Sustainability

Kitchen Garden

This week the year one students made banana oatmeal cookies. They learnt that the oats are the part of the seed of the plant that grow on the stem. The stem part of the plant is used for animal bedding as straw, which is what our chickens have in their coop.  We eat rolled oats to make porridge. We can also use oats to make other recipes such as cookies.

In the garden the students made scarecrows as a deterrent to birds who feed on our vegetables. Farmers use scarecrows to keep pests away from their crops. In creating the scarecrows the students focused on the materials used such as straw, shredded paper, preloved clothes, plastic bags and wood.  We used a range of tools such as hammers, staplers, nails and rope tying knots to secure the scarecrows. We are still looking to source hats for our scarecrows! They look pretty scary as I am sure you will see in the photos!

FOTH helpers

The Sustainability team will be contributing to a stall at the Fair On The Hill. As well as plants, we are making dog chew toys using preloved t-shirts. The t-shirts are cut into strips, braided and tied off. Some students in our school have volunteered their time during breaks to help make these items. With the many families that have donated lavender and rosemary we are using these to make dried herb sachets. We will be looking for more helpers to fill the sachets once the herbs are ready.

Aussie Bird Count

This week BirdLife Australia is asking people all over Australia to become citizen scientists and collect data about the birds they find in their neighbourhoods. For twenty minutes we are asked to observe and count the birds we see in a particular space, such as our back yard, local parks, etc. The data collected collected assists BirdLife Australia in understanding more about the birds that live where people live.

Once you have completed your count, you can submit it in two different ways:

• You can submit your bird count through the online web form 
• You can submit your counts through the free Aussie Bird Count app. The app is available for iPhones and Android smartphones, go to the Google Play or iTunes to download the app for free.