Eco Schools 2015 grants awarded and project summaries

Organisation	Project title
Dapto High School *	Local Indigenous bush foods and medicine garden
Dungay Public School	Bee alive, save the hive
Dungog Primary School *	School organic permaculture garden
Earlwood Public School	The recycle collective
Five Islands Secondary College	Worm farm seats for team green sustainability crew @ FISC
Girraween Public School	Girraween - a place of flowers
Glossodia Public School	Catchment awareness in Glossodia
Gordon East Public School	Gordon East Public School sustainable garden project - Gordon green thumbs
Great Lakes College Forster Campus *	Outdoor learning area
Greenwich Public School	Bringing back the birds and the bees
Gymea Bay Public School	iTunes U course: investigating local history and future pressures of natural and built environments
Heathcote High School	Outdoor learning area
Hill End Public School	Hill End Public School community seed saving network
Hunters Hill Public School	Gardening for sustainability

Dapto High School

Local Indigenous bush foods and medicine garden

This project will re-establish an existing bush tucker/medicine garden within the school and provide the local community of schools with an educational resource which can be accessed by all. The mission is to engage students in gaining a deep understanding of indigenous perspectives including connection to country, land management and traditional uses for local native plants. The Local Indigenous bush tucker and medicine garden will enhance the school environment providing students with opportunities to engage in and develop skills in team work, work readiness, in-school work experience, and food preparation/nutrition to promote sustainability.

Dungay Public School

Bee alive, save the hive

Charles Darwin once said, ‘The life of man would be made extremely difficult if the bee disappeared’. Bees pollinate 70% of the worlds’ horticulture and agriculture crops: without them, the population would starve within five years. Our aim is to create a working native sting-less bee hive surrounded by bee friendly native vegetation. Our climate is perfect for native bees and their optimal temperature range is between 18 and 35 degrees. Due to land clearing and pesticide spraying native bees are quite scarce in some areas. Dungay School students will work in partnership with Tweed Shire Council, Dorroughby Environmental Educational Centre, Chillingham Bush tucker and Tim Heard from Sugarbag Bees to learn about native bee populations and their significance and threats. Students will participate in direct actions to help native bee populations including planting suitable habitat trees and increasing community awareness about the importance of bees. We will also investigate how Indigenous people have used honey for food and medicine. We are hopeful that the bees will be happy in the environment that we have created and in time produce honey. Having a hive at our school will increase plant pollination and contribute to the wellbeing of our local biodiversity.

Dungog Primary School

School organic permaculture garden

The establishment of an organic-biodynamic-permaculture-community garden on school grounds to be used as an educational/demonstration tool for teachers across curriculum areas, parents, local schools and community as well as a produce garden for school canteen/teachers and pupils. Composting, seed saving, recycling and water management will be integral to this project. This project is designed to: increase the capacity of the school and staff to deliver quality environmental and sustainability education; develop the school as a model for sustainability for local community; develop an outdoor learning space that demonstrates best practice in biodiversity- sustainable agriculture and water management. This project will improve soil carbon levels, reduce erosion, reduce fertiliser runoff into local water tables and rivers, encourage biodiversity, water saving, improving local plant genetic diversity, recycling of school waste into compost activities reducing landfill, production of local food reduces transportation of vegetables into Dungog (reducing food miles), reduce school carbon footprint, help school in becoming carbon neutral, thereby reducing pollution and reduced petrol consumption contributing to greenhouse gases.

Earlwood Public School

The recycle collective

The purpose of this project is to establish a successful waste management process through the education of the whole school community. We plan to promote the development of knowledge, values and positive behaviour in staff, students and their families (especially in relation to packaging, use of plastic and paper) that supports environmental sustainability. The establishment of The Recycle Collective will enable the development of best practice in managing waste through the 3R’s: Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle. We believe the introduction of a comprehensive recycling system will result in litter reduction across the whole school community and promote long term environmental awareness.

Five Islands Secondary College

Worm farm seats for team green sustainability crew @ FISC

We are striving to engage students in a green waste sustainability initiative. Our student cafe, hospitality classes, horticulture and Permaculture Engagement Groups will participate which aims to take 100% of our green waste (staff rooms, hospitality, and café) directly to worm farms. These will be integrated into the management and productivity of our four seasons’ vegetable garden (part of our new permaculture partners’ garden initiative within Port Kembla Community of local schools). The worm farms will be positioned as bench seats with a secret green purpose, in our Living Classroom, an outdoor learning space initiative, currently under construction.

Girraween Public School

Girraween – a place of flowers

Girraween Public School is a rapidly expanding and diverse school that has a large number of demountable classrooms. The school has very little that connects to the natural environment. Our vision is to connect the classroom to Indigenous and endemic species that once thrived in the area. Girraween means ‘a place of flowers’. Through the creation of an outdoor learning garden the school community will be able to connect to the Aboriginal roots of the area. The project will be created in an underused area, centre of the school, where ongoing sustainable projects will take place. The project allows for connection to all the Key Learning Areas across the stages.

