2017 ResourceSmart Schools Awards
In 2017 the Awards celebrated its tenth anniversary. The year’s awards focused on the theme ‘a decade of school wins for the environment’ and have inspired school communities to take sustainability and climate action, while providing learning opportunities for students.
School of the Decade
Winner: St Louis de Montfort Primary School (Aspendale)
St Louis de Montfort’s Primary is a 5 Star ResourceSmart School that has embedded sustainability into its school culture over a long period.
Staff and students lead by example and educate the broader community about the benefits of sustainability. The school continuously demonstrates a commitment to educate the wider community on sustainability issues by hosting large scale events like the Steps to Sustainability Conference, as well as running workshops at events including the Victorian Schools Gardens Garden Show, the Big Green Schools Conference and the Kids Teaching Kids Conferences.
Classrooms contain composting bins, paper collection trays, reminder signage to turn off lights and computers when not in use, and recommended temperatures for heating and cooling.
Outside walls display artworks promoting water saving initiatives and large water tanks supply water to toilets, gardens and tennis courts. The sustainability precinct contains a kitchen made from converted shipping containers, wood-fired pizza oven, grey water pond, garden beds, aquaponics ponds and beds, re-used tyre and sleeper walls and amphitheatre, permaculture area, compost system, orchard, rabbit hutch, bird aviary, chicken coop, swales (wetlands).
St Louis de Montfort’s Primary is a 5 Star ResourceSmart School that has embedded sustainability into its school culture over a long period.
Staff and students lead by example and educate the broader community about the benefits of sustainability. The school continuously demonstrates a commitment to educate the wider community on sustainability issues by hosting large scale events like the Steps to Sustainability Conference, as well as running workshops at events including the Victorian Schools Gardens Garden Show, the Big Green Schools Conference and the Kids Teaching Kids Conferences.
Classrooms contain composting bins, paper collection trays, reminder signage to turn off lights and computers when not in use, and recommended temperatures for heating and cooling.
Outside walls display artworks promoting water saving initiatives and large water tanks supply water to toilets, gardens and tennis courts. The sustainability precinct contains a kitchen made from converted shipping containers, wood-fired pizza oven, grey water pond, garden beds, aquaponics ponds and beds, re-used tyre and sleeper walls and amphitheatre, permaculture area, compost system, orchard, rabbit hutch, bird aviary, chicken coop, swales (wetlands) and reptile enclosures. This amazing precinct provides hands-on learning opportunities for students, who learn about the importance of sustainability across curriculum areas including English, maths, science and technology, and are rewarded with ‘sustainabux’ for acting sustainably.
St Louis have grown from a community with little knowledge about sustainability to a community that is passionate, engaged and active at the school level and in the wider community.
From the time you step into the school their progressive approach to sustainability is visible, awards proudly displayed, events advertised and then when you arrive at the sustainability precinct you will see children proudly immersed in hands on learning in natural environments. The school has a clear vision and sustainability plan implemented with great pride.
Finalists
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Carrum Primary is a 5 Star ResourceSmart school that has installed solar panels, orchards, a bike shed for active transport vehicles, garden beds, wetlands for filtering storm water run-off, an aviary and endangered species breeding. The school actively mentors other schools and the community, and initiates and participates in community activities including using the school radio station to promote sustainability, The Big Green Schools Conference and The Big Green Festival. Sustainability is embedded across the school curriculum, which includes garden classes and an integrated topic focusing specifically on an aspect of the environment for one term each year.
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St Macartans Primary commenced their sustainability efforts in 2002 and are a 5 Star ResourceSmart school. The school has an endless list of achievements, winning and becoming finalists in numerous sustainability awards, including being a Finalist in the Premier’s Sustainability Awards 2014. The school has formed many partnerships to embed sustainability in the school, as well as to help the community to benefit from the schools sustainability knowledge. The schools building and outside learning environments exemplify best practice, with locally sourced building materials, correct solar orientation, water saving devices, thermal chimneys, energy efficient lighting, indigenous plantings, pergolas and swales.
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Winters Flat Primary School was the 2015 ResourceSmart School of the Year. The school is a 5Star ResourceSmart school that embeds sustainability into the curriculum and engages and empowers students, staff and parents.
The school’s ‘Students Leading Change Sustainability Program’ started as a vision to reduce the school’s carbon footprint. Over a decade later, the school remains committed to this vision through its shared leadership culture.
In 2016, the school’s sustainability program won the Premier’s Recognition Award and the Education Award at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards, as well as Parks Victoria Environmental Sustainability Award and Bendigo’s Healthiest School Award.
