Spotlights

At Ramsgate Public School teams of scientific sleuths carefully investigated water use in their school and surrounds. Looking for a solution to water wastage, over a four week period in Term 4 this year they honed their skills in design, data gathering, planning and analysis. Their careful detective work produced a comprehensive plan for improving water efficiency at the school.

Students in 5/6K communicated their plan to the whole school, showing off their developing marketing skills on launch day. Nine Year 10 Blakehurst High School students participated in this cooperative project by mentoring the "Wiseguys" through their activities.

In 2011 student teams across the school will each target a particular area for improvement. They will look at creeks and waterways around the school and will work on improving water use within the school itself. The entire school community supports this planned commitment to sustainability in water management.

Gardens are just delicious! Chicken noodle corn and herb frittata, traffic light salad, spinach and cheese bread, salmon and coriander sauce pasta were on the menu in November at Numeralla Public School, with students enthusiastically embracing the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program. No wonder everyone is excited!

At Numeralla the school community have given their time and expertise to support the program, joining in their children's learning. Jan Rogers, principal of this small school, paid tribute to supporters in her last newsletter for the year. She wrote of a recent experience where she addressed a nearby school just starting out: "It was a great opportunity to share our journey and in preparing for the talk I was once again humbled by the generosity of our school community."

As the Kitchen Gardens page on the department's Environmental Education website tells us: "Kitchen and food gardens are an increasingly popular way for schools to promote environmental and sustainability learning and to connect students with healthy food and lifestyles. Individual schools are linking student learning outcomes with the various activities and seasonal cycles involved in managing a food garden and the preparation of fresh produce."

Thirty-one NSW public schools are involved in this program, which is now in its third year. Eleven new grants for NSW public schools have just been announced.

At Lapstone Public School creative solutions to lowering energy consumption were rewarded with a starring role in a documentary - as well as a private dining experience. Student teams developed solutions to lower energy consumption in the school. Each team then made a creative presentation to the principal while a student film crew recorded the judging.

All teams examined the issue carefully and came up with six possible solutions. When judging and filming were complete and the winner chosen, all students viewed the documentary on the school's intranet. But that wasn't the end of it. The winners were treated to their choice of a meal cooked by the principal.

Putting the winning ideas to work is now the job of the Student Representative Council. Are the film makers planning a sequel?

Gone fishing? Sixteen students really did just that. They fished Lake Illawarra each fortnight as part of Primbee Public School's Live Life Well program. Learning to use a rod and reel was just one of the five sustainable living activities student groups could choose each alternate Wednesday.

Another group maintained a vegie garden with local indigenous plants which they fed with the products of their hand-made compost, regularly enriched from their own worm farm. As well as fishing and gardening, "Sustainable living clubs" saw K-6 students trying their skills in cooking, and raising awareness of pollution, and in the Live Life Well program they photographed their activities. The program has been so popular that it will continue throughout 2011.

Eating natural foods is actively encouraged at St Ives Park Public School in northern Sydney. K-6 students now enjoy their fruit break regularly, raise their own chickens, collect eggs and grow their vegies. These goodies are used in the school canteen and at Before and After School Care in the school grounds. Any surplus is sold off at their regular growers market.

As well as rubbish free lunch days each Tuesday, the students extended their environmental activities by planting native trees and building raised gardens. They did this in cooperation with local council, plant nurseries and parents.

The school has plans to do even more, now that they have been successful in their grant application from the Teachers Credit Union. In 2011 the children are looking forward to saving even more water. Using their own designs they will monitor and reduce the water used around their school.

An ambitious three-year plan to develop and sustain good environmental practice is under way at Baradine Central School. With the removal of condemned trees, termites and bees nearly completed, staff and students are looking forward to planning and redesigning the grounds.

Not only will there be more shade and areas to rest and play, but the new design includes plantings to attract birds and animal life. There are also plans to develop a school farm.

Such an inspiring program will involve the whole K-12 school, local TAFE campus and the community.

Students from Newport Public School on Sydney's northern beaches are actively encouraged to create their own sustainable city living environment.

