Bright sparks warm us up

Docklands workers couldn’t resist the rural charm of these 12-year-olds from the bush who visited on June 17 to sell oranges.

These kids and eight other class-mates from Nangiloc-Colignan sold more than 500 bags of oranges in two and half hours.

Prior to their Docklands visit, they had raised $3000 to encourage other schools to apply for a share of this year’s $5-million NAB Schools First Awards funding.

Last year their school won a $50,000 local impact award for its partnership with the Murray Valley Citrus Board.

The school’s community partnership is aimed at improving local children’s appreciation of the primary industry that sustains much of the Mildura area’s livelihood.  

Inspired by what they had learned as a result of the partnership, the students were determined to establish a state-wide orange drive in an effort to boost local citrus sales and do their bit to sustain the industry.

NAB Schools First is a partnership between NAB, the Foundation for Young Australians and Australian Council for Educational Research.