Leadership School of the Year
Winner: St Louis de Montfort Primary School, Aspendale
St Louis de Montfort’s Primary has demonstrated outstanding sustainability leadership through all its students and staff. Student Waste and Energy Warriors lead their classes to ensure waste and energy reduction in all classrooms. This year’s student leaders introduced the ‘Sustainabux’ program, which has helped improve sustainability practices across the school by rewarding individuals and classes for taking positive sustainable actions. Students can collect and redeem their sustainabux for prizes including movie afternoons, extra play or chip lunches. The student leaders are role models and impart their sustainability knowledge to fellow students, teachers, staff, parents and members of the wider community through both their actions and words.
The staff have incorporated sustainable education across all areas of the Victorian Curriculum and lead students in the inquiry-based approach to learning. Staff are provided with professional development opportunities to learn about new and current approaches to sustainable education, and the school has initiated the ‘Friends of Aspendale Train Station Group’. In addition, the school has demonstrated its leadership by recently expanding its sustainability precinct, installing solar panels with a battery system and reducing its rubbish collection. The school demonstrated a great ability to involve the wider community and constantly reinvent their approach to sustainability.
Finalists
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At Mentone Primary School, leadership is demonstrated by both teachers and students through the Student Sustainability Team. Mentone is a 5Star ResourceSmart School that engages the school community through educational campaigns focusing on energy, water, waste and biodiversity. Recent campaigns have included ‘War on Waste’, ‘Ban the plastic bag’, ‘Bubbles not Balloons’, ‘Big Green’, ‘Schools National Tree Day’ and ‘Nude Food Ninja’. Mentone’s key passion is caring for our waterways and this is demonstrated through campaigns that focus on caring for the bay like Blue Day, where the school raised awareness and money for the Dolphin Research Institute.
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Warracknabeal Secondary drives sustainability in the community by building relationships and participating in ResourceSmart Schools and TAKE2. Students are taking on leadership roles within the school and influenced other schools and groups such as Hands on Learning and VCAL to employ sustainability practices. Students get involved in events such as tree planting days, clean up days, energy breakthrough events and the Warracknabeal Community Garden. Through the school’s ‘Bin It To Win It’ initiative, students learn about proper recycling practices and take these messages home to influence their families. Cafes in town are even starting a BYO coffee cup movement.
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The Environment Student Team(s) at Werribee Primary School has provided school tours for parent committees from nearby schools, provided advice through the local Teacher Environment Network, engaged parent associations, shared their environmental policy and mentored neighbouring schools. The school runs events including ‘Out With Lights’ and the ‘Plush Frog Journal’ to raise conversations about how to reduce energy use, and the Common Cents Challenge to raise money for the Eastern Barred Bandicoot. Werribee Primary is a 5 Star ResourceSmart school and has developed relationships with local businesses and media to showcase the benefits of the school’s sustainability actions.
Biodiversity School of the Year – Primary
Winner: Firbank Grammar, Sandringham
Firbank Grammar delivers an entire suite of programs to influence students to live more sustainably as they move into adulthood. Sustainability can be seen across the school grounds and features strongly in the school’s curriculum. The introduction of native and drought tolerant plants has enhanced the sustainable environment of the school and the whole school community takes part in National Tree Planting Day to increase native vegetation in the school. Students have attracted wildlife to the area by increasing understory and vegetation structure, creating a nature trail project and creating mosaic bird baths.
Students examine ecosystems and explore a variety of concepts like responsibility and causation to understand how plants and animals respond and adapt to changes in the environment. The school set-up an exhibition with the theme ‘Sharing the Planet’ to demonstrate students’ understanding of endangered species and how ecosystems are impacted by climate change and other factors. Judges were impressed by the holistic approach the school is taking to biodiversity and the introduction of the nature trail was thought to be a wonderfully positive initiative.
Finalists
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Badger Creek Primary’s biodiversity actions are student-centered, focusing on building knowledge through connecting to real life issues and working towards actionable solutions. Students have developed greater understanding of living and non-living things, life cycles, food production, habitat loss, regeneration and human impacts on the environment. The school has built mutually beneficial partnerships with organisations in the community including Zoos Victoria, Landcare, Environmental Education for Kids, Yarra Ranges Council and Plastic Bag Free Healesville.
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The school runs a Living Green program that links sustainability in the curriculum and school culture, and inspires conversations between staff, students, families and the community. Students are encouraged to examine nature on a micro level and explore the variety of ecosystems at the school, as well as creating awareness of broader climate change impacts. An endangered bird, the Grey-crowned Babbler was rediscovered by a school family in the schoolyard, which hadn’t been recorded in the area for 8 years. Sharing such information has reinvigorated birdwatching in the district.
