acknowledged.”

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