Glossodia Public School

Catchment awareness in Glossodia

The project will increase the awareness of catchment and stormwater management. The school grounds have a dam which is a catchment for stormwater from the adjacent road, an ideal teaching environment to raise student awareness of what is a catchment. Water testing and water bug surveys will give a picture of what goes down our drains and how the health of our waterways is affected by everyone’s actions. The project will entail use of the Museum in a box, Catchments, water for living to introduce the concept of catchment management. The take home message is about how we all affect our waterways.

Great Lakes College – Forster Campus

Outdoor learning area

Our support faculty is required to create significant and relevant kinaesthetic links to course content in a diverse range of Key Learning Areas. It is envisaged that this project will provide a change of environment and stimulation to our special needs and Aboriginal students. This will be achieved through student participation in the design and construction of an outdoor learning area featuring seating, walkways, sculptures, vegetable/permaculture garden, native plants and bush tucker. Establishing this outdoor learning area will also beautify and attract our local plants and animals and will provide individual places for quiet reading or to just have some time out. Places and seating for the whole class will allow practical lessons outside and include an appreciation and understanding for our environment.

Gordon East Public School

Gordon East Public School sustainable garden project – Gordon green thumbs

The aim of this project is to create a series of raised garden beds to explore rotational cropping (seasonal). Students, teachers and the community will be involved in revitalising the school garden and sustainability program. We will create a series (six to seven) of raised garden beds. These garden beds will be placed in the existing school garden area. The safe removal and levelling of the garden area is required. We aim to purchase new galvanized garden beds from Bunnings or other. The beds will complement our existing worm farm and composting site. The whole school community, students, staff and the environment will benefit in a number of different ways. The staff, students and community will be involved in a peer mentor and care program. The students will learn about sustainability and how food goes from paddock to table. The local Eco-system will improve; including the ongoing monitoring of local environment, added use of the fertiliser produced by the worm farm and the compost heap. The school canteen plans to use the produce we grow and the students will have a ‘safe’ place to go.

Greenwich Public School

Bringing back the birds and the bees

Our school bushland is part of Greenwich’s old growth turpentine forest, one of the few remaining remnant plant and animal corridors. A rapid increase in ibises, currawongs and mynas in the past two years is pushing out our native birds. Our project will assist students to make a difference by creating an understorey habitat for local fauna with a focus on providing shelter, safety, food and water for small native birds, native bees, lizards, frogs, and a permanent foraging area for an echidna. It will remediate a section of degraded land with specially selected plants, turn pipe outlets into a bog-area for frogs and bring native bees back into our local area. ‘Bringing back the birds and the bees’ will enhance the school’s ability to provide outdoor learning experiences emphasising conservation, biodiversity and encouraging action to bring about change.

Gymea Bay Public School

iTunes U course: investigating local history and future pressures of natural and built environments

To develop a comprehensive, localised online learning tool (on the iTunes U platform) for students and teachers to use in relation to knowledge and capacity building with the key enduring understandings of ‘Historical Changes of the Natural and Built Environments of the Sutherland Shire including Indigenous use of land and country’. Students and teachers will develop understandings of:

• critical thinking skills
• environmental concerns and attitudes, especially about local Sutherland environments
• environmental identity/connectedness to the local area
• possible issue-investigation and environmental-action skills in Sutherland Shire
• conservation actions/behaviours
• concerns and feelings of responsibility for the welfare of others in their community
• self-efficacy and feelings of competence.

Heathcote High School

Outdoor learning area

To construct an outdoor learning area focused around teaching our students about the importance of sustainability and waste management. The area will consist of various raised garden beds, greenhouse for cultivation, composting area, rainwater tank and seating area. Currently our school has limited environmental education projects that students can be a part of and, as a result, we have seen an increasing problem with rubbish in the playground and a lack of care for the environment. I believe these projects that are run by our students will give them ownership of their school and instil in each student a greater understanding and sense of care for the environment.

Hill End Public School

Hill End Public School community seed saving network

Our project is to set up a seed saving bank and greenhouse at our school for the collection and propagation of seeds from our school and local community. This would be another positive project to engage our community’s involvement in our school. We would have a central place for the storage of seeds and their viability could be tested by students in the greenhouse. This project will improve our environment by providing seeds that will germinate successfully in our climate and also save some species that are currently under threat from feral goats, pigs and deer.

Hunters Hill Public School

Gardening for sustainability

This project aims to transform the existing edible garden into a dynamic and engaging learning space that will encourage students, teachers and the wider community to become actively involved in promoting the environmental sustainability of our local area. Firstly, we will involve our teachers in professional development to develop their interest and ability to embed sustainability and the school garden throughout all strands of the curriculum. Our school currently has an issue with excess waste going to landfill. We aim to engage our students in hands-on learning experiences that help them discover the waste cycle and adopt the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle motto.

