Sustainability

The Green Team has been busy in Term 2!

The Green Team has had a fantastic Term 2 hit the ground running in Term 2 and is pumped for a massive end to the term, with two more important events in the coming weeks. Our Sustainability Coordinator and the Student Leaders have been pondering and brainstorming about how we can make Brentwood even more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

We have also been busy in the Green Space, planting winter veggies, as well as weeding and pruning. We have had some great events this term, including Community Day and World Environment Day activities, as well as our ResourceSmart Schools Awards showcase. We have also been preparing for some exciting upcoming events in the first few weeks of Term 3, including:

Thursday23rd July – National Tree Day community planting event along the banks of Scotchmans Creek, at Stanley Street Reserve in Mount Waverley
Friday 24th July (morning) – Career Launchpad: Our Sustainable Future industry immersion allow students to investigate a variety of careers and pathways options relevant to our sustainable future, at Monash Tech School.
Friday 24th July (afternoon) – National Schools Tree Day planting event at school.
Thursday 30th July – Monash Sustainable Schools Forum – bringing together secondary school students from across the City of Monash to discuss the issue of Energy Efficiency in Schools: Challenges and Opportunities

ResourceSmart Schools Awards 2026 and “Our Sustainable Community” Showcase

The Brentwood Green Team attended the 2026 RSS Award ceremony, held at the MCG on Thursday 18th June, because we were a finalist for the CDS Vic Excellence Award, thanks to our massive collection of cans during Athletics Day! 👟 Congratulation to the other finalists in our category, Kew High School and winners Lilydale Heights College.

We also participated in “Our Sustainable Community” Showcase, where we set up a stall and engaged with students from over 50 other schools around Victoria, who are also sustainability-focused and eager to improve their schools! Our stall shared our current and future recycling and CDS goals, as well as our energy efficiency achievements, plus the various events we run to raise money or awareness for the Green Team and becoming a more sustainable and “ResourceSmart” school. On display were our new energy monitoring kits, which were a real hit amongst the crowd. These kits include a thermal camera, temperature and humidity data-loggers, and energy-usage-monitoring smart plugs.

We also got the chance to look at stalls from other schools, and industry stakeholders. While we didn’t win the award this year, all the nominated schools were the real winners for their inspiring sustainability efforts. The Green Team learned of some new ways we can continually improve the school’s efforts towards zero emissions and reducing waste. Be on the lookout for new projects heading your way.

A big thank you to our Principal, Mr John Ballagh, for joining us on the day, and to Mr Jacob Bodna, our Staff Sustainability Coordinator, for organising logistics and planning our school’s display. And thank you to my fellow students, Green Team Student Captains, Jiraiyah (10G1) and Chinmay (11G2), and dedicated fellow volunteer Callyn (11B2) for being there to represent our school so well.

Paper recycling & Bottle cap reusing

A new initiative was started in the Brentwood Green Team this term to save on paper and find another use for bottlecaps. We got a team together and spent a lunchtime sorting through thousands of sheets of past SACs and exam papers, saving several hundred blank sheets of paper. This “rescued” paper can be reused into notepads or for other purposes. The rest of the paper that can’t be reused for writing will still get a second life. Some of it will be shredded and mixed with mulch or composted in our Green Space. Some of it will be used to make paper aeroplanes during Science Week in Term 3. Some will be used as lining for tubs, shelves and cupboards in the Science labs, while the rest will be mindfully disposed in the recycling bin.

Lots of bottle caps have also been collected over the past year, and the bottlecaps can be used to create art or melted down and shaped into keychains, thus giving them another life. The first step to using them is to sort them by size and colour, which we did.

Contributed by Brentwood Green Team 2026 member

Daniel W (Year 11)

Brentwood SC awarded VGSP grant!

