Sustainabililty

Kitchen Garden

It was our last session with the year 3s this week, and we had a fresh but fine day for our kitchen garden program. On the menu were apple and pear turnovers which the students really enjoyed. They also loved the simplicity of the recipe and many were keen on making them at home. The students were introduced to some interesting facts about apples, including the following:

• Granny Smith apples originated in Australia. They were first grown by Maria Anne Smith in Eastwood, Sydney in 1867 and are now one of the major apple varieties grown around the world.
• Apples float when dropped into water because they consist of 25% air.
• Over 2.6 billion apples are grown in Australia each year.
• The longest continuous apple peel took 11 hours and 30 minutes to remove and was 52.51 metres long.
• There are more than 7000 varieties of apples grown worldwide

They discovered the places in Australia where apples are grown, and Mrs Wood shared an interesting local fact about the area on which our school is situated and the nearby environment as being full of apple orchards. You may be familiar with the Appletree Medical Centre on Gallaghers Road?

Our other activity this week involved making bags using pre-loved t-shirts as a way of using sustainable practices and being environmentally aware. The students learned that Australia has a big textile waste problem with 85% of our clothing ending up in landfill. We can be protect our environment by only buying what we need, giving our clothes to other people who might wear them, or upcycling pre-loved clothes. There is a great report on BTN that explains the problem in more detail. https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/fashion-waste/10523106

Here are some photos of our activities this week:

We had planned to plant our native trees donated from

Bunnings Scoresby however the weather did not play its part!! We will plan to plant them next week.

KEEP AUSTRALIA BEAUTIFUL WEEK 15-21 August 2022 

This year we’re focusing on WASTE REDUCTION and asking you to #ContainYourWaste.

Whilst it’s certainly important to recycle and reuse, reducing waste right at the source is the most effective and efficient way to make a genuine impact in Australia, to decrease the amount of litter we find in our streets and public areas.

So for 1 week, we’re challenging you to choose an existing container from around the house – a jar, a tub, or a bucket – and contain the amount of waste you produce in that week to the capacity of your container.

If you and your family decide to join in this challenge, please send a photo of your container to adeegan@sjwheelershill.catholic.edu.au to share with our school.