The $10,000 grant, from Bridgestone Australia and Bridgestone Service Centre Bathurst, will see the construction of a new outdoor area which will include a vegetable garden with chicken run; a habitat path designed to increase the biodiversity of the area; and an outdoor kitchen – all designed to encourage students to become environmental stewards.

The grant was awarded in line with Bridgestone’s Tomorrow Matters initiative, in which schools across Australia are invited to apply for 10 funding grants of up to $10,000 to be put towards an infrastructure or school project with a focus on the environment, technology or youth development.

It was part of a promotion for Bridgestone’s Ecopia low rolling resistance fuel-saving tyre, with a number of Bridgestone stores winning the opportunity for schools in their area to apply.

“We were enormously pleased to find out we had been successful in our grant application as part of Bridgestone’s Community Schools Project,” Assumption School assistant principal David Maher said.

“It’s great to see Bridgestone supporting the community at this level in such a meaningful way and this grant will help us deliver a fantastic facility – both for our school and also the wider community.

“Our vibrant outdoor classroom will be a fantastic place for students to learn and engage. It will connect them to the environment as they nurture their own fresh produce, learn about habitat creation and sustainability and explore how various energy sources are critical to everyday life.

“In short, it will be a living example of the positive impact that can be achieved when we work together to care for our environment.”

Bridgestone’s Tomorrow Matters initiative has three objectives – finding new and better ways of using technology; encouraging children to find solutions for tomorrow; and helping to ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations.

Ten eligible school districts were chosen across Australia thanks to the efforts of their local Bridgestone retail store – which won the right for the grant to be awarded to a school in their area as part of a performance-based competition.

“We were thrilled when we heard we had won the right for schools in our region to apply for this $10,000 grant,” Bridgestone Service Centre Bathurst owner Matt Boyd said.

“The Assumption School’s project sounds really worthwhile; it’s setting students up with important practical and environmental knowledge that will benefit them their whole lives.”