Organisation	Project title
Illawarra Sports High School	Illawarra Sports High School - plastic waste warriors
Kangaroo Valley Public School	FIG sustainable community garden for the children of Kangaroo Valley Public School
Karonga School *	Food forest
Kempsey High School *	Kempsey Agricultural Students Association waste reduction project
Leura Public School	Live well at Leura kitchen garden project
Lomandra School*	Sustainable living through food technology garden
Macquarie Fields Public School	Macquarie Fields Public School Indigenous garden
Main Arm Upper Public School	Feather glider habitat monitoring and conservation
Marrickville West Primary School	Produce garden and composting at Marrickville West
Mascot Public School	Our sensory oasis
Merrylands Public School *	Inclusive garden project
Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College	Urban native garden
Mount Riverview Public School	Installing WaterSave smart meter and irrigation system
Mudgee High School	Aquaponics at Mudgee High School
Murwillumbah High School *	Sustainable food production and conservation of resources
Muswellbrook High School *	Focus centre food garden
Nana Glen Public School	Learning through growing
Narranga Public School	Narranga Public School living classroom project
Nemingha Public School	Our garden is our favourite teacher
Nimbin Central School	Nimbin Central School eco management project
Northern Beaches Secondary College *	Sustainability - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Northlakes High School *	Support unit garden

Illawarra Sports High School

Illawarra Sports High School – plastic waste warriors

Our Project is needed to reduce our school’s plastic footprint. Our School Environment Club (Illawarra Sports HS Plastic Waste Warriors) recently conducted a waste audit and identified an urgent need to reduce the high number of plastic waste bottles being purchased by students, staff and local sporting community members. These plastic water bottles are not being recycled. Environmental Club members concluded that the environmental impact of this plastic waste is huge. Our school Waste Warriors will encourage our school community to refill their own reusable water bottles with tap water, and audits will be carried out to measure student participation in the project, and the reduction in waste plastic. This will make a positive difference for our environment as each bottle refilled represents less disposable plastic bottles purchased and ending up in landfill, waterways and oceans where it is killing marine life.

Kangaroo Valley Public School

FIG sustainable community garden for the children of Kangaroo Valley Public School

The school has embarked upon a unique program, which is collaboration with the FiG Community Garden, productive school gardens, and our school kitchen. It is here that the children will have outdoors hands on education, benefiting from environmental analysis of soil, water and seasons. They will enjoy physical exertion, instant job satisfaction and an understanding of plant growth within their unique valley ecosystem. They will learn to work as a team, about moral obligation to the land and to accept help from volunteers. After harvesting they will cook using the produce grown and share the healthy and delicious meals.

Karonga School

Food forest

Karonga School is situated on eight acres of land at West Epping. We would like to develop a Food Forest within our school grounds. This Food Forest would consist of an under-storey canopy of smaller trees (the area already has large trees for the upper-storey) including native bush tucker/trees which are indigenous to the Dharug community. Since many of the students at Karonga have Physical Disabilities and/or Autism Spectrum Disorders, a Food Forest would provide a wonderful teaching tool. Many students with Autism require specific sensory programs and the Food Forest would allow staff opportunities to meet the sensory needs of these students outside the classroom while developing their understanding of the world of plants. Within the Food Forest there would be granite path to allow students in wheelchairs and walking frames the opportunity to explore the forest. Signage would provide staff with teaching tools and ideas for both sensory and gardening programs. As well as the massive benefits for our students, this Food Forest would attract beneficial insects and birds to the area. The area will incorporate Indigenous bush tucker as well as other native plants and Aboriginal art could eventually be included within the area.

Kempsey High School

Kempsey Agricultural Students Association waste reduction project  

It is unacceptable for a school educating future citizens to move all of its 117,500 litres of waste to landfill. This project will make a difference for the environment by annually diverting 42,620 litres of waste from landfill, recycling 28,800 litres of paper and eventually converting this recycled paper and 4000 litres of food and garden waste into compost, worm juice and worm castings. We want to enable the students in the Kempsey Agricultural Students Association to lead this project and change the school’s throw-away culture through ongoing student engagement with this issue across the curriculum.

Leura Public School

Live well at Leura kitchen garden project

A kitchen garden cared for by students with support from school and community, spacious enough to allow a whole class to work together. A wasted, weedy area becomes an environmental learning resource promoting healthy living and delivering healthy produce for ‘Crunch and Sip’ and the canteen. As has been requested, staff receive crucial support to educate for healthy, sustainable living though curricular garden activities. Students develop a sense of stewardship for the environment through their care of the garden. Organic gardening skills for sustainable living are shared and promoted and sustainable resource management improves as organic waste becomes garden nutrient.

Lomandra School

Sustainable living through food technology garden

Lomandra’s whole school food technology program utilises a purpose build student kitchen addressing outcomes in Literacy, Numeracy and PD/H/PE. To expand the success of this program, incorporating sustainable living practices, a kitchen garden and compost system will enable students to understand the cyclic process of growing and harvesting produce to use in the student kitchen. Students have previously engaged in programs such as propagation, establishing kitchen gardens and composting at Macarthur Centre for Sustainable Living. Outcomes were achieved in environmental education, team work, peer mentoring and leadership. Success of this has highlighted a need to implement similar learning opportunities on-site for all students.

