Sustaining
the Vision
A Whole School Approach
Katrina Wootton and Ann Wuth
Introduction
Holy Spirit School in Townsville has developed a whole-school approach to
ecological education which integrates the Australian Curriculum cross
curriculum priority of Sustainability. This workshop will consider:
an ecological vision;
curriculum: teaching and learning;
management of school resources;
networking: partnerships and community involvement and
management of school grounds
Australian Curriculum – Cross
Curricula Priorities:
Are you feeling like this????
Discussion
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Introduce yourself
Name a challenge regarding
incorporating sustainability?
Suggest a positive about embedding
sustainability into the curriculum?
What are you hoping to gain from this
workshop?
Who are we?
Holy Spirit School Principal: Mr. Paul Lucas
HSS PROFILE
Holy Spirit School is a large P-7 Catholic Primary
School.
Current enrolment is approaching 900 students.
5 Year 5 Classes in 2013
4 Streams at each year level.
3 Curriculum Developers
2 Teachers for Students with Special Needs
1 Guidance Counsellor
3 Learning Support Teachers
1 Digital technology Teacher
1 Librarian
24 Special Needs Students
66 Students with Individual Learning Plans
What children say
“We shouldn’t waste water.”
“We need to look
after the animals.”
“Children want to walk but they
can't because of the cars.”
“Everyone should
learn how to care for
the environment.”
“People shouldn’t leave litter around. Everyone should recycle
their stuff.”
What is an ecological vision?
Holy Spirit School strategy aims to
encourage teachers and students to
take on board the principles of
sustainable development in their
everyday work, achieving educational
excellence alongside the goals of:
healthy living
environmental awareness
community participation
global citizenship
How do we enact our
Ecological Vision?
Holy Spirit School:
is guided by the principles of sustainable development
is an efficient school – consuming less energy, water and
materials and producing less waste
aims to improve the local environment
helps students to learn about sustainability both in the classroom
and from real life experiences.
Healthy Habitats for
Schools
From bush tucker gardens and yarning circles, to frog ponds and seedling
nurseries, Healthy Habitat for Schools has been working with the leaders of
tomorrow to improve biodiversity in school grounds whilst also educating staff,
students and parents about natural resource management.
NQ Dry Tropics has operated the Healthy Habitat for Schools program for a
number of years, providing support, resources, training and a lot of elbow
grease to schools in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region.
NQ Dry Tropics is proud to see the schools now calling on their newfound
knowledge and skills to develop their own biodiversity projects.
Find out more at www.nqdrytropics.com.au
Acknowledgement: Paul Wuth
Background music: Autumn Day, Cipher, Easy lemon, Happy Bee, Inner Light, Reunited, Wallpaper, Sunshine
Category
Education
Licence
Standard YouTube Licence
The eight doorways
Energy and
water
Buildings and
grounds
Purchasing and
waste
Food and drink
Global dimension
Local well being
Inclusion and
participation
Travel and
traffic
Curriculum: teaching
and learning
1
Curriculum Organisation
2
Planning
3
Assessment/Moderation/Reporting
4
Putting it all Together
HSS Curriculum Planning
Planning
Prep Unit
Year 2
Year 4
Year 3
Year 6
Management of school
resources
Employ the “Four R’s”
Reduce
Reuse
Refuse
Recycle
Reduce and Reuse
Reduce use of single use and disposable
products e.g. instead of buying bottled
water, take a bottle with you from home.
Buy in bulk to reduce the packaging you
collect. Choose concentrated products or
refillable containers.
.
When buying fruit and vegetables, pop
them straight into the trolley rather than
plastic bags.
Repairing household items can be a great
way to reduce waste and save money.
Find innovative ways to re-use old bags,
containers, building materials and clothing.
Give unwanted clothes, household items,
or furniture to family or friends, or charities.
Washed takeaway containers make good
stackable containers for frozen food.
If you don't read advertising mail, put a
sign on your letterbox.
Wash glass jars and use them again to
store buttons and nails.
Plan your meals to use items before they
go out of date. Compost your food scraps
or use them in a worm farm.
Use small plastic bags to wrap wet and
smelly rubbish or to pick up after your pet.
Refuse and Recycle
Plastic bags - take your own shopping
bags, baskets or use a cardboard box if at
the fruit shop
When you buy recycled products, you are
saving resources and reducing the impacts
of pollution.
Don't buy disposable or single-use items,
instead buy durable reusable goods
See if appliances and furniture can be
repaired instead of replaced.
Bottled water - always carry your own
reusable water bottle and refill it with free
tap water
Find out what drop-off and recycling
facilities are available in your local area.
Don't buy items in containers that cannot
be recycled.
Buy products not packaging - avoid overpackaged items at the store.
Look for products that use recycled
materials or are recyclable. This way you'll
know that you're helping to keep useful
materials and metals out of landfill.
Recycle unwanted plastic bags at your
supermarket, or give them to charity stores
who may use them
Networking: partnerships
and community involvement
Yamini Trail
Management of school
grounds
The Greening of Holy Spirit School
Year of Grace - Taking Climate Change Seriously 2013
Classroom Activities:
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Music
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LOTE
Maureen - Herb garden or ....
Sue - Musical gardens
- Herb garden (Italian)
Learning Enrichment- Side garden
Library
- Sr Stephen’s Rose Garden
Prep
- Holy Spirit Happy Hens
Management of school
grounds
•
Yr 1
•
Yr 2
•
Yr 3
•
-
Flower pots and cement pipes outside rooms
Paper re-cyclers 1D
Butterfly Garden
Worm Farm
Composting Bin
Lizard Garden / Dinosaur Garden
- Sensory Garden and wheelbarrow gardens
- Chess sets
Yr 4 - Vegie Plots and flowers (near Year 4 rooms)
Management of school
grounds
Yr 5 - Vegie Plots and flowers (near
Tuckshop)
- Carbon Kids
- School footprint
Yr 6 -
Vegie Plots
Green House
Class gardens outside rooms
Japanese garden
Yr 7 -
Battery re-cycling
Mobile Muster
Class Gardens outside rooms
Lynch Family Hall gardens
•Curriculum Team - Green and Healthy
Schools Accreditation
•Busy Bees- World Tree Day
- World Environment
Week activities
- Homer
Our School’s
Ecological Pathway
Resources and tools
Carbon Kids
Reef Ed Teaching Units
Environmental Education (NSW)
Qld Sustainable Schools
Catholic Earthcare Australia
On Holy Ground
Sustainability Education
Sustainability Curriculum Framework
Pinterest: Sustainability for the Australian Curriculum
Discussion
• List 3 things from this
presentation that you could
take back to your school
To find out more
For more information or resources:
awuth@hsstsv.catholic.edu.au
kwootton@hsstsv.catholic.edu.au