By Callum Ludwig
Some stalwarts of the Wandin community have reached out to the future of the surrounding area through some fresh and tasty fruit, including one hills school.
The Rotary Club of Wandin met at Old Oak Orchard to pack an astonishing 1.2 tonnes of locally grown apples to distribute to students and staff at eight local schools.
Community Service Committee chairman Gavan McIntyre said the Rotary Club of Wandin have had a lot of positive feedback and the apples were much appreciated since they first did it in 2019.
“We hope it will teach kids that community involvement is good, and it’s also a good way of promoting Rotary and what we do to local families, as well as promoting healthy eating for kids,” he said.
“It’s great to meet the local principals and staff and build a relationship with our local schools so we can do lots of other things with them such as our junior citizenship awards or helping pay for kids to go on school camps through our youth program. It promotes great fellowship for us, and we can have a chat, laugh and work together.”
Every student and staff member at Wandin North, Coldstream, Yering, Wandin Yallock, Seville, Woori Yallock, Hoddles Creek and Silvan primary schools received one kilo of apples to take home and enjoy.
Wandin North Primary School Principal Paul Bailey said it is a great addition to their work promoting a healthy lifestyle for their students.
“With no organised sport and community groups running over the last two years, to now have a full year of sport and school, getting kids active and living healthy lifestyles including healthy eating is greatly helped with these apples,” he said.
“It’s something the kids remember fondly as well when I mentioned it they remembered it from a couple of years ago and now each year, they’ll remember Wandin rotary and associate them with fresh local produce and happy and healthy kids.”
The apples were grown by Andrew and Gavin Corbett from their farm on Douthie Road in Seville.
Coldstream Primary School principal Phillippa Adgemis said the school is happy to be involved in the community in any way.
“This time, it’s awesome that they are donating to us, and it really creates a good sense of community as well. We are one of four Junior Rotary Schools in the state and are actively involved in raising money for the three circles of community care as Rotarians,” she said.
“Our children do a lot of local fundraising with sausage sizzles and the like and once every two years we raise money for wheelchairs for children who need them in third-world countries, and we bought eight last time which was a fantastic effort. It’s all about giving back.”