Macquarie Fields Public School

Macquarie Fields Public School Indigenous garden

Macquarie Fields Public School’s project aims at creating an interactive and productive Indigenous garden. The focus of this garden is to connect Indigenous students with the land by allowing them to research, design and build a garden that represents their culture and supports the local ecosystem. With assistance from local elders, students will create murals and totems to represent their culture. These murals and totems will be placed in and around the Indigenous garden. This Indigenous garden will be a valuable learning space for our Indigenous students, as they will gain a deeper understanding of their heritage and culture whilst creating habitats for native wildlife.

Main Arm Upper Public School

Feather glider habitat monitoring and conservation

We will build on the success of past grants, where we replaced non-native vegetation with a bush tucker garden, an outdoor learning space and raised native bees. We will expand environmental awareness among our students by removing large camphor trees and replacing them with native plants that encourage the flourishing of feather gliders and other native animals with the help of the Climate Watch Trail team. Six nesting boxes with two motion-detecting cameras will be installed. Students will monitor animal behaviour and blog their observations. The goal is to educate and raise awareness in the school and local community around these amazing native animals.

Marrickville West Primary School

Produce garden and composting at Marrickville West

Our school would like to start a program for all students as part of a future plan to implement a whole school kitchen-garden program. In our incredibly diverse school (over 40 cultures represented) we have found food to be a great means of bringing cultures together and celebrating their similarities and differences concurrently. We feel education in environmental sustainability through growing food is an engaging and hands-on way to instil messages of ecological awareness. In this first stage we’d like to install some garden beds, source class sets of gardening equipment and teach children about sustainable waste management through composting.

Mascot Public School

Our sensory oasis

Students will be designing and creating their own sensory oasis with 15 new distinct garden beds where classes will be focusing on one or more of the senses. In this garden, students will be able to explore, touch, smell, taste and enjoy an array of plants and animals. As 90% of our students are from non-English speaking background, having a sensory garden will engage students’ vocabulary which will be specifically used to assist and extend writing experiences.

Merrylands Public School

Inclusive garden project

The environmental education project is needed to support an already existing small-scale garden to become a sustainable school project into the future. It will do this by providing funds to purchase additional resources essential for the ongoing maintenance of the garden. Additionally, it will allow teachers time to seek advice and expertise from Fowler Road Public School and the Georges River Environmental Education Centre with regards to efficient management of a school garden. It is important that the garden become a self-sustaining project where students can develop an understanding of how they can work with the environment to obtain what they need. The project also aims to provide students with disabilities powerful ways of learning new skills in the context of a project that contributes to the school community, therefore increasing their sense of well-being and achievement in the context of a mainstream school. Strong connections will be made to the curriculum through programming. The garden project also seeks to engage the families of children in the Support Unit and the wider culturally diverse parent community by providing them with opportunities to contribute their skills and knowledge in gardening. The garden is just one aspect of the school’s current focus on student welfare, improved engagement of the wider school community and the development of more appealing outside learning spaces.

Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College

Urban native garden

An artificial pond was created on school grounds in 2008 for use by Science, Arts and Religion. The pond area is now a thriving native bush ecosystem. With the success of this small area of our school we would like to replace existing gardens with plants native to North Sydney with a variety of aims. We want to attract more local fauna through provision of shelter through their native habitats. Native plants also need less watering and maintenance thus being more sustainable. To undertake this project, students will research and plant sustainable native plants to North Sydney and research the fauna they hope to attract. They will share success with the community and encourage them to convert their gardens, or part thereof, to more sustainable usage.

Mount Riverview Public School

Installing WaterSave smart meter and irrigation system

Our school is preparing to educate students and the community on the importance of water conservation by installing a WaterSave smart meter and a water efficient irrigation system. The installation of the smart meter will provide the school with up-to-date water usage data electronically. This system can produce savings of water and money for our school while providing accurate information for teachers and students to use in daily teaching and learning activities. The water usage data is accessible by internet and can show any concealed leaks. The data provided can be a valuable teaching resource for teachers. All information can be accessed by students. The information is realistic and could encourage the school community in conserving potable water. According to quarterly water bills, students’ water consumption at the school is above the recommended level (three to nine litres per student per day). By installing the meter we will have access to information which could help us in implementing water conservation strategies which will lead to reducing water usage.

Mudgee High School

Aquaponics at Mudgee High School

The school has incorporated aquaponics into the junior Design and Technology classes to provide hands-on experiences around the issue of sustainability. Aquaponics is gaining significant attention around the globe and is being touted by some as the future of agriculture. It uses 90% less water than traditional gardening and upwards of 100 times less water than irrigated cropping. It is naturally holistic and organic. This project teaches how to grow more food with much less water. Our system is situated in an area of high visibility so that we can inspire and contribute to local community interest. Being adjacent to our Support Unit, it also provides ease of access for our IM/IS, MC and ED students, including those in wheelchairs. We are now seeking funding to incorporate solar power into this system to further increase its sustainability and longevity at the school. Funding is also sought to make the area more user friendly for all involved.

