Enviro News

Creating a Climate for Reconciliation

This week the City of Yarra annual grants were announced and I am excited to share with you that MGC has been successful in receiving a $10,000 grant to invest further in the Murnong Biodiversity project along the river side of the school. 

The MGC Sustainability team has been working with various partners including the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, Greening Australia, The Yarra River Keepers and the Australian Conservation Foundation on this project for over a decade and we are thrilled to be working with even more experts and community partners to continue this great project. 

We would love MGC families to get more involved in the project and have opportunities for people with graphic design and communication expertise, composting, grafting and seed propagation or just basic gardening skills like weeding, shovelling and barrowing! We host working bees from 9am- 11am on the third Saturday of each month on the banks of the river along with our community partners from the Australian Conservation Inner Melbourne Branch. Our aim is to try and restore a corridor of native plants and to keep on top on any invasive weeds that keep persisting. It’s great chance to meet like minded people and contribute to your local community.

If you would like to be involved in the project, as a volunteer at a working bee or by providing technical advice on landscaping, grafting, or interpretive signage then please contact sustainability Coordinator Andrew Vance via email: avance@mgc.vic.edu.au

Below is a description of the project from the successful grant application. Credit to MGC student Environment Vice-captain Sophie Hart for all her hard work building this project over the past two years. Well done Sophie and all the MGC parents and students who have contributed!

Melbourne Girls’ College is a community committed to environmental sustainability. We have worked with various partners since 2009 to install a bush tucker garden on the banks of the Birrarung adjacent to the school that provides an opportunity for our students to connect with nature and learn about Wurundjeri culture and connection to country. This project aims to further develop this space, improve the habitat corridor and most importantly, a self-sustaining population of bush foods for the education and use by the general public and our students. We have a well-established link with the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and through this project, look to extend our work of revegetation and reconciliation under the expert guidance of Wurundjeri elders

and ecologists from partner organisations. In 2017, The city of Yarra funded a community partnership that saw the development of education materials for the community and MGC students, significant planting, weeding and landscaping of the area and the scarring of a Beal (red gum tree) by the Wurundjeri Narrap team under the guidance of elder Uncle Dave Wandin. Throughout 2023 we aim to work with the education and Narrap teams from Wurundjeri along with the Australian Conservation Foundation Inner-Melbourne volunteers to further landscape and install traditional signage in the form of ring trees more interactive interpretive signage. We will engage professionals to conduct weed removal of a noxious

weed species that will allow our community volunteers to get the upper hand on the weed issue and establish a clear revegetation plan. We will also be in a better position to collaborate with other community groups working in other patches along the Birrarung and share our learnings and by working collaboratively, have a greater chance of effectively removing weeds and establishing a connected biodiverse wildlife corridor.

For more Information about Yarra grants, see here: https://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/news/2022/11/16/yarra-city-council-awards-almost-$1-million-in-annual-grants

Video recording of Mr Andrew Vance and Students telling the story of the Murnong Patch: Revegetation for Reconciliation:

Carbon Neutral Karaoke and Book Swap!

On Friday 25th of November, the library and MGC Enviro team hosted an end of year book swap and pedal powered karaoke concert to celebrate the end of HEADSTART in a sustainable manner.

It was great to see students donating or exchanging text books and stationery items, which reduced the amount of waste going to landfill. It was a big effort behind the scenes to coordinate the book donations and we would especially like to thank Beth Barrass and Sylvan Dorney for their advice and coordination of the project.

While it took a while for our karaoke performers to warm up, Mr Vance threatened to pollute the air with another rendition of Oasis’ Wonderwall. Fortunately, the students took over and ensured that both the noise and greenhouse gas pollution abated. 

Thankyou to all the students who generated the electricity via the pedal and rowing generators. We look forward to hosting another carbon neutral cinema event on Friday 24th of February 2023 for the pedal cinema. Please save the date now and plan your costume: The voting for the film choice closes this coming Monday!!

If you missed the boat and would still like to donate, sell or buy a second hand text book, then please check out https://www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au/