Nutrien Ag Solutions partnered with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) to invest in meaningful community projects across Australia.

In the first round of the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants Program, one recipient was Coonamble Pre School Association.

The pre-school funds and provides an occupational therapy program for local children, which involves tailored physical education programs that aim to develop motor skills critical to school readiness.

The grant was used to purchase a set of monkey bars to be utilised as part of the occupational therapy program with the aim to build children’s shoulder stability, balance, core strength and develop gross motor skills.

Speaking on behalf of the pre-school, Coonamble Pre-School President Jess Lovel described the monkey bars as being a “valued contribution to our occupational therapy program”, playing a “key role in our children’s overall development”.

“The children have been learning to swing forward and backwards, hold and swing while they tuck their legs up and propel themselves forward thus improving their hand eye coordination, building their core, leg, arm and spinal strength and improving their overall health, well-being and posture,” she said.

Cinema goers at the Mansfield Armchair Cinema can now enjoy outdoor movie nights thanks to newly installed weatherproof speakers funded by the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants program.

The Mansfield Armchair Cinema is an award-winning community cinema that hosts local events and supports the delivery of an innovative media studies traineeship program for secondary and TAFE students from the Mansfield and Goulburn areas.

Nutrien Ag Solutions Mansfield Livestock Manager, Jamie Beckingsale, says his team is very proud to support such an important community organisation.

“The Mansfield Armchair Cinema is the hub of our regional community, and its volunteers give so much to our local community. So, it’s really important we do what we can to support its longevity and success,” said Mr Beckingsale.

Mansfield Armchair Cinemas’ Karen Oliver saidlocals are already making the most of the new outdoor speakers.

“Before we received the community grant, we had to carry the speakers out every time to the village green for people to enjoy the movies. Now we have permanent outdoor sounds which is just a blessing. The movies really sound great,” says Ms Oliver.

“We’ve been able to hold some fun movie nights including an 80’s themed night recently and we have a screening of Top Gun coming up, ready for the new movie to come out. The process of applying for a community grant was very straightforward, and we thank Nutrien Ag Solutions for this opportunity.”

The next round of the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants program opens on the 12 of July 2022.

The Penneshaw Community Health Rooms once housed Medical, Community Nursing and Allied Health Services on a weekly basis. With budget restraints by SA Health, these services were discontinued in Penneshaw and centralised in Kingscote, meaning a round trip of approximately 120 km for local residents needing to access services.

Over a number of years, the Penneshaw CWA had advocated the need for the provision of a doctor for the Penneshaw area, liaising with the Kangaroo Island Medical Clinic, Rural Doctors Association of South Australia, Kangaroo Island Health Service, and Kangaroo Island Council. In 2021, the CWA was able to secure the services of a General Practitioner who began consulting one day a week in September 2021.

The Penneshaw CWA, Penneshaw Progress Association (PPA) and Community Volunteers have worked to clean, paint and refurbish the building so that services can be reinstated.

The Penneshaw CWA, with the support of the Penneshaw Progress Association (PPA), was successful in their application for a $5,000 grant through the Nutrien Ag Solutions Community Grants program, with a further $1,000 generously donated by the Penneshaw CFS in support of the facilities.  The grant money was used to provide air-conditioning for the clinic’s consulting room and to provide disability access to the toilet, with a high-rise mobility toilet and grab rails. These improvements now meet the standards and guidelines required by the Commonwealth Disability Access Legislation, and provide comfort for the diverse number of users of the clinic.