Murwillumbah High School

Sustainable food production and conservation of resources

Students in the Support Unit want to grow their own vegetable, fruit and herbs to use in their cooking programs. Students would be able sell the excess food to the TAS department and canteen. A worm farm and compost would operate to keep the school environment clean and tidy. A small rainwater tank and mulch on the gardens and a solar panel would reduce the need for using the schools water supply. Native bees would enable the spread of pollen and assist in germination of plants. Companion planting would reduce the need for pesticides in our gardens. The planting of seasonal vegetables and herbs would allow students to have fresh food and not rely on shop bought vegetables for cooking. Students would cook with seasonal vegetable.

Muswellbrook High School

Focus centre food garden

Students are involved in propagating and growing plants from seed to provide produce to the local Community Kitchen. Vegetables, herbs and fruits in season will be grown and students will harvest and prepare foods to be cooked and served to needy members of the community. They will learn about sustainable practice, moon planting, composting, and the uses of plants. They will actively rehabilitate unused areas of the school grounds to beautify and give purpose to them. They will support their peers in activities related to the garden by refurbishing a dilapidated outdoor amphitheatre as part of the kitchen garden outdoor learning area which can be used by the whole school as an outdoor learning environment.

Nana Glen Public School

Learning through growing

Nana Glen Public School aims to increase sustainability and environmental education through creating outdoor learning spaces that will support high quality learning and teaching practices. Through the creation of herb/sensory gardens, establishing bird attracting gardens and the purchase and installation of a new hothouse we will provide the students with the opportunity to further develop an understanding of the importance of life cycles, symbiotic relationships and sustainability. As part of the new reforms for School Excellence and 21st Century Learners, we promote independence and student ownership of their learning and resources. Having functional outdoor spaces that students can access is essential for heightened understanding and awareness of their surrounding environment. For students to have the opportunity and experience at growing new plants (for our herb/sensory and bird attracting gardens) from seeds and cuttings provided and/or purchased by the community and school creates students with a higher sense of responsibility and achievement, this in turn promotes improved self-worth of students. Environmental sustainability is integrally linked to all Key Learning Areas and providing our students with outdoor learning spaces enables the teachers to embed these practices into students learning, creating a future generation who are aware and empowered to cause positive change to our world.

Narranga Public School

Narranga Public School living classroom project

The living classroom project is designed to integrate, as well as explicitly teach, concepts relating to environmental sustainability through the implementation and management of a closed-loop food garden that includes worm farming and composting systems. This enables the school to reduce its vegetable and material waste and improves the input of fresh produce into the students’ lives. This is achieved through a variety of student-centred, school and community experiences to support growing, processing and retailing food that integrate into key learning areas as well as improving student personal growth outcomes. The ideal is to increase student understanding of where their food is sourced and to spark in them an enthusiasm and zest for living in a more sustainable way at school and in the home, as well as producing a more responsible local and global citizen. It also results in reduced financial output and allows school budget allocation to purchase materials for the school living classroom.

Nemingha Public School

Our garden is our favourite teacher

Our small organic food garden encompasses five beds, chooks, orchard beginnings and vermiculture setup. Due to climatic conditions in Tamworth, we cannot grow the quantity of organic food required for our kitchen garden program, and subsequently source non-local, non-organic produce. We see great benefit to the environment, and to the teaching and learning of sustainable living, in constructing a greenhouse to decrease food miles, chemical dependence, extend the growing season, improve garden economics and encourage reasoning and discovery in the practicalities of gardening. We want our children to make connections between what they eat and how this impacts the environment.

Nimbin Central School

Nimbin Central School eco-management project

Nimbin Central School occupies an area of 26 acres which is covered by vegetation other than grass. Due to rich fertile soils, warm climate and high rainfall, all types of vegetation flourish on the school grounds and over the years, has resulted in some areas being overtaken by unwanted noxious weeds such as lantana, privet, crofton weed, groundsel and camphor laurel. The main priority is a chosen section covering 0.7 acres, which is also a wind break area, on the western side of the school’s agricultural plot. The aim of the project is to remove all weed vegetation in the area, including large camphor laurels and stumps, and plant selected native vegetation that will serve as weed control as well as provide a natural habitat for native fauna, and provide opportunities for student learning about bush tucker.

Northern Beaches Secondary College

Sustainability – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

At Cromer Campus we have identified a growing need to establish a sustainability project at our school. The main focus of the project will be Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. The aim is to establish a recycling area where mixed waste in our regular bins is to be included in the school recycling program, for example, aluminium cans and PET bottles. Also, green waste from the Food Technology faculty will be recycled through the establishment of worm farms. The compost will be used in various gardens around the school. Colourful recycling bins/containers will be placed strategically around the school to give our students ample opportunities and education in best recycling practice and its importance. The cans and PET bottles collected will be taken to resource collection centres. Students will be involved in the sorting process. This program will be linked to various curriculum outcomes in Mathematics, Science, History and Geography.

