Cooking up an education at Burnett Heads kindy

A new kitchen at a Burnett Heads kindergarten will give children educational cooking experiences thanks to a grant from the Federal Government’s Stronger Communities Program.

Federal Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt congratulated C&K Oaks Beach Community Kindergarten on its successful application from round 4 of the program.

“The C&K Oaks Beach Community Kindergarten received $13,035 for a new kitchen with a custom fit out,” Mr Pitt said.

“The Stronger Communities Program has been very successful for community groups and organisations like the C&K Oaks Beach Community Kindergarten that would otherwise struggle to fund these types of projects.”

C&K Oaks Beach Community Kindergarten Director Rebecca Bowen said the kindy has been part of the community for the last 32 years, and it’s important to keep the facilities up to date.

“Here at C&K Oaks Beach, we provide an environment for children to feel safe while engaging in active play-based learning. Our current kitchen was quite out of date and unfortunately our oven and stove no longer worked.

“We were thrilled to receive this grant and now have a kitchen which will allow us to continue engaging our children in practical hands on learning experiences. We are lucky to be surrounded by a rich variety of local farms and produce here in the Burnett Heads region. Farmers send additional produce in to us, and we will now be able to use it to cook in our new kitchen with the children. We are very grateful to The Stronger Communities Grant,” Mrs Bowen said.

The Stronger Communities Program offered eligible community groups grants of between $5,000 and $20,000 for small capital projects. All applications need to commit at least matching funding or in-kind contributions.

A fifth round of the Stronger Communities Program was announced in the Budget with $150,000 available for each electorate.