Dairy grant brings new Hillview garden

A new garden project at Bunyip’s Hillview Aged Care has been funded through a program providing grants to dairy communities.

The Gardiner Dairy Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) announced 31 recipients that will share $113,000 from the 2016 Working in Dairy Communities Small Grants program.

Working in Dairy Communities provides grants of up to $5000 for projects that aim to strengthen small Victorian dairy communities, build their capacity to deal with local issues and enhance existing community infrastructure.

The grant recipients, which come from all three Victorian dairy regions, received their cheques at a reception at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne last week.

There were three recipients in Gippsland including the Bass Valley Community Group, Bass Valley Music Festival and Hillview Bunyip Aged Care facility.

The funding will be used for the construction of the Bass Op Shop storage shed, the Serenade at Sunset Music Festival and the construction of a vertical garden in the dementia ward at the aged care facility.

Gardiner Dairy Foundation chairman Bruce Kefford said supporting dairy communities through programs like this was critical to a sustainable dairy industry.

“The dairy industry makes an enormous contribution to the economic viability of regional Victoria and the Gardiner Dairy Foundation is proud to be investing in a vibrant dairy future,” he said.