Northlakes High School

Support unit garden

The existing vegetable garden within the Support Unit at Northlakes High School requires regeneration and the provision of a water tank to deal with storm water run-off and allow the garden to be self-sufficient. The Unit has an established vegetable garden which has allowed students with physical and mental disabilities to experience an alternative learning environment over the past 10 years. The garden allows the students to get hands on experience working within the environment. The support unit is within a low socio-economic area at San Remo on the Central Coast of NSW. The garden engages students who are disengaged in the learning process, giving a cross-curriculum educational approach that incorporates maths, food technology, science, and PDHPE areas. The garden gives ownership and work experience opportunities to those students who would normally not be given this opportunity. Skills also include budgeting, cooking, money, time and measurement and importantly focus on enhancing social skills, team work and the ability to plan for future activities.

Organisation	Project title
Ourimbah Public School	Connecting with our rainforest
Penrith Valley Learning Centre *	Living classroom
Pittwater High School	Pittwater High School marshland management: riparian restoration, litter and flood prevention
Rainbow Ridge School for Steiner Education	Rainbow Ridge wildlife friendly food garden
St Ives Park Primary School	St Ives Park Public School eco garden
St Mary's Primary School Young	How does my garden grow? Understanding the food process from patch to plate.
St Mary's Primary School Grafton	Dig for plenty garden
St Paul the Apostle Primary School	Design it! Then make it!
Surveyors Creek Public School *	Surveyors sensory garden
The Pocket Public School	Schoolyard habitat project
Thornton Public School	Thornton Public School triassic learning track
Warrah Special School *	Warrah School farming initiative
Warrimoo Public School	Warrimoo Public School sustainable vegetable garden
Werrington County Public School *	Friendship garden
Wewak Street School *	Raised garden beds and improvement of existing garden beds
Wilkins Public School	Walanga 'naminina: urban kids caring for land
Wisemans Ferry Public School	Hands-on learning garden for happy and healthy children and communities
Wongarbon Public School *	Chook yard and raised beds for vegetable and herb gardens
Yass High School *	Integrated learning
Yenda Public School	Yenda's kitchen garden
Young Public School *	Superb Recycling: An outdoor learning area and sensory garden using recycled materials

Ourimbah Public School

Connecting with our rainforest

The school is situated on the central coast of NSW and was once a significant logging area for the region. Over 25 years ago the school community identified a remnant rainforest environment on the school grounds and set about rehabilitating this area, it has flourished and is now a rehabilitated lowland rainforest. The school has also developed a rainforest walking trail, which passes by an Aboriginal grinding site and which is accessible to teachers and students but is currently underused. The school has an influx of new teaching staff who have had limited experience in how to utilise this area in their teaching. We propose to create educational signage throughout the trail to help teachers integrate nature based learning into their curriculum and maximise student benefits from outdoor and environmental education. We also propose to work collaboratively with a wide variety of environmental and community organisations to provide professional development opportunities for all staff. Finally we which to connect ‘our’ rainforest to the wider community by hosting engaging environmental programs for the student environment group, parents and community such as nature walks and talks.

Penrith Valley Learning Centre

Living classroom

Students will participate in the design and construction of a Living classroom, an outdoor learning space where they will investigate the benefits of environmentally sustainable practices and the need for biodiversity. Students will implement skills and knowledge gained to design and construct the living classroom which will provide a safe and engaging space for students, staff and school community to participate in hands-on education and cultural exchange. The project will regenerate existing tracts of bush and vegetation within school grounds, creating a space where interactive teaching and learning can occur. Students will achieve positive educational outcomes aligned with both the NSW and Australian curriculum whilst building positive and meaningful relationships with other students, staff, community and business. The program will provide an opportunity for increased community and student engagement through cultural understanding and reconnection.

Pittwater High School

Pittwater High School marshland management: riparian restoration, litter and flood prevention

Pittwater High school is surrounded by a mangrove ecosystem and at high tide, part of the school floods with salt water. Student representatives have volunteered as part of an environmental awareness campaign called Project Green Sea Turtle. These students have done litter surveys of the surrounding area and have identified four areas of the school that are large point sources for litter pollution entering our local waterways. The project has three goals:

• to mitigate and prevent flooding of grass areas during king tides;
• to restore marshland and provide habitat in the water course using the reestablishment of riparian vegetation, saltmarsh and mangrove plants; and
• to prevent litter from escaping the school grounds, entering the adjacent mangroves and flowing out into the ocean on the outgoing tide.

There is a great need to prevent flooding of the school grounds where saltwater kills playing fields and to reduce litter from entering the surrounding waterways of Broken Bay. Students from the schools Marine and Aquaculture Technology program will conduct regular tide and litter surveys to measure the success of the program.

Rainbow Ridge School for Steiner Education

Rainbow Ridge wildlife friendly food garden

Food garden beds have been established at the school but several problems have arisen, the main one being the local wildlife which also appreciate the produce and enriched soils of the garden. Students have also encountered difficulties with lack of shade in the summer, water scarcity, weed control and organic waste management. By incorporating raised garden beds which can be netted and shaded, a compost tumbler, water wise gardening methods and a small chicken tractor into the existing beds, it is hoped that the problems of gardening alongside wildlife can be solved and food security maintained. It is intended to incorporate a native bee hive into the garden area to help with pollination. These changes and additions will allow students to experience an integrated garden system that co-exists with local wildlife while at the same time learning about waste disposal and water management.

