A Bell Post Hill secondary school is a sustainability award winner for its students’ efforts in reducing community waste.
Kardinia International College was named the CDS Vic (Container Deposit Scheme Victoria) Excellence School of the Year for the secondary school category during the ResourceSmart Schools Awards.
Senior schoolteacher and co-curricular coordinator Nicole Holton said she was thrilled to see the school’s students recognised for their “amazing actions” to make the school more sustainable.
“One of the things we try to instill in the students at Kardinia is how important it is to take action and respect not just each other but the environments we live in is critical,” she said.
“Earthcore is our sustainability student-led team at the school, and they run the show in terms of sustainable actions. So, the award was really a recognition of their efforts.
“The Earthcore students do an annual audit of the school’s waste. Every year, they take a week’s worth of rubbish and go through it to see if the school community are putting their waste in the correct bins.”
Ms Holton said the Purple Bin Project was introduced to the school, with help from Recycle4Change, to ensure proper recycling of eligible drink containers and raise funds for sustainability projects.
Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos said the students, teachers and volunteers recognised in the ResourceSmart Schools Awards were role models in bringing positive change to the community.
“Our schools are producing incredibly impressive projects that are delivering real environmental benefits across the state,” he said.
“Students gain hands-on experience in sustainability, how to reduce waste, conserve energy, and protect the environment while gaining skills that will be with them for life.”
