Sustainability

The Green Team has been busy in Term 2!

The Green Team has 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 more drought-tolerant plants and veggies, as well as weeding and pruning. We have had some great events this term, including Community Day and World Environment Day activities. We have also been preparing for upcoming events in the final weeks of this term, as well as the first couple of weeks of Term 3.

Coming up this term:

Thursday June 11th – ResourceSmart Schools Awards, where we have been named a finalist in CDS Vic Excellence Award (Secondary) category.
Thursday June 18th – 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

More information about these two events will be published in the next newsletter.

Coming up next term:

Thursday July 23rd – National Tree Day community planting event along the banks of Scotchmans Creek, at Stanley Street Reserve in Mount Waverley
Friday July 24th (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 July 24th (afternoon) – National Schools Tree Day planting event at school.
More to come!!

We have been named as a finalist in the ResourceSmart Schools Awards!

The ResourceSmart Schools Awards are Victoria’s largest celebration of sustainability in schools. We are one of 53 schools who entered the Awards, with 36 finalists from 29 schools – and our school was named a finalist in CDS Vic Excellence Award (Secondary) category.

This year’s theme, Our Sustainable Community, celebrates collaboration and the inspiration shared among schools and stakeholders within a community we’re part of and committed to supporting. Our school is contributing to Our Sustainable Community by leading projects such as our Container Deposit Scheme initiative and our continued work in the Green Space.

We have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the 11 June along with the other finalists. The Awards are a joyful and affirming celebration of schools and students and their sustainability triumphs. We are proud to be recognised among the schools doing sustainability work that benefits students, the planet and the wider community alike.

Since 2008, more than 1,600 schools (including us!) have participated in the program.

Together, they have:

saved more than $68 million on bills
planted 5.1 million trees
saved more than 110,000 tonnes CO2e (greenhouse gas emissions) avoided
diverted 170,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill
saved 1.9 million kilolitres of water.

Go to 2026 ResourceSmart Schools Awards | Sustainability Victoria to see our entry to the awards, or keep reading below:

Gamification boosts container collection

By collecting containers at school events and fundraisers, this 5 Star school reduced waste and raised funds for sustainability initiatives.

To raise awareness of CDS Vic, the student Green Team ran a competition and a raffle at their athletics carnival. The team set up a bin for each school house. Each time a student deposited a container, an additional point was added to the house’s total score. Students also received an entry into the raffle each time they added to their house’s bin. 

On the day, over 700 containers were collected – a 250% increase on the 2025 event! 

Student leadership was central to this school’s CDS Vic success. Gamifying the container collection helped encourage school-wide participation to reduce waste and litter. 

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 previous issue of the newsletter: Brentwood Newsletter - Issue 8

Brentwood’s partnership with the Eastern Alliance for Sustainable Learning

Brentwood has had a long-standing partnership with the Eastern Alliance for Sustainable Learning (EASL), which has helped us achieve our goal of being recognised as a five-star ResourceSmart School. The EASL is comprised of seven member Councils from Melbourne’s east (Monash, Boroondara, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Whitehorse and Yarra Ranges). EASL provides professional development, learning and networking opportunities for early years, primary and secondary schools throughout the year. ResourceSmart Schools (RSS) is a free program offered by Sustainability Victoria that supports Victorian schools to embed sustainability across the school facilities, community and curriculum, while saving resources and money for the school.

Further information:

About ResourceSmart Schools | Sustainability Victoria

Eastern Alliance for Sustainable Learning

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 To find your nearest collection point, visit:

Victoria‘s Container Deposit Scheme | Find Locations