Environment Group News

Last week, Environment Group targeted two issues in our community – food waste and supporting the great work of Stationery Aid – during our Free Dress Day. I will let Jack discuss food waste below. 

Each year, thousands of Queensland students start school without the essential supplies they need to learn confidently and creatively. At the same time, tonnes of barely-used school stationery end up in landfill. Stationery Aid’s mission is to change this by collecting, renewing, and redistributing quality pre-loved education resources to students in need—creating a circular solution that supports both people and the planet.

On Friday, the funds from our Senior Free Dress Day supported Stationery Aid. It was wonderful to see so many students dress up in bright colours as a part of Stationery Aid’s “wear fluoro like a highlighter” campaign and to see so many supporting the Stationery Aid sort in the morning. A reminder that every Friday morning from 7:30am in Room 801, students can participate in sorting and cleaning donated stationery items (and earn some MATES points along the way).

Week 3 Wrap-Up – Jack Liddell, Year 10

Marist’s representatives of the Lord Mayor's Young Environmental Leadership Network (LMYELN) team - Jack Liddell, Harry Hind, and Luke Dwyer - have been hard at work tackling a major environmental issue: food waste. Initial testing showed that a great deal of organic kitchen waste was simply thrown into an organics bin to be taken away by an external facilitator. We decided that along with our Maroon (Organics) bins around the College, we wanted to introduce a worm bin to the Boarding kitchen. To do this, we need to educate and fundraise. 

The first step was to advertise, spreading the word with posters plastered across the school. To back it up, the boys took to the stage to talk about the upcoming Environment Group fundraiser, accompanied by their new mascot - the worm! They explained to the students that - by utilising worms - leftover organic waste could become worm juice: a very potent fertiliser. In fact, a single worm can eat its own body weight in food scraps daily.

To wrap up the campaign and tie into the Stationery Aid fundraiser, the Environment Group held the 'Great Compost Race' for all the house sport captains. They had to sprint from the assembly hall to the mission office and back, wearing fluoro and depositing stationery to their relay partner. With the final task of dropping an apple into a pseudo worm bin on the stage, the winners became clear. Thanks to the fundraising from Friday’s Free Dress Day and lunchtime stalls, a worm bin can now be purchased for the main kitchen to use.