Meet the school legends leaving sustainable legacies
Sustainability Victoria has revealed the inspiring schools, students, teachers and volunteers from across Victoria short-listed in the 2024 ResourceSmart Schools Awards.
The impressive endeavours and achievements, many that extend beyond the school gate, include building nesting boxes for birds, helping the community address food waste, establishing composting systems to divert organic waste from landfill, installing rainwater tanks to save water and a wrapper-free lunchbox competition to reduce soft-plastic waste.
There are 22 schools across the state vying for titles in this year’s awards from small country primary schools to large inner-city secondary schools.
Mt Lilydale Mercy College is hoping to clinch an award having been nominated in four categories, while Aitken College, a 5-Star ResourceSmart School, is a finalist in 3.
This year, Sustainability Victoria is marking 15 years of the ResourceSmart Schools Awards with the theme, ‘Legendary Legacies – what will you leave behind?’.
Katie Pahlow, Director Regions and Community Action, Sustainability Victoria, says the theme is a celebration of the outstanding work achieved by the hundreds of Victorian schools that have been part of the ResourceSmart Schools program.
“These schools are not only making a difference now but they’re leaving a legacy for the next generation through their sustainability endeavours.
“The ResourceSmart Schools Awards is an opportunity to recognise the tremendous achievements of the teachers, students, school staff and the wider community who are creating a sustainable future.”
The ResourceSmart Schools program is a free Victorian Government program delivering sustainability education to help Victorian schools minimise waste, save energy and water, promote biodiversity and act on climate change.
Since 2008, ResourceSmart Schools has reached over 1,600 Victorian schools. Participating schools have planted more than 5 million trees, saved over $60 million through energy, waste and water savings and avoided over 74,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.
This year’s winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony held at the MCG on 4 June. For information about this year’s finalists, please see below or visit ResourceSmart Schools Awards Finalists 2024.
2024 ResourceSmart Schools Awards finalists
Student Action Team of the Year- Primary
- Castlemaine Steiner School & Kindergarten, Muckleford
- Parkmore Primary School, Forest Hill
- Poowong Consolidated School, Poowong
Student Action Team of the Year- Secondary
- Kew High School, Kew
- St. Monica's College, Epping
- Warrnambool College, Warrnambool
Campus Infrastructure and Operations School of the Year
- Mt Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale
- St Michael's Grammar School, St Kilda
- Winters Flat Primary School, Castlemaine
Community Leadership School of the Year- Primary
- Poowong Consolidated School, Poowong
- St James' Primary School, Sebastopol
- St Patrick's Parish Primary School, Port Fairy
- Tecoma Primary School, Tecoma
Community Leadership School of the Year- Secondary
- Aitken College, Greenvale
- Bundoora Secondary College, Bundoora
- Mt Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale
Curriculum Leadership School of the Year- Primary
- Heathmont East Primary School, Heathmont East
- St James' Primary School, Sebastopol
- Wandin North Primary School, Wandin North
Curriculum Leadership School of the Year- Secondary
- Aitken College, Greenvale
- Mt Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale
- St. Monica's College, Epping
Emerging School of the Year
- Kew High School, Kew
- Wandin North Primary School, Wandin North
- Warrnambool College, Warrnambool
ResourceSmart School of the Year
- Chewton Primary School, Chewton
- Elwood Primary School, Elwood
- Newham Primary School, Newham
Teacher of the Year- Primary
- Sarah Lohmann, Jacq Vawdry and Anna Morris, Elwood Primary School, Elwood
- Gillian Davey, Sarah Chamings and Erin Salm, Epsom Primary School, Epsom
- Laura Attrill, Wandin North Primary School, Wandin North
Teacher of the Year- Secondary
- Dwayne Ganci, Aitken College, Greenvale
- Andrew Feher, Mt Lilydale Mercy College, Lilydale
- Teagan Straw, Warrnambool College, Warrnambool
School Volunteer of the Year
- Overnewton Anglican Community College, Keilor
- Port Melbourne Primary School, Port Melbourne