Sustainability

GARDEN CLUB NEWS

This week, in Garden Club, we went to the church garden and we met Anne, the lovely church gardener. She showed us around the church memorial rose garden. The bright coloured roses were planted here for people who had died. There were plaques in the wall just behind the roses so we knew who had passed away and some information about them. Some of the students knew some of the people, like Ivy knew one lady who used to take care of her. The tiny wooden seats opposite the statue of Mary Mackillop, was a lovely spot to sit and pray while we looked at the bird feeders. We learnt so much about the garden, It was a really special experience. Anne has been looking after the church garden for 5 years and she is helping our Garden Club to fill the planter boxes outside the church.

By Toby M, Aida  Chambers and Ms Michelle

SEEKING OUTDOOR PLAY MATERIALS

Our imagination garden is seeking more outdoor play items to sustain our students imaginative play.

Do you have any:

• sticks and twigs
• fallen leaves
• pinecones
• moss
• left over flowers (from your own garden, don’t pick them wild)
• tree bark
• snail shells
• feathers
• small play pots and pans, spatulas etc
• strong sand pit toys

Please bring them into the office for the tub marked 'imaginative play materials'.

Thank you already to the Marinelli family who have contributed pinecones and gumnuts.

SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

This week some year 5/6 students attended an online forum, the STELA - Student Environment Leadership and Action forum, where we learned how Wheelers Hill Primary school was able to complete their 5 star sustainability ranking.  Our students were engaged and inspired as we came away with so many ideas and the realities of hard work to create change in our school community. From looking at different waste habits, bin systems, bat boxes, bee hotels, mondo bins, registering for various grants, solar panels and valuable resources to help in the many modules that need to be completed. 

This week, I was involved in a sustainability forum,  where we were learning about what another school has done to get 5 stars in sustainability. We learned they have 5 different bins in each room, they have composters and feed scraps to their chickens. We learned we could have a bee hotel or a bug hotel. We also learned about a few ways we could get money for the garden from grants.

By Oliver White

This week, we learned about lots of things including a five star sustainability school, and how they had  lots of resting spots for bees called the bee hotel. I liked this experience because we learned a lot more about the environment.

By Charlotte Dunkley

This week, we learnt a bunch of things which include how a school has 5 star sustainability  and how it took them 6 years to earn that title. I liked the entire experience and I liked learning new things.

By Indigo Feore

St Mary's is a ResourceSmart School - this 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.

https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/our-work/resourcesmart-schools

We are working towards some sustainability stars - if you would like to help us on our journey, please contact Ms Michelle at mperpina@smhampton.catholic.edu.au