St Ives Park Primary School

St Ives Park Public School eco-garden

Our eco-garden aims to increase student, family and wider school community engagement, whilst providing hands-on and interactive learning opportunities that meet a variety of curriculum outcomes. Our hope is to take our environmental education to the next level, creating an outdoor learning experience that is a welcoming and purposeful which will serve as a wonderful wider school community resource. We seek to establish an eco-garden that facilitates ongoing learning and active engagement of students, parents, teachers and community. We aim to:

• educate teachers and engage our students on the impact of food production on the environment and benefits of sustainable agriculture
• increase our school community’s appreciation of diverse and healthy foods
• facilitate knowledge and confidence in growing, preparing, cooking and eating food
• improve the social and learning environment within our school community
• engage the wider school community in activities such as teaching, volunteering, learning about sustainable practices through our eco-garden, and prompting environmental responsibility.

St Mary’s Primary School Young

How does my garden grow?

Understanding the food process from patch to plate, creating a sustainable food garden at the school will provide students with a fun and interactive activity and help them enjoy the many benefits of gardening. They can get involved in creation and planting, and take on responsibility for the garden’s ongoing care and maintenance. Gardening experiences also reinforce classroom teaching and provide opportunities to integrate curriculum across a range of subject areas including Science, Numeracy, Health and Physical Education. Students will gain pride and ownership in the garden as well as learn how they can reduce ‘green’ waste being sent to landfill by turning it into compost.

St Mary’s Primary School Grafton

Dig for plenty garden

St Mary’s Primary school aims to convert its traditional playground into a Learnscape. The first stage of this project is the development of our edible food gardens, including vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and bush tucker from the Clarence Valley. These gardens will provide practical learning opportunities for students across all areas of the curriculum, and cater for various learning and teaching styles. In particular, they will teach students about sustainable gardening practices, and provide healthy fresh produce for use in class cooking activities, in the school canteen, and in the students’ pop up market stall called Dig for Plenty. Assisting students to develop their knowledge of sustainability will flow over into their everyday lives and help develop a sense of stewardship of the earth, which will grow as they do.

St Paul the Apostle Primary School

Design it! Then make it!

The school is committed to hands on experiential learning for our students. To this end the school would like to involve the students by inviting them to design and make the garden. In this way the students will need to apply many curriculum learnings whilst designing and planning for what they envisage the garden will look like. The children would participate in the activity in both the classroom and the school yard. The teachers would encourage the students to talk about any obstacles that they may encounter and work with them to problem solve. The school hopes to incorporate many aspects of the students work to construct the final garden design. By the students participating in this activity the school plans for more involvement and to bring the school community together to make the project a reality.

Surveyors Creek Public School

Surveyors’ sensory garden

We aim to construct a native sensory garden that all children of Surveyors Creek can utilise and gain benefit from. The Stage 3 children, who will design the garden, will gain knowledge of native sensory plants and landscape design that will appeal to the senses. They will then educate others through interpretive signage and multimedia. The design of multimedia education will then become part of the ongoing Stage 3 curriculum. Our Integrated School contains a Special Need Unit catering to children with mild to moderate disability. This garden will provide a place where their sensory needs can be met. We also have a number of ‘special needs’ children in mainstream classes who would benefit from using the garden for a sensory break during class time or play time. All children in the school will have an opportunity to contribute such as planting, maintaining or creating a sensory experience. The garden will be available for all teachers to use as an outdoor classroom for sensory enrichment, plant and animal biodiversity education, ecosystem education and appreciation of the environment.

The Pocket Public School

Schoolyard habitat project

The Pocket School Schoolyard Habitat Project is intended to give students the opportunity to research, design and implement a plan to enhance their school ground by encouraging a chosen native animal or insect to live there and share this with our community. This year the students have chosen to research Australian native bees. The addition of an outdoor learning area that centres on a stingless native bee hive, and includes various native bee attracting plants, will enhance the school environment while introducing a natural pollination vehicle for their vegetable garden. The project also includes seating and paving sourced from salvaged materials which sets an example for sustainable practices.

Thornton Public School

Thornton Public School Triassic learning track

Our school has identified a two-hectare area of remnant endangered Lower Hunter spotted gum iron bark forest within the school grounds which is choked with weeds and rubbish. We need to clear weeds and establish a track into this area of the forest to include observation teaching points, with seating, for students to use and to conserve the area. We will clean and regenerate it to protect the native vegetation, providing a safe, interactive learning environment for students K-6 to access. We will establish an environmental education program involving collection of data and observation of native plants and animals.

