An Epping Road upgrade sustainability boost for Wollert Secondary College has forged ahead with the installation of new garden beds.
The garden beds follow the rollout of new bee hotels, built as part of a collaboration between the Epping Road project team and year seven students.
The initiative aims to encourage growth of native bee populations by providing shelter from harsh weather while also helping the students learn about the bees’ important role in the environment.
The project began in July when the team worked with students at the college to build bee hotel structures from terracotta pots and materials sourced from the project site.
The team donated all the bee hotel materials along with flowering native plants, which were planted near the hotels to further encourage the bees’ populations.
In the second stage of the project, the team returned in September to donate and assemble three raised garden beds, providing soil and flowering native plants to further boost bee populations.
The college will use the garden beds to grow vegetables and herbs, which will support the school’s home economics program next year.
Major Road Projects Victoria program director Adrian Furner said the project delivered a lasting legacy for the community.
“Native bees are a critical part of our food chain, helping to pollinate most of the crops we eat and many that feed farm livestock,” he said.
“The bee hotels aren’t just helping to attract native bees and give them shelter, they’re also giving the college’s students lifelong knowledge of the bees’ importance to our ecosystem and how we can help them thrive.
“The initiative reflects our team’s strong focus on working with the community to achieve positive environmental and sustainability outcomes.”
Wollert Secondary College gardening program coordinator Brigette Fletcher said the students enjoyed working with the project team and appreciated their donation of garden beds and additional plants.
“The initiative has been a great learning experience for the students and they’re really excited when they spot native bees on the college grounds,” she said.
“The students have been volunteering their time for the upkeep of the garden beds, which has involved planting and caring for the plants as part of the bee hotels initiative.
“I’m very proud of the responsibility and commitment of every student to making the project a success.”
The Epping Road project will add lanes in each direction between Craigieburn Road East and Memorial Avenue. It will also improve six intersections and connections for pedestrians and cyclists.
The upgrade will provide safer, more-reliable journeys for the 35,000 drivers who use Epping Road daily in Melbourne’s north, and is expected for completion in 2025.
