Sustainability

School Sustainability Festival

On Thursday, 9th September, 5 girls from the Brentwood Green Team (aka Climate Colleens) had the opportunity to present at the 16th Annual Schools Sustainability Festival organised by EcoCentre https://ecocentre.com/schoolsfestival. Throughout the morning, the virtual festival provided us with ideas on how to be more sustainable and the role of schools in shaping a better future.

Our presentation was based on ‘Climate Action: Target 2030’, an extension of one of our most recent projects. We shared with other schools the work we have been doing to mitigate climate change as well as how we are planning to reach the net-zero emissions by 2030. It was a great opportunity because there was a large audience to whom we could pitch our projects to and draw inspiration from. 

Aside from the workshop, we have learned individually how important it is for girls to be educated in the area of climate change because they play a major role in solving the issue. Together, we have improved our leadership and communications skills which will enable us to continue on this path to educating one another on the importance of climate action. 

Here is a recording of our presentation at the festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL7dVQrWR-Y

Aanya Bedi

Year 10 Student

‘Solar Schools’ Competition

Brentwood has recently won the ‘Solar Schools - Smart Energy for Switched On Students’ competition. The prize includes a full suite of innovative products, supported by a sophisticated system which monitors and analyses energy usage information from all member schools. This allows us to keep track of the energy health our school while using data to enhance learning in the classroom. The prize, including the technologies, Planet Watch application and curriculum resources are valued at $7000. https://www.solarschools.net/ 

‘Safe Water September’ Fundraiser - $815 raised till now

Safe Water September is a challenge to drink nothing but water for the entire month of September, to raise funds for safe water projects in rural Zimbabwe, Vanuatu and Bangladesh. Yes, we can still eat food, but no coffee, tea, soft drink or milkshakes! For every $25 we raise, one person gains access to life-changing safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation. This means kids will be able to go to school, child and maternal deaths will drop and communities will be transformed!

Globally, 1 in 10 people don't have clean water close to home – we want to change this. A group of students from the Green Team have chosen to take part in this initiative to change the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves - Dominique Elliott, Jude Mann, Laksheya Dayashanker, Likhita Kalagotla, Yousouf Palitanawala and Henry Lim. Our goal this September is to raise $1000, that’s 40 people who will be able to access clean water close to home. Thanks to the generous donations from our community, we have raised $815 till now. 

We are seeking support from staff, parents, students and the local Brentwood community to help us in raising the $1000 we aim to get. If you can, please donate through the link below, even $1 can be extremely helpful. https://safewaterseptember.org.au/greenteam 

Dominique Elliot

Year 10 Student