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St Therese Primary is involved with ‘Out and About’ – a program run in partnership with Victoria University and the Surf Coast Shire. Students walk to their nominated ‘special place’ where they engage with the natural environment. Students explore, investigate and hypothesise about what they see. They observe the growth, effects of weather, the seasons and human activity on flora and fauna. Parents walk with the students and parents’ this enables the conversation to continue at home as well. Students have also planted of hundreds of trees, shrubs and grasses.
Biodiversity School of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Kyneton Secondary College, Kyneton
Kyneton Secondary students have been working with the Macedon Ranges Environment Department and local Landcare groups to conduct field studies on insect populations at Bald Hill Reserve, a patch of remnant vegetation near Kyneton. By monitoring insect diversity in potential habitat sites, scientists are hoping to identify how the availability of certain foods impacted the continued presence of the Phascogale marsupial in a given location. Students visit the reserve and see first-hand how the destruction of native forests has led to declines in native animal populations.
This collaborative project gives students the unique opportunity to work with scientists and volunteers to gather real-life data that will help in the protection of the Brush-tailed Phascogale in the Macedon Ranges, as well as strengthening ties between the school and the local community. For the past year the Sustainability Group at Kyneton Secondary College has worked with the community to run regular tree planting events along the Campaspe River. Since July, 2016 in excess of 1500 native trees have been planted in this area. The judges liked the use of students’ data to conserve an endangered species, alongside the collaboration with a variety of stakeholders on this project.
Finalists
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Lowanna College has planted a range of indigenous and non-indigenous plants at the school to attract local fauna to the school and surrounding areas. A significant achievement is the owl nesting box project that has demonstrated to students that humans can assist in the survival of some plant and animal species, which impacts the biodiversity of the school’s local environment. The school’s biodiversity program learnings are evident as students learn about how the negative impacts of climate change cause biodiversity loss.
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The whole school community is involved in sustainability activities like annual tree planting and environment days, led by their Environment and Sustainability Team. Students have designed an indigenous garden, including food plants. The school’s horticulture program enables students to learn about biodiversity, and improve the wildlife corridor for the local Powerful Owls. The school’s programs reinforce classroom teaching in English, numeracy, geography, science and Australian studies. The school achieved the ResourceSmart Schools Biodiversity Module.
Waste School of the Year – Primary
Winner: Manchester Primary School, Mooroolbark
Every student, staff member and visitor is encouraged to be waste aware and follow the school waste policy. Students are conscious of the dangers of litter to the environment and wildlife not only in the school-ground but via the storm-water drains to the Yarra River and the ocean. They explore a variety of global waste problems like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and impacts on animal and plant life. A four bin system is in every class-room, supported by student ‘Bin Monitors’ who ensure correct disposal and a group of students called ‘Waste Warriors’ scour the school-grounds for rubbish and report back to their grade.
Students also visit the vegie garden to use the worm farm and compost bin. In addition, the Parent Club seeks advice on how to reduce waste when running fund raising events and the LOTE and art programs focus on reducing the purchase of excess packaging, reusable bags, rubbish free lunches and recycled art materials. Teachers began putting Environmental Sustainability in their annual programs and reminding younger students of what goes in each bin. The school purchased solar panels with the money saved as part of their participation in the ResourceSmart Schools program.
Finalists
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Everyone at the school has a role to play in waste reduction. The senior school oversee the waste reduction aims, along with a dedicated Environment Captain who leads reducing, reusing and recycling within the school. The school has removed yard bins, achieved by recycling soft plastics, their nude food ‘Golden Lunchbox’ award and recycling. Food waste is given to animals or composted. Foundation students’ orientation program encourages parents to think about their children’s lunches. These measures have halved landfill in the last year.
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Mentone has reduced waste by 75 per cent since recording waste data with the ResourceSmart Schools program, saving the school $32,000, with actions on waste reduction contributing substantially to this figure. Mentone promotes ‘Nude Food’, uses compost bins in classrooms, increased paper recycling and makes good environmental choices for the school. Mentone promotes ‘Prep Ninja Warriors’, ‘Nude Food’ and ‘Rid the Wrapper’ messages, and the school’s ‘War on Waste’ campaign. Students are educating others in the school and this has filtered through to the broader community.
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The school takes action to decrease their waste production. The leadership team, staff and students are ‘change champions’. Students share a waste wise ethic with the wider school community and are regularly asked to offer advice to other schools. In 2012, they disposed of 0.68m3 of waste per student per year. By 2015, this has reduced to 0.39m3. In 2016, this had further reduced to 0.29m3 per student. The school established a zero waste policy and focus on continually improving waste systems, and students are responsible for encouraging recycling habits.
