St Luke’s Anglican School has been named Bundaberg’s most environmentally-friendly school after taking out the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Competition.
The competition was an initiative of the Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett in partnership with Bundaberg Regional Council, Impact Community Services and A2Z Waste Recycling, to promote the importance of recycling to students.
Mr Bennett said he was delighted to see local schools engaging with students on waste and recycling issues to build a healthy respect and understanding for the environment.
“Little green thumbs across the region have adopted a number of environmentally sustainable practices at their school, such as collecting food scraps for chooks, worm farms and compost bins, re-using paper for collage activities and establishing vegetable gardens,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to see our school communities getting involved and fostering healthy habits for the environment.
“We have had a great response from schools to this new education initiative and I look forward to welcoming more schools next year to take up the challenge.”
St Luke’s Anglican School teacher Holly Gatley said the school enjoyed being actively involved in recycling to encourage students to become globally responsible citizens.
“The Year 3 and 4 students monitor our recycle bins daily, helping other students to make good choices about where their rubbish belongs,” Ms Gatley said.
“We have bins for recyclable materials, food scrap bins for worms and chickens and general waste bins.
“We collect paper within our school for recycling, and there are worm farms and compost tumblers in operation.
“Ultimately, we want students to realise that their actions can have an impact on the future health of our planet. If they can make recycling habitual, then the Earth will be in good hands.”
Winning schools were presented with prize money, wheelie bin trophies and indoor compost bins this week.
School placings:
1. St Luke’s Anglican School
2. Sharon State School
3. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Monday 24 July 2017