| Local Schools Show Environmental Awareness |
| Written by Susan Whelan | ||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 20 October 2011 16:12 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Environmental programs at several local schools have received recognition in the recent Lake Macquarie School Environment Awards, with Blacksmiths Primary School and St Mary’s High School at Gateshead taking out top honours.
Council’s Manager of Sustainability, Dr Alice Howe, said that the judges were impressed by the very high standard of the entries submitted by the schools and ‘the commitment and enthusiasm by students and staff to improve their local environment and (their) commitment to sustainability.’ Lake Macquarie Council received 18 entries for the 2011 School Environment Awards. The two overall winners were: Blacksmiths Public School in the Primary School section. The school has recycling systems for paper, plastics, mobile phones and ink cartridges. Food scraps and garden waste go to one of the 10 worm farms and compost bins and there are ‘nude food’ days to help reduce the use of disposable lunch wrappers. The school uses rainwater tanks and solar panels to help with water and energy conservation and students, parents and grandparents help with planting and maintaining vegetable gardens, seedling propagation and planting native trees and shrubs throughout the school. St Mary’s High School, Gateshead in the High School section. The school has installed rainwater tanks and a smart water meter to assist with water conservation, and solar panels to generate renewable energy. There are recycling programs for paper and mobile phones and a composting system for green waste. The school has played an active part over the past six years in the rehabilitation of Kennedy Creek with the support of Lake Macquarie Landcare and various grants. This has included weed removal, extensive native planting, mulching to regenerate the area and improve water quality and regular water monitoring of the Creek. Other winners include: Cardiff North Public School and Eleebana Public School who won the Waste Category prize for their extensive recycling programs including recycling paper, mobile phones, ink cartridges, metals and plastics, and compost and worm farms to recycle food scraps and green waste. Speers Point Public School received the award for the Natural Environment Category. This school is a ‘Landcare in Schools’ member and their environmental activities include the planting of fruit trees and herb and vegetable gardens as well as organising composting programs, worm farms, installing rainwater tanks and planting of natives to maintain the school grounds. Garden Suburb Public School was awarded the prize for the Energy category. The school was chosen to be part of the State Government’s ‘Climate Clever Energy Savers’ program which has enabled students to develop energy saving plans for their school including installing solar panels and monitoring the school’s energy usage through thermal imaging and conducting regular energy audits. St John Vianney Primary School, Morisset received the Water Category award for their programs to reduce water usage and waste. These include the installation of a rainwater tank and dual flush systems in their toilets. They monitor water usage with regular water audits. They are currently working with members of the local community, TAFE, Trees in Newcastle and Council in designing a stormwater runoff landscape to make the most of stormwater adversely affecting the school grounds. The Lake Macquarie School Environment Awards are supported by Delta Electricity, Centennial Mandalong, Hunter Resource Recovery, and Trees in Newcastle. Information about the School Environment Awards and other information about school environmental programs can be found at the Educational Resources section of the Lake Macquarie Council website.
Bookmark
Email this
Comments (5)
replica oris watches
said:
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed |
... I just could not leave your site before suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the standard info an individual provide for your guests? Is going to be back often in order to inspect new posts replica oris watches |
glashutte replica
said:
|
glashutte replica How are u all,what do u thing ahout this glashutte replica . if u have any suggestions,please write it down ,we will very pleasure ! |
richard mille replica watches
said:
|
... Hello. Great job. I did not imagine this. This is a remarkable story. Thanks! Awsome website! I am loving it!! Will come back again. richard mille replica watches |
replica bally
said:
|
replica handbag I very much like your work.I hope you can also see your share. There are plenty of really improperly designed plus constructed synthetic version handbags plus wallets available in beauty stores. Move your eyes, click here, here you will find your louis vuitton taiga leather and Stephen Sprouse handbags. |
Write comment
Show/hide comment form