Earlier this year, the Brentwood Green Team put in a submission to the Victorian Schools Garden Program (VSGP) for one of several grants on offer, to help improve our Green Space, and other areas of the school later this year. We are excited to announce that we are one of 24 Victoria schools to be awarded a $500 Garden Maintenance Grant, proudly sponsored by Department of Education. The grant provides funds for schools to tidy/repair an existing garden/green area that needs some work to bring it back to order and can be redeemed at participating Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria (NGIV) retail member businesses.

The VSGP recognises the vital role outdoor spaces play in contemporary education and encourages schools to develop, expand and actively use these spaces to promote student centred learning, health and wellbeing. Established in 1977, the program has a proud history of introducing generations of school-aged children to the joy of gardening and learning through nature. Through the development and use of school grounds, VSGP has guided students in discovering, understanding, and engaging with the natural world.

The Grants program is designed to provide seed funding to schools to establish new gardens or repair existing garden in their schools. It is the VSGP’s belief that all schools should be encouraged to consider their grounds and outdoor learning as an important part of their student’s education.

The Importance of School Gardens

School gardens provide rich opportunities for students to learn about productive cultivation, biodiversity, and sustainable practices. They create inclusive, hands-on environments where students, teachers, and parents can learn and work together in meaningful and practical ways.

Through the development of green spaces at schools, teachers have an opportunity to take the classroom outdoors and enable students to explore the many benefits of gardening. Expanding school green spaces not only contributes to exciting learning environments but also benefits student health and well-being.

School gardens make interesting and involving outdoor classrooms. By establishing and/or expanding the green environment in schools (no matter what the size whether it is a vertical garden in a small space or a grand project of the entire school grounds) not only improves the aesthetic appearance but can make an exciting outside learning environment with greater benefits of student health and wellbeing. By involving students in the process helps them to take ownership, pride and care of the space.

Learn more about the Victorian Schools Garden Program.

Contact the Green Team

Got a questions, idea or suggestion for the Green Team? Or perhaps you have some old gardening equipment in the garage that you’d like to donate? Feel free to send us an email: GREENTEAM@ms.brentwood.vic.edu.au

Did you know that the Brentwood Green Team also have their own website? It’s true!!

Check it out: Brentwood Green Team

Green Team meet weekly on Tuesdays at Lunch Time in M04

If you’re passionate about changing the world and making a difference, now’s the perfect time to join the Green Team. We are always welcoming of anyone who would like to join. Come along to a Green Team meeting to see what we’re up to. Current Brentwood students can also join our Teams group by following this link:

Brentwood Green Team 2026 | Microsoft Teams

We also welcome input from parents who would like to volunteer to help up. Together, we can work toward a more sustainable and eco-friendly future. 

Term 1 Wrap:

We had a busy and fantastic start to the year in Term 1. See below for a wrap-up of the events so far:

AESL Learning for Sustainability Conference on Friday 27th February,
Clean-Up Brentwood Day on Monday 2nd March,
Athletics Day Green Team sausage sizzle and CDS competition on Thursday 5th March,
Community Day on Monday 23rd March
Earth Hour on Friday 27th March

For more details about these events, see our write-up in the Brentwood Newsletter - Issue 8.

Brentwood embraces Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) 

Did you know that Brentwood has its own CDS collection bin? Located outside the House Hub (opposite the Library) students and staff can drop their empty drink cans, plastic/glass bottles, and juice cartons into this bin. When it’s full, it gets taken to the CDS depot in Glen Waverley, with the funds being returned to the school. Please make the effort to dispose of your drink containers thoughtfully, and please don’t throw other rubbish into this bin.

Brentwood is registered as a Donation Partner on the Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme (CDS). Please consider donating to Brentwood by selecting Brentwood as your donation partner on the CDS VIC East App as per the below instructions. Please take your recyclable bottles and cans to your nearest CDS centre. Brentwood Secondary College’s Donation Partner ID is C2000010797.

Our nearest collection point is:

CDS Vic Depot Glen Waverley operated by Scouts Victoria,

12b Aristoc Road, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150 Or, to find other collection points, visit:

Victoria‘s Container Deposit Scheme | Find Locations