WasteSorted Excursion 

On Tuesday, 18 August a small group of Year 7 and 8 students attended the WasteSorted Schools Student Meet at Aquinas College, accompanied by Ms Gita Bolton and Mr Jerome Dueman. This event was run by WasteSorted Schools which is a program developed by The Waste Authority to teach students about waste and recycling as well as supporting schools to implement waste reduction strategies.

The day started with a guest speaker from Urban Revolution talking about the importance of reducing waste and recycling and was followed by presentations from students from other schools about the waste reduction strategies they are implementing in their schools. We then went on a tour of Aquinas College to learn about what they are doing to reduce waste as well as touring their Community Garden project. 

During lunch there was a sustainability expo where students could interact with a number of different stalls including the Water Corporation, Give Write, Clean Schools, Fair Game, and Tangoroa Blue. After lunch we listened to a presentation about Aquinas College's Ethical Threads and Fix it Lab programs which focussed on repairing and reusing items and going from consumers to creators. The last activity of the day was sustainability speed dating which consisted of small groups participating in hands on activities run by the different presenters.

Students enjoyed the day and their feedback included practical ideas for our College, from paper recycling bins to more ways for students to get involved in sustainability actions, alongside plenty of discussion around water use, including ways to cut down shower times.

Gita Bolton

Sustainability Coordinator