During a recent visit to the Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre Year 6 students toured Macquarie Bank's offices on Darling Harbour.

Students were surprised to see how much sunlight entered the building, the fountains indoors where the water was also used for cooling, the beautiful aboriginal artworks and calm colours creating a pleasant working space in the middle of a noisy city and the variety of working and meeting spaces for staff.

Laura, Kate and Isabella were very enthusiastic: "It feels like you might want to work and live there."

Sixty students studied aspects of safety, aesthetics, sustainability, functionality and culture in the morning and returned to the centre to discuss and plan their own urban solutions in the afternoon.

The Big Build Up program runs at Observatory Hill Environmental Education Centre at Millers Point. Phone 9247 7321 for bookings.

A tree screen, reusable water bottles and a permaculture garden were among the top initiatives recognised in this year's Enviro Inspiro! competition.

Entries in Enviro Inspiro! 2010 covered a range of school environment projects and included positive school environment ideas such as:

• retrospectives about ongoing school environmental projects
• school energy saving campaigns and clean-up projects
• environmental construction projects.

The environmental competition for students takes place each year during Terms 1 and 2 and is run by the NSW Student Representative Council (NSW SRC) using funding provided by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and Water.

Teams of students (or Student Action Teams) create a five minute DVD to showcase their successful student-led school environment projects.

Concord Public School is very happy with their new rainwater harvesting and irrigation system. TAFE NSW - Ryde College teachers and students from the Certificate III Irrigation course helped the school apply for funding from the federal government Community Water Grants Program.

The TAFE students installed an underground irrigation system to minimise evaporative losses and reduce the school's dependence on mains water. The students analysed soil type, soil depth, turf cover, site usage, and a number of environmental conditions. Great outcomes with partnerships and improved sustainability!

Macquarie Information Communication Technologies Centre has trained students from Chatswood High and Chatswood Public Schools in a local eco-study project. The high school students mentored the primary students and they worked with council bush care officers in their schools, developing a plan for their school to increase biodiversity. Students produced photo-stories and a Wikispace to document their investigation process and findings.

One hundred and ten students and 22 teachers from 23 high schools across South Western Sydney Region (SWSR) in 2009 attended the Youth Environmental Network (YEN) conference where they focused on practical ways to begin building a sustainable future.

There were workshops, brainstorming sessions and speakers from organisations as diverse as the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Clean Up Australia and Sydney Water, and from climate change campaigner Andy Best.

Student/teacher teams have now already begun sustainability projects. Students have quickly reported success with simple strategies such as more visible recycling bins, purchasing of green energy and switching off lights in empty classrooms.

While the conference was a first for SWSR, there are YEN networks in the North Coast and Sydney Regions as well, with strategies and ideas being shared between the three regions.

Albury High School is targeting environmental sustainability as part of its school plan.

Staff attended a school development day at Wirraminna Environmental Centre in Burrumbuttock and were addressed by Dr David Watson, a Charles Sturt University Environmental Scientist on "Why the need for education on sustainability". With a video conference from the Ryde Curriculum Directorate, the staff got to work developing ideas around curriculum, resources and grounds.

Staff, students and parents are now working at putting the ideas in place. Reducing energy use, collecting and using water carefully, improving the school environment and ensuring environmental education is well taught in the class room and an Albury High School focus. It's an ambitious journey and they still have a long way to go - but they're under way!

Forbes North Public School, in central New South Wales, has integrated the school's science and technology curriculum with their Kitchen Garden Program which is full of healthy vigorous crops - as well as two cheeky scarecrows called Fearless Fred and Scary Mary.

The Climate Clever Energy Savers is part of the NSW Government Schools Energy Efficiency Program and is one of our main student learning programs for the Year of Learning for Sustainability. Over 200 teachers from across NSW will develop classroom programs and challenge their students to investigate energy and greenhouse gas issues in their school and to create practical proposals for energy and greenhouse gas reduction.

Each region has funding to allocate to the best project ideas. Through this project students will engage with issues of sustainability, learn how to take sustainability action to make a difference to the world, and strengthen knowledge, understanding and skills related to school subjects.