Waste School of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Nossal High School, Berwick
Nossal High School did not just complete the ResourceSmart Schools waste module, they completely overhauled the school culture. While working through the waste module, the number of Nossal Environmental Sustainability Team (NEST) members grew from around 15 to a massive 60. The students, whether NEST members or not, are getting involved, having the conversations about waste and creating positive change. They have reduced waste to landfill by 40 cubic metres and saved significant amounts of money.
The school is a relatively young school and had very few waste management or awareness systems in place before the waste module focus. Classes in the school are adapting and changing to incorporate waste studies components in their curriculum. For example in Japanese, students learn about recycling practices in Japan. In Chemistry, students are taught best practice and safest ways to dispose of waste chemicals. The school uses an online program for information sharing rather than printing on paper illustrating their commitment to eliminating waste. The school is dedicated to waste reduction and integrating sustainability into daily learning streams.
Finalists
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The college focuses on improving its waste practices and reducing waste. The schools’ actions address improved facilities for waste management and waste education. The Green team has worked towards completing various actions from the ResourceSmart Schools waste module. They liaised with staff and students about sustainability goals, consulted Monash council to organise events and ran campaigns such as ‘War on waste’. Teachers introduced waste education and commingled bins, set up ‘waste stations’ in staffrooms and ‘disposable bottle-free’ learning conferences.
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The college’s award winning bicycle recycle project, involving exporting unwanted bicycles to third world countries for reuse, is still going strong. Since winning an award in 2012, Kaniva brought the project into year eight metalwork curriculum, with students repairing bikes in pairs. As a result of the success of this project, and the pride the students felt, Kaniva set up other recycling projects to benefit third world countries and Australians in need. Students study waste management, using the college recycling as part of these studies.
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The college makes explicit links in the curriculum to waste and the ecosystems around us. Sustainability and human impact is an integral part of the 7-10 Science curriculum. Year 7s learn the origin of plastics from oil, separating techniques and down cycling. The Year 7s and 8s construct engineering projects from repurposed/recycled materials, and create trash puppets. Year 9s learn about nutrient cycling and the impact of incorrect disposal of organic waste. Year 12 Outdoor Education classes conduct water quality testing and rubbish removal.
Water School of the Year – Primary
Winner: Exford Primary School, Exford
Exford Primary School have instigated a whole of school approach to water safety. This school is in a unique position as rain water tanks service the entire school for water supply, using storm water to flush toilets and water the gardens. Exford’s population has grown dramatically over the past few years, and the need for staff and students to take notice of the water supply is vital. As such, sustainability and water management has become a
focus in the classroom. Students and staff actively go out of their way emptying the drip buckets daily, checking they are placed correctly, hand watering plants with a miniature tank and creating water saving posters and projects to remind everybody within our community of the benefits of saving water. Additionally, students have been on a variety of excursions, like to Western Water encouraging them to continue saving water in the home.
The passion of staff and students to continue this sustainable activity and minimising water usage is much admired. As a result of the water safety program the gardening club has seen a large number of new members.
Finalists
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Epping Views Primary programs such as ‘Choose Tap’ to encourage and educate the students to be more water conscious through changing the way they use water. Through such programs students practice using minimal water in bathrooms and at water drinking stations. Water is considered in all aspects of the school grounds for example planting drought resistant plants. Regular Sustainability Action meetings are held. Sustainability is included in the curriculum and water experts such as Yarra Valley Water present to the school and help the school with water conservation.
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Stella Maris focused on the ResourceSmart Schools water module in 2016. Year 6 Teachers worked with the Sustainability and STEM leader at Stella Maris, and the Port Phillip Eco Centre to coordinate a range of water projects. The projects strengthened the links between the location of the school and its proximity to the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Students pitched water projects to the principal, and provided an operational budget to cover costs associated with each project. The principal approved and contributed $1000, and was matched by Bayside City Council.
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Werribee Primary School takes practical action to meet specific reductions in water usage such as planting drought tolerant native trees and using recycled rain water. The leadership team, staff and students are ‘change champions’ take the lead to review and improve the school’s environmental impact. They take practical action to reduce water usage, as evident in their results: water use in 2015 was 2.10 KL per student. In 2016, this reduced to 1.89KL per student. Werribee Primary supports a whole school approach to developing active environmental citizens.
