bottle garden bonanza!
Angela Olah
Sustainability CCP
Head of Learning : Science
The Sustainability Club made a strong start to 2020, initiating long term plans to improve the biodiversity at the college and to teach students skills so that they can grow their own produce in a sustainable manner.
The students worked hard to set goals for each term of 2020, with their long-term vision being the creation of a productive garden which will promote engagement in sustainability both within the school curriculum as well as allow opportunities for collaboration with the wider community.
With the interruption of lockdown, the club did not lose sight of their goals. While in Remote Learning, this dedicated group have continued to meet online every week, to discuss and consider their game plan going forward. While some of their goals may need to be adjusted, the team are proud to have achieved their Term 1 goal - the development of a sustainable seedling nursery!
Sustainable Seedling Nursery
The BSC Seedling Nursery was created from recycled materials and, where possible, using seeds that the students had preserved from their own produce at home. Using strong leadership and executive planning skills, the Sustainability Club students ran a workshop and facilitated planting activities for students from all year levels.
It was inspiring to see all students use their initiative and critical thinking skills to design the garden and strategically place their plants to optimise growth. Working collaboratively across year levels, all students embodied the school values of respect, responsibility, teamwork, excellence and persistence in their actions and behaviours. The result is an ever-changing space which will blossom and grow over time.
The dedicated environmentalists who created the vibrant garden space included: Sheila Jim, Louis Tribe, Lily Jones and Noorah Kocak (from the Sustainability Club) and volunteers Hanaini Bessa, Grace Markwick-O’Connor, Charlie Longfield, Jayana Jeffries, Chloe Morgan, Rose Freeland, Isla Brunt, Juanita Myers, Katherine Georghiou, Klaudia Rose, Esin Aktas, and Dorsa Kamani.
We welcome all new members to the Sustainability Club: feel free to join any of our meetings which are held every Thursday during lunchtime, in F17. Contact a member of the Sustainability Club or myself for more information.
Noorah Kocak
Year 10
This year sustainability club has thought of and planned many exciting environmentally friendly projects to help the community boost its sustainability. In Term 1 we focused on starting a prototype garden to test what conditions are required and how each plant will survive in the school yard. We held a workshop for students to participate in planting and hanging the bottle seedling nursery. Students also helped to create a sign for the garden. The bottle garden is growing healthily, and it is doing very well in its current area. Students who helped us to plant the garden took plants home to look after and bring back once remote learning was over. It is very exciting that we have gotten the ball rolling on this project. To be one of the club members brings me a lot of pride and joy, especially when we create new ideas and manage to see them through. Next term we plan to have the garden cleaned up and ready for the plants to be transferred into the ground soil of the school. Hopefully all goes well and if not then we get learn from the experience and improve next time.
Lily Jones
Year 10
Through teamwork and student initiative, a few of the student bottle garden volunteers were able to participate in painting and personalising a display sign for the nursery. This sign (which will hang next to the bottles) also commemorates all the student who took the time and effort to help the community of BSC by planting a bottle garden. All of their names are included below the title of the garden, named the “Sustainable Seedling Nursery”. I am extremely thankful to all the students that helped with this project and am glad their names will be permanently commemorated on the sign for their efforts. I enjoyed this experience a lot and being able to lead this activity was a lot fun.
Sheila Jim
Year 10
I am so proud of being part of the Sustainability Club. It has helped me in a lot of ways, such as learning to be a leader and learning new skills. When we lead other students during a workshop It really boosts my confidence and make me feel so proud of something that we have created.
Students from all year levels participated in the Bottle Garden workshop which was a really difficult thing for me to get over, but the fact that we managed to lead students of all ages really encourages me and the members of the Sustainability Club to keep persevering. I hope we have more opportunities to lead others and present our ideas to the community.
Click on photos to enlarge
