Environment Group News
Ms Kathryn Badini - Environment Group Coordinator
On Wednesday the 5th of November, Year 10 students Jack Liddell, Harrison Hind and Luke Dwyer graduated from the Lord Mayor’s Young Environmental Leadership Network. They have undertaken a sustainability project to install a worm farm at the Boarder’s Garden. Jack outlines further details of the project but I wanted to extend my congratulations to Jack, Harry and Luke for their dedication and enthusiasm for this project. It is a very powerful thing to see young people enact change in their communities.
LMYELN – what is it?
The Lord Mayor’s Young Environmental Leadership Network (LMYELN) trains Year 10 students in practical project design and environmental leadership, giving small teams the skills to deliver realistic sustainability solutions at school. The program emphasises hands-on learning, working with stakeholders, and creating projects that fit existing routines.
The Worm Farm – an Update
When Harry, Luke and I joined LMYELN we chose a practical route: partner with the kitchen team rather than run a whole-school campaign. Nathan and the kitchen staff were already taking most compostable scraps home for their pets, so we began collecting the small leftovers they couldn’t use and diverted those into a new worm farm by the boarding gardens.
The system fits existing workflows - Nathan gathers leftover food, and Luke, Harry, and I feed and look after the worms. We’re already generating worm castings, which can be used to nearby garden beds or in the greenhouse.
While installing the new farm near the boarding gardens, we uncovered another - much older - neglected worm farm. It has good potential, so a potential next step is to restore that unit and expand our capacity.
This project has shown us that modest, student-led changes - planned with the people who do the real work - can deliver steady, practical benefits. Harry, Luke and I are proud of our progress and excited to scale the effort with the kitchen’s continued support.
We certainly recommend the program to any current Year 9 students who are interested.
