Sustainability Update
Biodiversity
As many of you know, we are a 3-Star ResourceSmart School and are currently working towards our 4th star in Biodiversity.
On Wednesday, I attended a training day with CERES, where we learned about the important role Zoos Victoria plays in protecting our environment. One powerful message from Zoos Victoria is their campaign “When Balloons Fly, Seabirds Die.”
Last year, Fairfield Primary School became a balloon-free school. This means no balloons at school picnics or events: helping to prevent litter from ending up in our waterways. Research from CSIRO shows that seabirds are up to 32 times more likely to die after swallowing balloons than hard plastics and balloons can look like food when floating on water, and animals such as seabirds and turtles may eat them or feed them to their young.
Zoos Victoria also runs the Wipe for Wildlife campaign, encouraging people to choose recycled paper products to help protect animal habitats.
Why recycled toilet paper?
Toilet paper obviously can't be reused or recycled after it is flushed, so it doesn’t make sense to cut down trees just to send them straight down the toilet. It makes more sense for plantation-grown trees to be used for long-lasting products like building materials. Also, recycled toilet paper is a better environmental choice as it’s made from materials like used office paper and uses less energy and water in the production process.
We’re proud to share that our school has been purchasing recycled toilet paper for many years, just one of the ways behind the scenes we reduce our environmental footprint.
Next term, I look forward to working with CERES and our students to carry out a biodiversity audit of our school and develop an action plan for 2026!
Global Recycling Day – Sports Ball Collection
To celebrate Global Recycling Day (that was on March 18), Eco Club is collecting damaged sports balls for recycling until the end of term.
- Items accepted: DEFLATED Netballs, soccer balls, basketballs and tennis balls.
- Location: Collection box near the office
- Before dropping off: Please clean and deflate your sports balls.
The collected balls will be recycled into sustainable products such as rubber mats and flooring.
Amelia Trompf
FPS Sustainability Coordinator