Warrah Special School

Warrah School farming initiative

By educating our students in the environmental, social and health benefits of organic farming practices we aim to inspire students and their families to make positive, ethical and informed choices that will be of benefit to the environment. The education will include low to zero food miles, local food production, increased health and wellbeing through nutritiously dense chemical free food, increased awareness of the positive environmental impacts of small scale organic farming methods and active personal involvement in sustainable food production.

Warrimoo Public School

Warrimoo Public School sustainable vegetable garden

The purpose of the sustainable vegetable garden is to involve students in all stages of a food garden. This will include garden development incorporating sustainability, composting of organic matter, planning, vegetable decision, planting, observing growth, and then keeping up with watering/weeding. The students will then harvest and eat the vegetables. The project is needed to enhance the environmental principles and practices of the teachers and students at the school. Educating students in sustainable composting, growing and using vegetables with the improvement of the school environment and the health of the students. This knowledge of sustainable behaviour will continue into their present and future lives.

Werrington County Public School

Friendship garden

The design is to build a self-sufficient garden. It will utilise an area of the school which is unused. The current vegetable garden within the school is extremely small and we wish to extend with the growing enrolments of the school. The garden will produce fruit and vegetables that will be used to support the Crunch and Sip program, we will also be able to address issues such as recycling and the cross curricula subject areas like Sustainability. We hope to include our products into our healthy living programs and to enhance the students understanding and compassion for the local environment.

Wewak Street School

Raised garden beds and improvement of existing garden beds

The school currently has two small raised beds that provide some students with the opportunity to work in the garden. To cater for all students, another two beds need to be made. To allow all students access to gardening activities, raised beds are the most suitable for students with physical challenges. This project will make a difference for the environment because students will learn about sustainability at school and further educate their parents and carers about environmental issues. Students will be able to grow vegetables to use in cooking sessions. They will also be engaged in cross- curriculum learning experiences that have real meaning. Students will be provided opportunities to develop communication skills and develop positive values.

Wilkins Public School

Walanga ‘naminina: urban kids caring for land

This year we will remove substantial noxious weeds (madeira vine and phoenix palms) from Walanga ‘naminina (our Aboriginal walking trail and yarning circle) and nearby western ridge mound. With access to the site, we need this project to integrate bush restoration into our outdoor education programs for the first time. Teachers and students will learn about land care. The environmental benefits are ongoing restoration and weed management on a rare piece of native bushland in our highly urbanized area. Our vision is to share this outdoor learning site to foster social and educational networks for middle school students across Marrickville.

Wisemans Ferry Public School

Hands-on learning garden for happy and healthy children and communities

We want our students to be learning for sustainability. We aim to empower and educate our students with the ability to learn from the land. We aim to achieve the level of competence and citizenship in all students that will enable them to contribute to the achievement of sustainable societies. To do this, we will landscape a large (100-metre by 50 metre), overgrown area of land on the school grounds that is overrun with weeds and transform into a hands-on learning garden, while learning about the land. Our students will also have a section of the garden as a bush tucker garden, making strong ties with our Aboriginal community. This will be maintained with community support.

Wongarbon Public School

Chook yard and raised beds for vegetable and herb gardens

At Wongarbon School we want our children to live a happy and healthy life in a sustainable environment. We want to show the children that food doesn’t have to come from a packet. They will understand how chooks play an important role in food production and healthy gardens. The students will learn the concept of self-sufficiency. The children will work collaboratively with their peers, staff and the local community to create an outdoor learning space. It will be used to teach the children about eating healthy food, how they can manage their environment sustainably and responsible stewardship.

Yass High School

Integrated learning

We have an area of land at the front of the school which has been used for three years to house five demountables due to a fire in 2012. The area, previously known as ‘the park’ was once quite inviting with leafy trees etc., now has dead land in need of restoration due to the demountables and damage caused by the rebuilding project. The demountables are to be removed soon and the damage will be even more visible to our students and local community. We would like to restore the land and create a clean, sustainable outdoor learning area.

Yenda Public School

Yenda’s kitchen garden

Our environmental education project involves building and maintaining a kitchen garden. Despite the fact many of our children live on farms, they are often still unaware of where our food comes from or how it is grown. Having a kitchen garden will allow students to see how a variety of fruits and vegetables are grown, and to experience cooking and eating previously unknown foods. Involving students in growing their own healthy food encourages them to eat healthier meals, and be more engaged in preparing them. Fruits and vegetables will be able to be used in the school canteen, among other things, allowing the school to become more self-sufficient. We would have a spice and herb section in the garden so that students could use and experience the garden with all their senses. The kitchen garden would also include native plants used by traditional land owners in consultation with Wiradjuri Elders from the Local Land Council.

Young Public School

Superb Recycling: An outdoor learning area and sensory garden using recycled material

The playground is uninspiring and recently trees were cut down, compounding the need for inspiring outdoor spaces. Working with the broader community to source, recycle and repurpose materials we will build an outdoor learning area and sensory garden. This will help to create a dialogue between students, their families and the broader community on the benefits and possibilities of recycling. Students will explore biodiversity through their senses, connect with nature and develop a sense of place and environmental stewardship. Students will be involved in the design of the space which will encourage a sense of ownership and commitment to the project.