2016 ResourceSmart Schools Awards

Last updated: 24 September 2024
Share

On Friday 11 November 2016, The Hon. Lily D'Ambrosio MP, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change announced the 2016 ResourceSmart School of the Year – Banyule Primary School.

Congratulations Banyule Primary School and well done to all the categories winners and finalists. We received over 200 entries, the highest ever making the competition strong. Thanks to all our entrants and our sponsors, it was a fun event that showcased and celebrated the best sustainability achievements Victorian schools have to offer.

The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are Victoria's largest sustainability awards program celebrating the achievements of schools and early childhood services.

All finalists were invited to the Awards event at the IMAX Theatre, Melbourne Museum, where all finalists’ sustainability stories for a beautiful planet were showcased. See the school's sustainability projects in this year's Awards booklet.

"" (From left) The Hon. Lily D'Ambrosio MP, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Heather Campbell, Chair, SV. (Middle back row) Banyule Teachers. (Right) Stan Krpan, CEO, SV and Paul Geason, Managing Director, Momentum Energy. (Front row) Banyule Primary School students.

2016 ResourceSmart School of the Year

Winner: Banyule Primary School

Banyule Primary School is the embodiment of sustainability, embedding direct action of climate change via energy efficiency, water conservation, community engagement and enhanced their local ecosystem throughout the curriculum and school community.

This school has shown leadership specifically across biodiversity, water and energy savings, waste reduction, student and wider community engagement – this is no small task for a school of 579 students.

Banyule has a ‘Whole School Sustainability Program’ with 10 teacher sustainability leaders and 24 student leaders, ensuring every single student at the school participates and learns about sustainability.

Banyule’s most significant achievements include a video to promote efficient energy use to students and energy saving ideas to the entire community. The video was created by students across all year levels.

Clean transport was a key focus this year with the whole school embracing the use of public transport, electric cars and bikes.

It’s not just the students and staff involved, the wider community also benefits from the sustainability activities being carried out at this school. Students present the food they have grown to families, sharing their knowledge of locally grown produce.

Banyule students are the real leaders and driving force behind the school’s sustainability success. Through research, action and leadership, students have changed the way the wider school community thinks about gardening and biodiversity, resulting in a new range of garden structures, creating nesting boxes and other projects around the school.

The students have presented a case for key sustainability projects convincing the principal, teachers and parents to help build a greenhouse, install an irrigation system and created ‘The Wicking Bed Project’.

The students in the Gardening Club, discovered wicking beds to redirect water from drains to gardens through online research.

As part of the project they convinced a plumbing company to volunteer their services, they sourced a recycled PVC container and enlisted the help of fellow students to move dirt from the chicken shed to the wicking bed. The club members are an inspiration to others, presenting at conferences and awards ceremonies on the importance of biodiversity.

Banyule is a ResourceSmart School star. In the past three years the school has gone from no stars to a 4 Star ResourceSmart School and 5 stars is on the horizon.

This school actively encourage sustainable and responsible Australians for the future, through hard work and a passion for our beautiful planet.

Finalists

Biodiversity Primary School of the Year

Winner: The Patch Primary School

It’s a real community effort for biodiversity at The Patch. The school has planted over 2,000 indigenous plant species within the school ground, extended wildlife corridors, expanded connections to the local community and implemented an award-winning habitat plan. The school established community groups to oversee key projects supporting the habitat plan – projects included edible food, food forest, weeds, working bees, class representatives and grant writing.

The community groups include over 50 parents from the school. The school developed a range of ecological zones including a swampy riparian forest and wetland, shrubby gully forest and understories to protect large trees from soil compaction and root damage.

Student groups, such as Grub Club, support staff to facilitate opportunities for students with special needs to benefit from experiential learning by engaging in additional activities such as
tree planting. Nature-based education workshops are also held, and the school hosted five visits from educational providers. The Patch raised funds to support their habitat plan, including
applying for Melbourne Water Stream Frontage Grants, entering the Victorian Schools Garden Awards (‘Best Habitat Garden 2015’) and selling student-propagated plants.

Finalists

Biodiversity Secondary School of the Year

Winner: Damascus College Ballarat

The opening of Damascus College’s Murnong Trail in Ballarat with 16 informative stations was a significant achievement for the school. The 800 metre biodiversity trail winds through the college grounds and was developed to increase the school community’s awareness of the bountiful bushland and to ensure its conservation.

Indigenous plants protected on the trail include the Murnong yam daisy, Microseris walkeri. Conserving Murnong also protects the rich biodiversity of the heathy dry forest in which it grows.