Water School of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Warringa Park School, Hoppers Crossing
The Bethany Campus of the Warringa Park Secondary School has been specially designed for years’ eight to ten. Year eight and nine students at the Bethany Road Campus actively participate in a global water conservation project, Water is Life, which requires students to work collaboratively within the school and with 25 schools from over ten countries across the globe to study, research and share the need for water conservation. The project’s learning goals align to the Victorian Curriculum and the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, and has required a shift in thinking and pedagogy for teachers.
The Water is Life Project culminated in a whole campus Action Day with special guests including iEarn representatives, parents, carers and students from the local primary school. At this day all students involved in the project presented their local Water Conservation Projects. Student involvement resulted in local action with measurable outcomes, such as fundraising for a water tank to be installed at the campus to water gardens. The students work was compiled as a ‘book of action’ which was subsequently presented to the United Nations in New York. The school has had a positive impact by working with students from all over the world while maintaining a local focus.
Finalist
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MacKillop Catholic Regional College is a large campus that shows environmental leadership in the community. The school uses recycled water for the majority of its grounds irrigation, and its edible garden beds are wicking beds. The dry creek bed near the Chapel reduces water runoff from the school’s hard surfaces and acts as a litter trap thus reducing pollution in waterways. The school constantly monitors its water use at both campuses using the Schools Water Efficiency Program. Over winter, freezing pipes exploded caused leaks and were quickly detected. Students can learn about recycled water and how it differs to black water, grey water, storm water and potable water.
Energy School of the Year – Primary
Winner: Werribee Primary School, Werribee
Werribee Primary School has implemented a number of strategies to improve its energy efficiency, including installing solar panels, monthly ‘Out with Lights’ days to challenge students and teachers to not use electricity or gas, with reward charts presented to each participating class. Werribee Primary have developed an Energy Frog Journal to inspire energy saving at home encouraging students to participate in energy saving initiatives. Most notably, Werribee Primary School has made an enormous effort to encourage and support active transport.
Active paths created specifically for the school have been installed, students participate in safe riding/scooter skills and regularly collect active transport data and report this to the whole school. Students are requested to ‘dress for the weather’ and monitor active travel data. This data is collected by students and reported back to school. Students’ monitor progress and understand the benefits of active travel on health, traffic and pollution in creating a more sustainable future.
Finalists
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Students of Athol Road Primary School have had practical experiences as part of the school’s environmental study and energy classes. Students conducted an energy audit of the school and had the opportunity to construct their own wind turbines and solar powered vehicles. As a result of the energy audit and environmental classes, solar panels and more energy efficient LED lights were installed, and environmental leaders began to regularly monitor the school’s energy use and report findings to the whole school.
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Epping Views Primary School is actively educating its school community through classroom and specialist learning, newsletter articles, whole school sustainability activities, competitions and resourcing. The school encourages active transport through its bicycle education programs, ‘walk to school day’ and by providing safe bicycle storage for students. Active transport data is collected and class awards are presented weekly.
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To enhance students’ learning about energy use and sustainability, Koonwarra Village School has incorporated practical experiences into its Kitchen Garden Program and provided students with the opportunity to construct their own solar powered ovens and dehydrators. The project achieved a truly cross-curriculum approach, incorporating a range of critical and creative thinking, science, maths and English studies.
Energy School of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Lauriston Girls School, Howqua
Lauriston Girls’ School have introduced the ‘Black Balloons House Competition’. Black balloons are representative of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere and a chart displaying the number of black balloons generated by each house is listed in a visible location and updated weekly. The black balloon house competition demonstrates to students the direct impact their actions are having on the environment. A ‘Green House Award’ is awarded weekly, to the house that generates the least black balloons. The competitive nature of the program encourages students to consider the direct impact their actions have on the environment.
A result of this display has seen year nine students at Lauriston Girls’ School Howqua Campus monitoring their weekly energy consumption and challenging themselves to reduce their energy use. Overall since commencing the program, the result is significant reductions in energy use, with approximately 500 less black balloons released each week. The ‘Black Balloons House Competition’ is augmented by year nine science class which features a unit on climate change and sustainability. The school behavioural change indicator and liked the integration with science classes.
Finalist
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MacKillop Catholic Regional College has taken a number of construction and refurbishment actions to reduce its energy use, including installing solar panels, a Solar SETS system and Smart Glass, maximising use of natural lighting and switching to LED lights. In addition, students are learning about the importance of renewable energy and sustainability through the 'Waste Not, Want Not' science study unit.
