From community programs and waste management initiatives to climate literacy education, one Aussie school is helping the students of today tackle the sustainability issues of tomorrow.
Eastwood Primary School and Deaf Facility recently took home the ResourceSmart School of the Year Award for their unwavering commitment to sustainability.
The ResourceSmart event is Victoria’s largest sustainability award for schools, and it shines a light on the positive work institutions are doing to protect the environment.
“Environmental and sustainable learning is a passion at this school,” Principal Rukshana Verzijl told EducationDaily.
“I think it’s vital children learn about the environment and how to look after it.”
Featuring programs like waste-reduction and litter monitoring, energy and water saving and the kitchen gardens, the school has put sustainability at the core of its learning.
“It’s something I have always pushed in whatever school I’ve played a part of, and I’m excited to keep expanding on the amazing programs we’ve built here.”
Built for sustainability
Sustainability coordinator Megan Moore told EducationDaily a rebuild around a central creek system flowing through the school in 2015 sparked the idea for their eco-friendly programs.
“Over the last ten years, there has been a greater awareness and interest in sustainable practices and school is a great place to model best behaviours for young children and their families,” she says.
“Our landscaping, design and new developments are all built with sustainability in mind.”
Beginning with a simple Kitchen Garden program, sustainability has since become a major program for every school initiative.
“After developing this program to now run with a full indoor/outdoor kitchen and extensive gardens, we realised there was also a need for a framework to help cover the broader aspects of sustainability,” she told EducationDaily.
“That is when we re-joined the ResourceSmart Schools program.”
Ms Moore said the ResourceSmart program has been instrumental in connecting the school with the wider and networking with other like-minded educators.
“When the Victorian Curriculum made sustainability a cross-curricular priority, more opportunities became available as far as grants, funding and flexible programs and frameworks,” she says.
“This allows schools like ours to design a program that works for our facilities and school community.”
Since its establishment in 2008, the ResourceSmart Schools program has helped more than 1,400 schools reduce more than 118,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases through energy, water and waste-efficiency.
Eastwood students have wholeheartedly embraced the shift towards sustainability, with many taking their eco-friendly knowledge beyond the school gates and into the home.
“It is so important to give students the best chance to be involved in the programs and hopefully develop good habits to take home and to go on in the future,” says Ms Moore.
“Authentic learning opportunities and real life experience flow naturally during our day to day school life, from emptying the compost bins in each room to having whole school events, such as Recycling Week.”
Raising awareness
While these programs may seem like classroom fun on the surface, at their core is a need to prepare students for future climate challenges.
“We include climate awareness as part of the Kitchen Garden classes,” Ms Moore told EducationDaily.
“In past years we included environmental education as a specialist subjects for selected class levels, providing opportunities to delve deeper into climate change and presenting our students with factual information and chances to decide how to make changes here at school to help.”
Principal Verzijl says the school has a strong focus on working in harmony with the environment around them.
“In the curriculum, students only really engage with the environment for maybe one term. I think their learning needs to go a lot deeper than that,” she told EducationDaily.
“We try to get the students involved in sustainable community events as often as possible.”
Recently co-planting an indigenous garden on school grounds, Eastwood students regularly work alongside the Maroondah council to create eco-friendly events for the whole community.
A sustainable future
Following its latest ResourceSmart award win, Eastwood Primary plans to expand on their sustainable programs into the future.
“Our school has committed to following best practice in education, and well-supported programs, such as ResourceSmart Schools, are here to stay,” Ms Moore told EducationDaily.
“Our Kitchen Garden is very popular with students, parents and staff and families are keen for funding to be spent on programs such as this.
“Moving forwards, sustainability will stay a major part of our curriculum and we will continue to find suitable programs to match our gardens and school policies.”
