Respect and reverence for the natural world is a fundamental principle of Steiner education and is modelled in the we live our daily lives. As a ResourceSmart School our aim to be leaders in our community regarding our sustainability practices and continue to influence changing waste management behaviour. 

With that in mind it was important to the school community that we aim towards as little waste as possible for our Spring Festival.

St. Patrick’s began their journey in 2010, and achieved 5 Star status for the first time in April 2019. Since then, they have continued to incorporate sustainability into their everyday school actions, maintaining their certification. In their first ten years, St. Patrick’s saved over $111,000 in water, waste and energy bills!   “Being a 5 star school is important to us at St Patrick’s Primary School in Port Fairy. Not only is it important to gain the 5 stars, it is important that we keep them and embed all sustainable practices to keep our school, as well as our community a greener, safer place”

Workshop draws on Curiosity: Try these at your school!

Our main biodiversity goal was to improve the habitats for pollinators for birds, bees and butterflies at our school.

We were delighted to find out that we came 2nd in the competition and our prize was to work with B and B Highway to educate our students at what pollinators were and the homes that they live in.

Children tend to says things in a way that gets straight to the point and in a very different way to adults. Here’s a very strong speech by student leaders at Lara Lake Primary School; it was written by Jazz, Sofia, and Ayla; and delivered by Sofia, Ellie and Mia. We congratulate them and we thank teacher Blake for making space for their voices to be heard and amplified. It’s so powerful! Well done Lara Lake!

The Franciscan Action Team (FAT) at Our Lady of the Nativity in Aberfeldie is a powerful, positive force! The FAT consists of 4-5 Year 6 students chosen each year and they drive lots of initiatives that address the needs of the school identified in part by their collection of data. They are an integral part of raising awareness of sustainability at the school, speaking in assemblies, co-writing articles and notices for the newsletter, and visiting classrooms to support action.

The following was written by Albion Primary School’s PE teacher, Marita Ryan, about her experience being the main RSS teacher and driving RSS action through lockdown, resulting in the completion of three modules and one star during lockdown 6, which is an incredible effort!