Student Action Team of the Year – Primary
Winner: Tatura primary school, Tatura
Tatura Primary School has commenced an Envirokids program, featuring elected student representatives from years’ three to six. These students meet regularly, discuss and implement ideas to reduce waste and energy use, then present these to the whole school on a weekly basis. Additionally the Envirokids representatives maintain their own notice board and provide input for the school newsletter. At the end of recess each day, Envirokids play a Recycle It song reminding students to dispose and repurpose waste. In 2016, the team implemented a three bin system in each classroom for composting, recycling and waste complemented by awarding the winners of the ‘Golden Bin’ award to the most waste wise class on a weekly basis. The school has implemented a ‘half flush’ option on toilets to reduce the school’s overall water wastage by placing a ‘We’re Keen on Green’ sticker on half-flush buttons. Tatura Primary school was awarded the Hume Region Waste School of 2017 by reducing landfill waste by 33 cubic metres in 12 months. The students’ passion and enthusiasm for this program reaches the entire school community.
Finalists
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The Earthlings team inspires the students of Ararat Primary School to think about the environment and how they can help it. The Earthlings have worked hard to introduce nude food days, school veggie gardens, paper recycle bins in every classroom and whole school environmental days. The team has led and organised activities for Clean Up Australia Day, Tree planting days, Earth Hour and a special activity for Education Week, around the topic ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Environment’.
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Chewton Primary School strives to work with local schools and organisations through its student leadership initiatives to promote environmental issues and to develop positive attitudes and responsible practice. This year, the different leadership groups have presented to and educated both Chewton Primary and external students on the importance of natural grasses to improve biodiversity, campaigned to have plastic bags banned, and presented at district Landcare day and ran workshops on food webs for students from 10 different schools.
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The St Louis de Montfort Primary School Green Team is dedicated to being environmental leaders and educators. The team has been very busy and has helped implement new ‘mixed recycling’ bins, plant and take care of the school’s veggie gardens, feed worm farms, promote school sustainability campaigns such as ‘dress for the weather’, run competitions and awards, organise fund raising events, attend meetings and give presentations to the whole school and external organisations, and visit classes to give tips on recycling, saving water and energy.
Student Action Team of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Cheltenham Secondary College, Cheltenham
The Environment Team at Cheltenham Secondary College has been actively involved in promoting sustainability both within the school and in the school’s wider community though a variety of interactive and forward thinking activities. In school, the team has presented at staff meetings, hosted a rubbish-free pancake breakfast for staff and students who participated in Ride to School Day, conducted a student led, Environment camp in the Yarra Valley. The team has a colourful and informative noticeboard informing fellow students of in-house activities. Outside of school premises, the Environment Team have participated in “Clean up Australia” day, where the year seven class cleaned the school, streets and conducted a rubbish audit.
The direct results of this audit, encouraged a local shop to install a cigarette bin outside their premises. The Environment Team from Cheltenham Secondary College have met with business owners, Park Rangers, guest speakers and more building their skills and confidence. Impressively the team organised a letter writing bee to lobby politicians to oppose further investment in coal. The Environment Team has also lobbied the local café to reward customers who bring their own reusable coffee cups.
Finalists
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EcoMacK is the environmental student action team at MacKillop Catholic Regional College. Over the past year, EcoMacK has attended Beach Patrol 3030, run a Nude Food Day, planted trees on campus, presented sustainability workshops, and organised compost collections from the school canteen. EcoMacK has implemented a ‘Do The Right Thing’ competition in which students are awarded raffle tickets for their environmentally friendly actions. The raffle is drawn each term and the prize is a Zookeeper for a Day experience with Werribee Zoo.
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Melbourne High School’s Environmental Action Group aims to collaborate with the wider school community and general public to promote environmental sustainability. The group achieves its aim by hosting an annual sustainability conference for external schools to attend, planting native trees on school grounds and assisting primary school students to plant trees at the Urban Forest, inviting guest speakers to address the whole school and raise awareness for environmental issues, monitoring waste and recycling and participating in Clean Up Australia Day.
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The Nossal Environmental Sustainability Team has taken responsibility for sustainability focused actions at school, including fundraising, promoting whole school participation in ‘Earth Hour’, encouraging teachers to reduce the amount of paper in classrooms and reducing the number of printed sheets by 15%, building compost bins, running waste awareness campaigns and running School Tree Day. The Team demonstrated its leadership on environmental issues, hosting a sustainability summit attended by other schools and volunteering for the Chelsea Beach Patrol.
