Sustainability

St Columba’s successful with South East Water grants program!

Our little school with the big heart has been successful in receiving $1,500 from South East Water to help support our Grow Together Garden Classroom – all thanks to the hard work of our wonderful Green Team.

In awarding the grant, South East Water said they strongly aligned with St Columba’s commitment to embedding sustainable practices into our core curriculum and procedures. As strong believers in every drop of water counting, they were also excited to support the self-irrigation system for the parish’s Grow Together Garden Classroom. Furthermore, they aligned with our cultural learning focus and respect for the Traditional Owners of Elwood and Port Phillip Bay.

South East Water’s Managing Director Terri Benson congratulated St Columba’s and the other grant recipients on their successful applications.

“At South East Water, we want to improve the health and liveability of both our bays for future generations. Through our grants program, I’m glad we’re able to make important contributions to Beach Patrol Australia and St Columba’s Catholic Parish Elwood, which helps make Melbourne’s south-east a great place to live, work and play.

“On behalf of South East Water congratulations, and thank you for the hard work you do within our community. We look forward to seeing these community initiatives come to life,” said Ms Benson.

Through its 2019 community grants program, South East Water has provided over $30,000 in funding to support local community group projects. They have awarded 11 grants in total which are supporting a wide range of environmental and recreation projects that will benefit the community and ensure the long-term health of Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. St Columba’s is delighted to be a successful grant recipient and very grateful for their support.

Innovative Recycling Programs

Dear Families,

As part of our Sustainable School community, we invite you to join us in 2 innovative recycling programs:

1. Plastic-lid recycling program for prosthetic hands for children:  https://envision.org.au/envision-hands/ 

2. Bread-tag recycling program for wheelchairs: https://www.breadtagsforwheelchairs.co.za/

We can do it in 3 easy steps!

1. Place a dedicated container/s on your kitchen benchtop (or anywhere visible and easy-to-access)

2. Place all coloured plastic lids (milk, juice, coke, cream) and plastic bread tags into the container/s.

3. Once your container is full, bring it into the staff room, and separate into the 2 labelled bins in the staff room.  We will do the rest!

Please start collecting over the holidays! 

Let's help make our world a better place!

Thank you, from the Sustainability Team