The trail has been transformed into a vibrant educational experience, becoming a hands-on project where students have learnt many new things about the environment and now understand the effects of their actions on the local environment.

Finalists

Community Leadership Primary School of the Year

Winner: Moorabbin Primary School

Moorabbin Primary School (MPS) has collaborated with a wide variety of partners to instigate a culture amongst students and the broader community for environmental leadership. Every member of the school has helped transform the campus into productive zones, habitats for indigenous wildlife and outdoor learning spaces.

The school shares it learnings with fellow ResourceSmart schools, has coordinated 250 hours of parent volunteering and integrated sustainability into its curriculum and culture.

In 2016 Moorabbin Primary School set up a Parent Sustainability Survey. Completed by one in three parents, the survey showed that the school has achieved its core aim: to model positive behaviours within the school and facilitate the transfer of these behaviours beyond school to the home and community.

Collaborating with 10 community partners, MPS has transformed itself over the space of one year into a ResourceSmart school that is valued by the whole community for its environmental leadership and advocacy.

Finalists

Community Leadership Secondary School of the Year

Winner: Catholic Regional College

Catholic Regional College in St. Albans has created an innovative garden and community outreach program that advocates for a world where students, local communities and society become agents of environmental and social regeneration.

The Arthur St Community Garden project is a living, breathing enterprise that continues to evolve and flourish, helping the school to form new partnerships, grow fresh food and re-evaluate its policy and curriculum around sustainability.

The garden allows students to gain a greater perspective about what it means to be a citizen of the planet – in union with the earth and each other. The school works to build its sustainability capacity of students, staff and community.

Finalists

Early Childhood Service of the Year

Winner: Goodstart Early Learning Centre, Morwell

Goodstart Early Learning, Morwell, encourages children to engage in sustainability activities such as the process of growing vegetables, as well as investigating and learning about the recycling process, including recycling centres.

Goodstart established a worm farm, recycled used paper, created a vegetable garden, and formed connections with the community. The learning facility provides families with worm juice and ask families to donate recyclable goods. Students are now enjoying teaching each other about sustainability.

Finalists

Energy Primary School of the Year

Winner: St Joseph's Primary School, Elsternwick

St Joseph’s Primary School in Elsternwick has seen a significant reduction in its energy consumption from 311.2 kg of greenhouse gasses per student in the 2015 school year to 192.9 kg in 2016. The school has reduced electricity consumption from 206 KwH per student to 142 KwH per student, and gas from 313.79 Mj per student to 150.96 Mj in 2016.

St Joseph’s significantly reduced energy consumption using a behaviour change program, which has been extended to the local community.

The school has made connections with other schools in the community and shared its learnings in a presentation at the Steps to Sustainability Conference. The school strives to show leadership and assist others on their energy journey.

Finalists

Energy Secondary School of the Year

Winner: Brentwood Secondary College

While Brentwood Secondary College has only recently started its sustainability journey, the school has already made serious head way. During the past year the school has analysed its energy use and identified areas for improvement. It has placed temperature setting labels on remote controls to all heating/cooling devices; installed a 30 kW solar PV array, which started generating electricity this year, and celebrated Earth Hour. It now switches off all appliances (expect servers and important fridges) during term holidays.

Brentwood Secondary College communicated their actions to the wider community through newsletter articles to raise awareness on saving energy.

Finalists

Student-led Action Team of the Year Primary

Winner: Glengarry Primary School

Glengarry Primary School’s ‘Pick up Day’ team organises a day of the week when students are invited to spend lunch time picking up rubbish. Class mates, Henry, Kaelan, Tatiana, Charlie, Isabel and Jedd publicised and organised pick up day without input from teachers. The biggest impact of pick up day is the reduction in the amount of rubbish in the yard. The other flow-on effects have been the feeling of positivity and goodwill that the students have created among their peers.

With very little input from teachers at Glengarry, the children have been driving the intiative from the outset, problem solving along the way. The team is now enlisting staff assistance to expand pick up day into the community and possibly hold a ‘Pick Up Day Olympics’.

Finalists

Student-led Action Team of the Year Secondary

Winner: Naranga Special School

Naranga Special School’s ‘Senior Hands On Program’ (HOP) regularly engages students, by developing their literacy and numeracy skills and good sustainability practices to carry through to adulthood.

There are 10 students involved in HOP and they are positive role models for other students and the entire school community. Through practical conservation activities the students have learnt a diverse range of skills such as how to work together as a team, how to use power tools, how to build structures, gardening knowledge and sustainability knowledge.