Teacher of the Year – Primary
Winner: Mount Waverly Primary School (Mt Waverley) – Loretta Leary
Loretta Leary led Mount Waverley Primary to become a 5 Star ResourceSmart school and provided regular workshops for school staff and other schools. She has mentored primary, secondary and pre-schools though their sustainability journeys and submitted case studies to organisations like Woolworths. Over 17 years she has held working bees and sustainability stalls at school fetes. She has applied for grants and entered competitions; winning a National Tree Planting Day title, Nude Food Day award, Royal Melbourne Show awards, Landcare grants and a Melbourne Water grant to present at the Kids Teaching Kids Conference. Loretta initiated and implemented energy, water, waste and biodiversity projects to reduce the school’s carbon footprint including regular Earth Hours energy audits and recycling programs. Loretta involves students in a variety of sustainability activities including lunchtime Environment Club and “Change the World in Five Minutes” recycling procedures designed to empower students to make a difference. With the new Victorian Curriculum, Loretta has been instrumental in keeping sustainability a core focus; she has worked with the school’s Scope and Sequence team to ensure that sustainability is visible throughout the school’s curriculum. Loretta’s ongoing commitment to all areas of sustainability, and her tenacity in writing to a variety of influencers demonstrates her leadership in driving sustainability.
Finalists
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Marcus Mulcahy has shown dedication and foresight to create valuable sustainability initiatives for Carrum students, teachers and the local community. Marcus instigated the ‘Big Green Schools Conference’ with the City of Kingston, as well as ‘Radio Carrum’ which broadcasts regular environmental podcasts. He has implemented innovative programs in environmental science. Marcus established links with local community groups by creating the Friends of Carrum Foreshore and the Friends of Roy Dore Reserve, as well as developing sophisticated events and remarkable opportunities for students.
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Robyn Smith drives Killara’s Sustainability Team of seven teachers and 52 student HEROs (Heating, Electricity, Recycling Officers). She oversees projects (3 For the Sea, Nude Food, recycling, composting, clean up and tree planting days and newsletters), creating positive change both at the school and in the community. Robyn has supported the integration of sustainability into the curriculum by involving students and teachers and continually introducing, implementing and maintaining projects within the school.
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Christine Varker has educated and inspired the whole school community to be more sustainable in everyday living. She has taught students and staff strategies to reduce waste, water and energy usage. Christine educated the School Council about the importance of sustainability through an Environmental School Policy. Christine had a bushfire go through her own property in 2016, losing native bushland, she saw this as a chance to educate students and the community about bushfire impacts, biodiversity and how the land generates new life after fire.
Teacher of the Year – Secondary
Winner: St Joseph’s College, Newtown – Kelly Jenkins
Since 2013, when nominated as Sustainability Coordinator, Kelly Jenkins has engaged in sustainable practices with incredible enthusiasm and determination to empower students to develop and implement their own sustainable initiatives. Kelly is inclusive in her approach and continues to review and improve on established sustainability endeavours at the school. Kelly has an all of school focus, introducing to year seven classes recycling responsibilities and developing instructional videos to enhance students understanding of recycling procedures. She was selected to attend the National EREA Sustainability Conference and Catholic Principal’s Conference in Canberra to showcase initiatives undertaken at St Joseph’s and shared this knowledge with attendees and schools across Australia. Kelly has established an Energy Efficiency investigation for Year 10 students in Home Science, including the use of electromagnetic bikes to generate power, analysis of electricity usage in the classroom and energy audit of lights in the classroom and energy audits of devices. She developed her own acronym FICAS, F: Focus and Fun, I: Incentive, C: Comparable, A: Achievable, S: Supported. Her work has had a profound impact on the school’s attitude towards sustainability. Kelly has a holistic approach to sustainability and a commitment to running workshops and building partnerships.
Finalists
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Andrea has influenced all sections of the school community in practical ways to be environmentally aware. Andrea’s hands-on approach to sustainability includes providing guidance to Year 9 Eco Warriors and implementing initiatives such as the introduction of VCE Environmental Science for Senior Students, Landcare Working Bees, Rainforest Project, palm oil awareness campaigns, and the development of multiple networks to gain funding for sustainability projects. Over 1000 trees are planted each year as part of the Rainforest Project she runs.
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Jessica Ball celebrates sustainability through awareness raising and education activities across the school. Activities include National Tree Day, Earth Hour as well as running an Environmental Summit comprising guest speakers and workshops for 100+ students from over ten schools. She has supported Nossal High to become a 3Star ResourceSmart School, influenced colleagues to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum and implemented a range of waste reduction measures. Jessica empowers students and staff to take action in small ways every day.
