ARC Linkage Wins: School Lunch, Environmental Projects
Vital research is getting underway at Flinders University to protect the Doongmabulla Springs in Queensland from the potential impacts of mining and to explore boosting childhood nutrition through school lunches across Australia.
The research projects recently awarded nearly $1.5 million in Australian Research Council Linkage grants, will address these national challenges in collaboration with industry, government partners, schools and international universities.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Raymond Chan says these latest ARC grants reflect Flinders’ commitment to community-based research that makes a difference.
“It is only through working directly in our community, and together with our partners and industry, that we can make a real-world difference and tackle some of today’s challenges.
“Both of these projects exemplify how Flinders researchers are setting out to make meaningful, lasting contributions that improve lives, inform policy, and drive innovation across sectors.
“Congratulations must be extended to Professor Rebecca Golley and Professor Adrian Werner on their success.”
Receiving $978,752, a new project led by Professor Rebecca Golley at the Caring Future’s Institute will test the best approaches to make healthy lunches available in Australian schools to better support kids learning and development.
The research will compare the value of different school lunch programs to assess how nutritionally beneficial and financially viable they would be if delivered at a national scale.
Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Rebecca Golley says the aim is to develop a scalable program that can transform how schools across Australia feed students and teach them about food, supporting families experiencing food insecurity in the process.
“The traditional approach to bringing your own lunch to school is failing to nourish our children so we as researchers need to think outside the lunchbox to deliver real change in the classroom.
“Our research, which is possible through our strong alliance of partners, will test lunch programs that can deliver fuel for learning, create social impact and teach our children about the nutritional value of the food they eat.
“Thanks to this valuable support from the ARC, we will also look at the benefits of school lunches on children’s overall wellbeing, the environment, and the broader economy.”
In the second ARC supported project, Professor Adrian Werner from the College of Science & Engineering, will receive $513,617 to assess the impact of Australia’s largest mine on the Doongmabulla Springs in central Queensland, which supports 160 nationally significant wetlands.
Lead Investigator, Professor Werner, says the Carmichael Coal Mine, located 8 kilometres east of the Springs, has the potential to lower groundwater levels substantially.
“Our project will improve understanding about the Springs’ response to the impact of the Carmichael Coal Mine on spring flow – a vitally important project when we consider the Springs’ significance to the entire local ecosystem.
“This includes developing sediment datasets and models, as well as conducting assessments on the legal and policy management of the spring to gain important insights on improving protections.
“More broadly, the project can inform evidence-based measures for protecting threatened springs-not only in Australia, but around the world.”
Full information on the ARC Linkage projects are available here.
https://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2025/06/26/arc-linkage-wins-for-school-lunches-and-environmental-protection-projects/