The Environment

Environment Team Report

Hi, my name is Tilly and I am a Year 9 Student and an Environment Captain at Mullauna College.

I am an Environment Captain because I enjoyed being part of all the environmental activities when I was in Years 7 and 8, and I wanted to be more involved in leading the environmental initiatives at our school. Things I enjoy about being an Environment Captain include sharing what I know and have learned with other people. I enjoy planting activities in our school Veggie Garden, and I enjoy spending time with other members of our Environment Team.

Over the last term, our Environment Team has been very active, achieving a lot around our school. Our recent activities have included:

• Working with a Year 5/6 class from Mitcham Primary School to weed an area overlooked by their classroom, with the aim of planting native, bird attracting trees and shrubs for them to enjoy from their classroom.
• Going to Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve with the Environmental Science class, planting over 130 grasses and shrubs.
• With the help of Whitehorse Council, planting approximately 50 native plants outside D-wing for World Environment Day.
• Harvesting, planting and weeding in our school Veggie Garden.
• Installing recycling bins in the school yard to collect bottles and cans.
• Educating our school community about staying warm and conserving energy in winter by setting heaters to between 18-20oC. 
• Giving a presentation about our Environmental Program to other schools at the Student Engagement and Voice in Environment Network (SEVEN) meetings.
• Mrs Pepper attended a Resource Smart Schools Professional Development Day, to help our school complete modules in the Resource Smart Schools program.

We have many more activities planned for students to get involved in. These include:

• Planting a Bushfoods Garden in front of MakerSpace.
• Planting native plants in garden beds around the school.
• Continuing to harvest from and plant in the veggie gardens.

Over the next term we will also be working with a group of Monash, Bachelor of Science Advanced – Global Challenges (Honours) students to develop innovative ways to tackle waste and litter in schools. This will involve student interviews and surveys, and waste and litter audits. This process will contribute to our progress as a Resource Smart School and help us become more sustainable.

If you have any suggestions, questions or want to get involved, please see one of the Environment Captains, (Brianna S. 9C, Roy P. 9B or me, Tilly M. 9B), or see Mrs Pepper. Please also keep an eye on Compass for updates about our weekly activities. We would love to see you there!

Tilly McPhee 9B

Environment Captain

Miriam Pepper       

Environment Team Coordinator