Well done to Burnie Primary School, Tasmania who have just been awarded their first Bronze Award.

Choosing the litter and waste theme, the students reviewed the school’s waste management and found that there were no recycling facilities, with nearly 100kg of rubbish heading to landfill every school week.

Their Sustainability Committee, consisting of students and a classroom teacher, has led the whole school on a journey to reduce waste going to landfill by introducing recycling and organics bins (funded by a Keep Australia Beautiful, Beverage Container Recycling Grant), holding a Book Swap Meet and sharing their learnings from an excursion to the local waste management centre via assemblies and newsletters.

Teachers are engaging students in learning through environmental enquiry. The year 6 class used newly installed gardens to understand and calculate the different volumes and capacities of a range of garden beds. This is a great example of integrating the Eco-School activities into the school curriculum – which can be a struggle for schools starting the program.