Environment & Sustainability
Here at Findon Primary School, we have invested a great deal of time and energy towards achieving our core module of the ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic program – a Victorian government initiative aimed at embedding sustainability in everything schools do and educating students to the difference they can make now and in the future.
We are linked with a facilitator from CERES, who provides guidance on achieving the core module and then moving on to our next focus area: biodiversity, energy, waste or water.
Across the school, we are engaged in a range of practices that promote the three key elements of sustainability:
- Environmental sustainability
- Economic sustainability
- Social sustainability
Findon Primary School was inaugural Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation school and over the last eight years, the students, teachers and volunteers who have participated in the program have embraced the philosophy and encouraged sustainable practices. We heartily compost, take communal responsibility in caring for our chickens, harvest from our organic garden, plant flowers to attract pollinators and use worm juice and tank water to grow our gardens.
Since signing on to the Resource Smart program, we have worked closely with staff from the Latrobe Wildlife Sanctuary to develop a student leadership team that promotes the ideals of sustainability to the student cohort and has worked on improving the diversity of our school gardens. The student group has promoted
‘Rubbish Free Friday’, worked on developing a butterfly garden, created rosters for students to collect rubbish with coloured buckets and educated students about how to maintain a compost bucket in their classroom.
Social sustainability is very much part of the community dialogue here at FPS. We are an accredited Kids Matter school, welcoming families from all backgrounds, and through our nine school values we promote compassion, understanding, fair go and freedom. Students are acknowledged for displaying these values with a ‘Student of the Week’ acknowledgement at our weekly assembly.
Economic sustainability has also been a focus with the school investing in an energy audit. Since that audit, the school has requested that each class appoint an energy monitor to switch off lights and appliances when not in use. The school has also replaced major lighting in the sports hall, staffroom and office area with energy efficient, money saving LED lighting.
