And it’s helping to reduce her environmental impact.

The ‘Granny Skills’ guru spread her message of making more from less with pupils at Ballarat primary schools this week.

She visited St Francis Xavier Primary, St James Parish School, Urqhart Park Primary and St Colomba’s School on Wednesday and Thursday to demonstrate how to reduce food waste by using what you have in the pantry and the garden.

Ms Sullivan’s workshops stem from a passion to preserve old-fashioned values, such as using resources wisely, not creating waste and valuing what we already have.

“I believe that if we do not learn and pass these basic things on, they will be lost for eternity,” she said. 

Demonstrations included how to make natural homemade products like pickles, preserves, facemasks, cleaners, body scrubs and massage oil using ingredients that can be found in the pantry, grown in the garden or what even may be destined for the bin.

Grade three to six pupils from St James’ Parish School were excited to hear about ways to reduce waste during the workshop on Wednesday. 

They have been busy working to help their school achieve its fifth star for sustainability as part of the ResourceSmart Schools program. 

READ MORE Schools creating the next generation of environmental warriors

The program supported by Grampians and Central West Waste and Resource Recovery group helps students, teachers and parents to better understand how to reduce their waste, save some money and reduce their environmental impact by completing modules to achieve five star sustainability.

St James’ Parish School health and wellbeing coordinator Elise Fraser said the program had helped embed the principals of sustainability into school life. 

“Children have planted native tree species in the school grounds planted seeds and seedlings and cared directly for the chickens in the yard. They have also educated students in younger year levels on how to use the recycle, compost and waste bins in the classrooms and created a unique environmental management system tailored to the schools needs,” she said. 

The school hopes to achieve its fifth star in sustainability by the end of the September. 

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