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Rachel Zammit has made a significant impact on the school community, with a reduction in resource usage since taking on sustainability at the school. St Monica’s EnviroFriends program is one of the most popular co-curricular activities at the College with all year levels signing up. Rachel has helped the school integrate concepts of ResourceSmart Schools into the curriculum; including projects in the Maths, Science and Humanities Department. Staff and students are more engaged and understand the value of sustainability.
Community Leadership School of the Year – Primary
Winner: St Louis de Montfort Primary School, Aspendale
St Louis de Montfort’s Primary sees community leadership as empowerment through education. The school collaborates with various organisations to host tours and deliver events like their Steps to Sustainability Conference, Big Green Schools Conference, Victorian Garden Workshops and presentations at the Kids Teaching Kids Conferences. The school uses contemporary teaching and learning practices such as their science, technology, and maths initiative, where students have the opportunity to work with experts from Swinburne University and St Kilda Eco Centre to enhance student skills and knowledge about local bird life and reptiles.
The school has a sustainability precinct comprising of vegetable gardens, aquaponics garden, permaculture area, propagating shed, composting system, worm farms, a reptile habitat incorporating turtle ponds, lizard housing and frog bogs. St Louis has proudly designed and built bird boxes encouraging native birds onto school site. A kitchen garden made from recycled shipping containers has been built on school grounds. The school uses the precinct to educate the wider community, where students have the opportunity to impart their knowledge and understanding about flora and fauna. The school has a positive impact on the local community and schools across Victoria.
Finalists
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A four year fundraising and grant writing effort resulted in the installation of the Axe Creek Community Kitchen at Eppalock Primary School. The kitchen has four stations and allows the school to expand its Living Green Sustainability Program. The facility provides an alternative learning space for science, maths, cultural and other lessons, as well as being an attractive meeting space for the local community and acts as a positive community sustainability hub.
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St Jude’s Environmental Leaders of the Future educate the school about environmental initiatives. The leaders provide tours of the school’s kitchen garden and built environment projects, empowering students to share knowledge with the community. St Jude’s provides an immersion experience where pre-schoolers learn about sustainable practices. Tours have been provided to preschools and day-care centres, to develop student skills in leadership, teamwork, corporation, project ownership, public speaking and an awareness outside of the school community.
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Toongabbie Primary’s garden club created a micro herb business with the aim to create a project that could give back to the community. They started with supplying herbs to one restaurant and have expanded to seven. The business ventured into supplying edible flowers, with all produce planted and grown at the school by students. Students have developed leadership skills both within the school and the community. The school has created a unique business solely run by students and connecting to business. This has led to a shift in the community attitude towards the school.
Community Leadership School of the Year – Secondary
Winner: Catholic Regional College, St Albans
The Catholic Regional College school community food program works within a number of local communities to champion community collaboration, earth stewardship, sustainability and action on climate change. Students from the Catholic Regional College regularly advise other schools on how to increase their sustainability offering best practice advice. The Community Food Project has offered to collaborate with eight pilot schools establishing an initiative called ‘The Garden Collective’ to increase the weight of its sustainability practices.
The Community Food Project has established itself as a welcoming community hub in the West of Melbourne that demonstrates a diverse range of practices and effective ways to produce fresh food, integrate sustainability objectives in a secondary school context, connect with other community based organisations and initiatives, and deliver real experiences for young people that connects them to the world and each other. The Community Food Project connects to a variety of community spaces and the team won the largest produce prize at the Sustainable Living Expo two years in a row. Within the school community, staff, students and families promote composting, and are reviewing the school canteen and recycling policies.
Finalists
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A relationship between VCAL Industry Connect at the college and Parks Victoria was established to help restore the local Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve. This involved students working in the reserve, with training from Park Ranges, students learnt to recognise invasive species, carry out vegetation clearance and built an appreciation for the reserve. The collaboration has attracted media attention, received a local Order of Australia Award and inspired students to spend time in the reserve. Monterey Secondary’s VCAL Programme collaboration is being replicated throughout Victoria.
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The school drives sustainability in the community through relationships, ResourceSmart Schools and TAKE2. Students take on leadership roles within the school and influence others such as Hands on Learning and VCAL to employ sustainability practices. Students are involved in tree planting days, clean up days, energy breakthrough events and the Warracknabeal Community Garden. The school’s ‘Bin It To Win It’ initiative focuses on what can be recycled. Cafes in town are starting a BYO coffee cup movement. Students working at these cafes learn how to reduce waste.
2017 awards booklet
The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are Victoria’s biggest sustainability awards for schools and celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2017.
Want to know more?
Get in touch:
ResourceSmart Schools Awards, Sustainability Victoria
03 8626 8747
resourcesmartawards@sustainability.vic.gov.au
