Sustainability at St Joseph's

This article aims to update and inform our community about the sustainability initiatives currently running at St Joseph’s. If you are a parent or community member interested in supporting one of these initiatives, or if you have ideas to share, please email siobhan.odwyer@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au 

We have hit the ground running with our continued participation in the Container Deposit Scheme. We are currently fundraising to purchase a worm farm and, so far, we have raised $27.10. Every Friday, our STEAM Captains will collect drink bottles and cartons purchased through the canteen and return them to the scheme. If you order items like these, please talk with your child about placing their empty container in the container bag rather than the bin once they have finished. If you would like to support our school with your own deposit donations, our donation partner code is C2000056397.

TagOn is another initiative we have been involved in for a number of years, working alongside Stonnington Council to promote active transport to and from school. We are grateful for Council’s continued support, including providing prizes for students who record the most ‘TagOns’ across the term and year. At this morning’s assembly, we awarded prizes from the end of last year - congratulations to Ada in Grade 1 for her outstanding efforts! Mrs Stone has been in touch with Prep and new families about signing up. If your child has lost their tag, please contact her to arrange a replacement. If you do not wish for your child to participate, please return the tag to school.

Stonnington Council has also asked us to share the following message with our parent community, in keeping with making active transport safe for everyone:

Do you regularly ride your bike in or through Stonnington?The City of Stonnington, in partnership with the Transport Accident Commission, is trialling smart bike lights using award-winning seesense.cc technology to better understand how and where people ride, and where safety improvements are needed.They are seeking regular riders to use a smart bike light for 12 months and share insights on routes, road conditions and near-miss hotspots.Keen to get involved? Learn more and apply here: https://ow.ly/MuBK50Y4BffApplications close at 5pm on Monday 23 February.

Ride2School Day is coming up in March. In the lead-up to the event, our SRCs will be recording additional data on how students are travelling to school.

During STEM lessons this term, students have been exploring ideas around the environment, sustainability and the systems that support sustainable living. I am currently looking for clean, dry, empty containers - such as milk bottles, yoghurt tubs and butter containers - to use in upcoming lessons. If you are able to help, please bring these items to the Art/STEM room in the morning. A storage space will be available.

One of these upcoming lessons will involve students responding to questions posed by Stonnington Council as part of their consultation for the new Environment Strategy. If you would also like to be involved, Council has shared the following message:

Your children’s future starts now.Help Council shape an ambitious new 15-year Environment Strategy to make Stonnington safe, sustainable and resilient for generations to come.Share your priorities—and your children’s—and tell us how we can work together to live more sustainably, adapt to climate change, and protect our natural environment.Consultation is running throughout February. You can attend workshops, visit a pop-up, complete the survey, or do all three. Free-form responses, including artwork and videos, are also welcome and can be sent to environment@stonnington.vic.gov.au.Find out more, register for a workshop, or complete the survey here: https://connectstonnington.vic.gov.au/environmentstrategy

Siobhan O'Dwyer

Sustainability Leader