The students recently designed a new kitchen garden area, cleared, pruned and relocated some plants for the revamp, measured and costed garden materials and ordered gardening supplies. Students also prepared worm farms, relocated a frog pond, prepared six plots for fruit trees to establish an orchard, and used old soccer balls as planters.

Finalists

Teacher of the Year Primary School

Winner: Maree Bailey (Mentone Primary School)

Mentone Primary School’s teacher and sustainability leader, Maree Bailey, has many strings to her bow. Responsible for integrating sustainability into school life, Maree is tasked with
embedding sustainability practices into school operations, teaching, learning and school community engagement.

Maree co-ordinates the ResourceSmart Schools program, leads the Student Sustainability Club, plans school working bees, and much more.

Somehow, she also finds time to build partnerships with organisations such as the Dolphin Research Institute, Coastal Ambassadors and the local council too. Maree promotes and engages in opportunities to improve teaching practice and increase learning opportunities for students.

Finalists

Teacher of the Year Secondary School

Winner: Kate Morgan (Warracknabeal Secondary College)

Kate Morgan has played a leading role in sustainability at Warracknabeal Secondary College in the past year focusing on waste, water, biodiversity and energy. Kate works passionately
with an award-winning student-led action group and embeds sustainability into the year seven curriculum. Her outstanding leadership has seen the College become a 2 Star ResourceSmart school with a third star close to being achieved. Kate and her students regularly present at whole school assemblies to spread the sustainability message.

Kate works closely with the ResourceSmart Schools Facilitator and has developed a number of policies to present to the school council, which promote positive change in the school community.

Finalists

Waste Primary School of the Year

Winner: St Kilda Primary School

St Kilda Primary School’s student-led teams have focused on sustainability priorities across the school, which have led to a reduction in landfill and e-waste.

The school has created a community recycling depot that collects printer cartridges, batteries, mobile phones, corks and soft plastic. A ‘Waste Warriors’ team collects data on whole of school landfill and recycling, and reminds students to be mindful of which items can be recycled from their lunch box.

St Kilda Primary School is committed to creating and maintaining a sustainable planet for future generations and tries to ensure that the future development of the school is ecological sensitive, representing best practice in environmental management. In a very short time the school has transformed itself into a green haven by decreasing waste, energy and water use significantly, with students leading the sustainability charge under the guidance of dedicated teachers and parents.

Finalists

Waste Secondary School of the Year

Winner: Warracknabeal Secondary

Warracknabeal Secondary College has ceated a piece of sustainability installation art in its 1.3 x 1.3 metre cube of rubbish. Taking months to create, the visual reminder has helped to bring
about a reduction in waste at the school and an increased focus on paperless classrooms and recycling.

Students and staff are aware of how much waste they produce at school in one year and the rubbish cube has given them some strategies to reduce that amount. The school has seen a reduction in photocopying and an increase in electronic distribution of worksheets.

More students are bringing nude food to school and using the recycling bins in the yard and classrooms when necessary. Teachers also contirbute by collecting organic waste and milk bottles in the staffroom.

Finalists

Water School of the Year Primary

Winner: St Louis De Montforts Primary School

St Louis is well known for its ongoing sustainability achievements, and over the past year they have stepped things up with a new and unique water habitat area to support students’ understanding of water conservation. The school’s water initiatives are empowering students to see water as a precious commodity. Students are encouraged to engage in experiential, participatory and multidisciplinary approaches to build understanding, knowledge and responsibility about water.

St Louis monitors its water use through ResourceSmart Schools and SWEP, and engages with local wetlands by taking part in activities like testing water quality pH levels for optimum animal and plant growth.

From driving the popular 'Steps to Sustainability' Conference' and establishing partnerships with the local community, this school’s commitment to student water education is inspirational.

Finalists

Water School of the Year Secondary

Winner: Williamstown High School

Williamstown High School’s recent accomplishments include development of a wetlands area, monitoring using SWEP, educating students through Environmental Crusaders and
assembly presentations.

The school links water to the curriculum, and is committed to recycling rain water for the school’s toilets, garden and the community. Having large gutters, 12 large water tanks, half flush systems in both campuses and, on the Bayview Campus, a monitoring system is in place that allows the school to test taps, flushes and operational sewage drains fortnightly to ensure the
systems are working efficiently. Student water use has subsequently dropped from 15.5kl to 13.3kl.

Finalists

2016 awards booklet

A showcase of Victorian schools sustainability stories for a beautiful planet.

Want to know more?

Get in touch:

ResourceSmart Schools Awards, Sustainability Victoria
03 8626 8747
resourcesmartawards@sustainability.vic.gov.au