Newham Primary’s outdoor learning drives sustainability success

Newham Primary School has been part of the ResourceSmart Schools program since 2013. At the 2024 ResourceSmart Schools Awards this 5 Star school was a finalist in the ResourceSmart School of the Year category.

Sustainability in the curriculum

The ResourceSmart Schools program provides a framework that helps integrate sustainability into the curriculum, making it a natural and meaningful part of the students' education.

Newham Primary teaches a sustainability subject but has integrated sustainability, via ResourceSmart Schools, into other subjects too. The grade 5 and 6 students have been testing the water in the local Deep Creek for nearly 9 years. Students are also taught scientific skills, such as using and reading scientific equipment, recording data and interpreting results.

Libby Fullard, who leads sustainability at the school, says this type of integration between core subjects and sustainability make moving through the ResourceSmart Schools modules easier. This results in better learning outcomes for students. 'Sustainability is a cross-curriculum priority,' she says. 'During 2023, the years 2 to 6 students made models of sustainable homes as part of design and technology.'

Libby also says that embedding the program in the curriculum is key because, 'Teachers are extremely busy.' She recommends becoming familiar with what's required to achieve modules or stars, and then planning lessons. 'Then you've got the documentation, the materials and the activities that you can photograph. That makes it more manageable for the teacher to upload to the ResourceSmart Schools website, and it's more meaningful for the students as it creates a continuum and a relevance between the different activities. They don't necessarily know it's contributing to ResourceSmart.'

Help from the ResourceSmart Schools program

Libby says that the school’s ResourceSmart Schools facilitator identified a lot of the grant and funding opportunities the school has benefitted from. 'They're really good at providing the newsletters, and they'll send emails when the grants are opening and closing. Over four years, we've probably brought in well over $10,000 [in grants].'

The school’s current facilitator, Emily Condon, says that she’s been able to help the school with admin and celebrating its sustainability successes. 'Particularly around ensuring that their evidence for modules was in order,' says Emily. 'I assisted with their 5 Star school celebrations, which featured a visit from Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos. I’ve also helped with grants and awards, and positive local media coverage.'

Student wellbeing and engagement

The school's outdoor programs and hands-on learning experiences provide students with a sense of connection to their environment and community. These experiences foster a sense of responsibility and pride in their contributions to a sustainable future.

'They've learned an enormous amount of skills,' says Libby. 'How to use tools various equipment and gardening tools, how to grow food and plant indigenous tube stock. They've also learned about so many aspects of sustainability, including Indigenous perspectives.

'In 10 years’ time, when these students are in secondary school or adults, they’ll know they helped create local habitats. That becomes something they hold in the front of their brain and connect with their heart, hopefully. And they understand the connection: they see what their actions can result in.

'It helps them not only with their wellbeing – to create these safe spaces outdoors in nature – but it helps them connect and engage with their community.'

Connecting with the community via sustainability

Newham Primary School received 2021 and 2023 Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity grants to provide students with biodiversity-focused hands-on environmental learning. The program is delivered across the school and involves planting indigenous plants, maintaining and monitoring the frog bog, and learning about flora and fauna.

'We've also got the Biodiversity Learning Hub,' says Libby. 'It’s a quarter acre area of land near the creek, and we've revegetated it,' says Libby. It has habitat boxes, bug motels, logs, rocks and a ‘lizard lounge' (heat absorbing rocks for reptiles to sun themselves on) to provide habitat for fauna.

The school also collaborated with Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Melbourne Water to make the most of their resources. 'Melbourne Water supplied the funding for the plants for our waterway project. And Macedon Ranges Shire Council has a really great environment department,' says Libby.

The future of sustainability education

As a 5 Star ResourceSmart school, Newham Primary remains motivated to continue its sustainability journey.

'ResourceSmart Schools keeps us engaged,' says Libby. 'We need to renew our energy module next year. That's going to inform some of the curriculum this year. When you’re planning and working out what you're going to teach, ResourceSmart helps guide those decisions.'

She also says that continuing with ResourceSmart Schools even though the school has attained 5 Stars is about honouring the years of work that have got the school to this point. 'There's a lot of knowledge that the current and previous school staff have, and that's something I want to share.'