Year Three

CERES Environment Park Excursion

Our Year Three students recently had an incredible learning experience at CERES Environment Park, perfectly aligned with our unit of inquiry, Sharing the Planet, and the central idea 'Small decisions have big impacts on the environment'.

The day was packed with hands-on activities and insightful lessons about sustainability, renewable energy, and waste reduction. Students explored how everyday choices, such as conserving water, reducing plastic use, and recycling can significantly impact the protection of our planet.

At CERES, students participated in interactive sessions on organic gardening, composting, and paper recycling. This excursion gave them an invaluable opportunity to see firsthand the environmental principles we've been discussing in class.

They returned with newfound knowledge and were inspired to take action, becoming advocates for environmentally friendly and sustainable choices both at school and at home. They now understand that even small efforts can have a lasting impact on the environment.

A big thank you to our teachers and parent volunteers for making this excursion such a success. Our Year Three students are more motivated than ever to apply their learning, knowing that one small step can lead to significant environmental impacts.

Below are some personal written reflections, which were also shared at assembly.

WOW!!!!! AMAZING!!!!! We used shredded and recycled paper, pulp and water, using tools called a deckle and a frame. I could not believe that we made PAPER! We really had a fun time. Last Monday we went on an excursion to CERES ENVIRONMENT PARK. My favourite part was the Rethinker Tinker activity where my partner Aazeen and I made our very own paper.

- Tanvi, 3SM

All the Year Threes went to CERES.

When we were there, we saw how the place was made using recycled materials. For example, the playground wasn’t made from metal. Instead, it used tires, ropes, wood and recycled parts of machines.

They didn’t waste all these precious materials which is a start to make the world a better place. If we can do the same as CERES, we could have a clean world, hopefully.

Another fun highlight of visiting CERES was the song and dance: RETHINK, REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, ROT

- Nicolas, 3KO

Last Monday we went to CERES farm. CERES used to be a landfill full of rubbish! When we were at the farm, we were able to make paper out of water and recycled paper. My favourite activity was the Composting where we got to hold worms! We learnt that worms breathe through their skin and they eat our compost scraps.

- Ellie, 3LD

My favourite part when we were at CERES was walking around the Merri Creek where we saw a huge crane that picks up rubbish that gets stopped in the creek. The walk was really refreshing! The playground was made out of fully recycled materials like tyres, metal and wood and it was fun to play on. We got to climb and jump off the playground.

- Henry, 3LD

On Monday all the Year Threes went to Ceres. When we got there we learned all about waste and what four bins they had. A bin for citrus fruit, a compost, landfill and recycling. We learnt about the six r’s rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. An example of ‘reduce’ is when Mr Reid forgot his keep cup at school, so they gave him an edible weet-bix cup he could give to compost or just eat it, so there was no waste. How cool is that! We also learnt that Ceres uses recycled stormwater to flush the toilet. That's why it’s a little bit stinky. We also learnt that paper can be made out of not just trees but all different kinds of materials, even kangaroo poo. This is awesome because we don’t have to cut down trees that hold carbon dioxide, which can damage our ozone layer.