Vol 4 2012 Merici College Farewells Catherine Rey

Reduce, SustainabilityReuse, RecycleFacilitating a dialogue between the entire school communitygives everyone a chance to shape the projects so that they willbe effective. Furthermore, the crucial role the students havein leading this change ensures that they have ownership andinterest in the projects which are then integrated into theircurriculum.Costa Georgiadis, with Fiona Buining and Eliza HopkinsBuilding a Bright and Sustainable FutureBegins in the SchoolThe staff and students of Merici College have created ashared vision for an environmentally friendly school. As thesustainability officer I have the pleasure of facilitating thisdialogue and helping the school community to plan andimplement projects which will ensure that such a vision becomesa reality.Our VisionOur vision is that the school will become environmentallyfriendly and that the projects designed to achieve this aimwill provide an opportunity for learning and will also createcommunity. The school follows the framework provided by theAustralian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), but within thisit creates projects that are tailored to the unique culture of ourschool. Our projects aim to create systems which will reduce theconsumption of energy, water and waste and encourage studentsto learn about biodiversity through a kitchen-garden program.Creating an Environmentally FriendlySchoolThe students from the Sustainability Elective and the volunteergroup, the Environmental Sustainability Team (EST), play acrucial role in designing and implementing the projects aimedtowards making our school environmentally friendly. One ofEST’s focuses this semester has been to establish an effectiverecycling system.The students in EST have thought about the type of recyclingstations that will be easy to use and where in the school theyshould be placed. They also know that information andpromotion is the key to creating behavioural change. In orderto facilitate this they are creating many fun videos, dancesand posters. In August, they are going to swap roles with theirteachers and use a whole of staff meeting to inform their teachersabout the new recycling system!A Hub for LearningMerici College recognises that sustainability relates to everysubject and therefore must be taught holistically. Furthermore,the school is committed to adopting the new Australiancurriculum’s expectation that sustainability will be incorporatedinto every class. The projects which make our school moresustainable are also a hub for learning. They complement atheoretical understanding of the environment with a practicalapplication of how it can be restored and protected. ClaudiaKeski Nummi-Wilson reflected that “I have learnt things thatI otherwise wouldn’t have.” A primary example of this style oflearning is the school’s Kitchen Garden Program.A Case Study: The Kitchen Garden ProgramOver the past year Merici College has worked hard to establishits Kitchen Garden Program. We have many large garden bedswhich are used to grow produce for our canteen. The canteenoffers students and staff healthy, cheap, locally sourced, freshlycooked meals and snacks on a daily basis.The Kitchen Garden Program has also become a key teachingresource. The sustainability elective spends time working in thegarden each week and back in the class room they relate it toconcepts around local sustainability and food systems. Year 10Hospitality classes use the produce to cook meals which are soldat the canteen. Science students use the green house to propagateseedlings which are later planted in the garden. Finally, we arecreating an Indigenous Garden to encourage a cross-culturalunderstanding of land management and food production.Creating CommunityCreating a community which has a shared commitment tosustainability is the key to the projects’ success. One student,Sammy Mayne remarked that “being part of EST and thesustainability elective has been an amazing experience….I havemet a lot of interesting people and see the world in a differentway”. At Merici College, an interest in sustainability stretchesbeyond these two groups to a commitment from the entireschool. It is because of this that there is change in the wholeof-schoolsystems, such as the canteen and recycling. But inaddition to this Merici College has found that its experience insustainability can be used to create a community which stretchesbeyond its walls.Merici College is always eager to share their experiences insustainability and learn from those of others. We engage in avariety of inter-school exchanges, such as the Eco-Bus Toursand the Kids Teaching Kids local and international conferences.We also have a buddy system with Marist College’s environmentgroup and we share with other schools involved in Carbon Kids14