INFORMATION KIT
ResourceSmart School Awards 2015
Imagine, act and inspire your community!
Every day, thousands of students across the state are working on imaginative and inspiring sustainability
projects. If you are a teacher, a principal or a student, enter the ResourceSmart Education Awards 2015 and
share your sustainability story with Victoria.
About the ResourceSmart Education Awards
The Sustainability Victoria ResourceSmart Education Awards is Victoria’s largest sustainability awards program for ResourceSmart
Education Awards.
The awards are a great opportunity to boost your school profile, network with other Victorian ResourceSmart Education Awards and
educators that excel in sustainability, and celebrate with your community.
The ResourceSmart Education Awards are open to all Victorian ResourceSmart Education Awards and they are a fantastic opportunity
to get formally recognised and rewarded for their achievements.
ResourceSmart Education Awards reward the efforts of students and teachers at Victorian ResourceSmart Education Awards who have
shown leadership by making a positive difference to the environment in the areas of biodiversity, energy, waste, water and community
leadership.
Why should you enter?
Entering the ResourceSmart Education Awards is easy. Submitting the online entry gives you the opportunity to become an awards
finalist or winner. It also enables you to think about the great work you have done and record your sustainability achievements.
Engaging students in preparing an entry helps to develop their leadership, literacy and numeracy skills and it's great for teamwork!
More reasons to enter:

Winners and finalists share in up to $40,000 in prize money to grow their sustainability initiatives as well as sponsorship prizes
such as framed certificates or awards, giveaways and vouchers.

If you are judged as a finalist or a winner, you can promote the status to your community and inspire others. Your sustainability
achievements will be recognised, rewarded and promoted via Sustainability Victoria’s communication and media channels.

If you are a finalist or winner, you will be invited to attend the ResourceSmart Education Awards ceremony at the Melbourne
Convention and Exhibition Centre in Term 4. Attending the awards gives you the opportunity to learn about other
ResourceSmart Education Awards inspiring sustainable activities as well as showcase your own sustainability work.
Important dates
Entries open
Wednesday 22 April 2015
Entries close
8pm, Monday 17 August 2015
Finalists announced
Tuesday 1 September 2015
Winners announced & Event
Wednesday 14 October 2015
1
How to enter
Complete and submit an entry via the ResourceSmart Education Awards online portal or read more about the awards at
www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/educationawards.
Who can enter the awards?
Every Victorian early childhood service, primary or secondary school is eligible to enter the awards. Refer to the Terms and Conditions
of Entry for more information.
What are the awards categories?
ResourceSmart Education Awards 2015 has two levels of categories:

Categories (online entry required)

Major award categories (cannot enter directly).
Categories
Biodiversity School of the Year (Primary and Secondary)
Recognises individual ResourceSmart Education Awards that have initiated or influenced positive biodiversity changes within
their school and broader community.
Community Leadership School of the Year (Primary and Secondary)
Recognises ResourceSmart Education Awards that have shown outstanding leadership by working with local groups in their
community to improve environmental sustainability.
Energy School of the Year (Primary and Secondary)
Recognises individual ResourceSmart Education Awards that have initiated or influenced positive energy changes within their
school and broader community.
Waste School of the Year (Primary and Secondary)
Recognises individual ResourceSmart Education Awards that have initiated or influenced positive waste changes within their
school and broader community.
Water School of the Year (Primary and Secondary)
Recognises individual ResourceSmart Education Awards that have initiated or influenced positive water changes within their
school and broader community.
Teacher of the Year
Recognises individual teachers who have initiated or influenced positive sustainability change within their school and broader
community. Nominated teachers are standout leaders who have gone above and beyond the roles of teachers in their school’s
sustainability program.
Student-led Action Team of the Year
Recognises individuals and groups of students who have initiated or influenced positive sustainability change in their school, local
communities and/or regional areas. Nominated teams are stand out leaders who have worked together to achieve outstanding
results in sustainability.
Major award categories
There are two overall award categories that do not require direct entry.
ResourceSmart School of the Year.
The most prestigious award. Recognizes the school that has demonstrated the most impressive achievements for the year.
To qualify for this award, entries must be submitted for three categories as outlined above.
ResourceSmart Newcomer of the Year.
Recognises the achievements of a school that has started their sustainability work within the last year.
To be considered, your school must enter at least one resource category as outlined above.
What are the judges looking for?
The judging panel will assess entries and will be looking for specific criteria to be demonstrated when answering the questions.
Categories – Biodiversity, Community Leadership, Energy, Waste and Water.
Have you:

Described your most significant achievement since 1 July 2014, including actual measurable savings?

Described the actions your school took to reach the most significant achievement(s)? Specify the date/ time period the
achievement took place.

Describe the major challenges your school faced during the project, and the solution(s) implemented to overcome the challenges.

Outlined actions that are linked with the achieved outcomes?

Who was involved in your school's sustainability actions/ activities and what were their responsibilities?

Explained how students, the school community and broader community were involved?

Explained how the sustainability achievements improved student understanding?

Demonstrated effectively why your school should be chosen?

Demonstrated something innovative or new or different?

How have these initiatives and activities improved student understanding of the chosen category? Include comments from at
least five students, parents and/or teachers to show what they have learnt.

Why should your school be chosen? This is your opportunity to make your entry competitive.

Provided additional information such as a ResourceSmart Education Awards environment management plan?
Teacher of the Year
Have you:

Described the teacher's key roles and responsibilities in the school's sustainability programs?

Described actions where the teacher has shown outstanding leadership to create positive change?

Explained how the teacher has gone above and beyond the regular roles of teachers involved in sustainability?

Described the impact the teacher has had on your school community?

Indicated whether or not the teacher is involved in other sustainability work within the broader community?

Effectively demonstrated why this teacher should be chosen?


Made sure that the nomination form and supporting material prove that this teacher is a standout individual?
Include any linkages to the AusVELS cross-curriculum priority area of Sustainability. For more information about sustainability and
the curriculum visit http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ CrossCurriculumPriorities/Sustainability
Student-led Action Team of the Year
Have you:

Described the student-led team’s key roles and responsibilities at their school, local area and/or regional area?

Who is in the student-led team, is there an individual(s) within the team that should be mentioned?

Described outstanding outcomes achieved by the student-led team since 1 July 2014?

Explained the action undertaken by the student-led team to achieve the outcomes described in the previous question?

Considered whether or not the student-led team has the qualities and skills that have influenced change and motivated their
school, local communities and/or regional area?

Described one challenge that the student-led team has encountered since 1 July 2014 and the solution they used to
overcome it?

Creatively shown why this student-led team should be chosen?
In most cases, the judges will assess your entry and make comments. This feedback will be given to you so that you have
expert evaluation of your sustainability efforts and ideas for future improvements.
What type of supporting material should I include in my entry?

Include as much information to support your school’s project get through the shortlisting of entries.
Information can include:

Three images or a video (up to five minutes in length and meeting supported video formats – please refer to the Entry Form for
details) can be included – a great visual way to show the judges the work and people who have been involved.

Your school’s environment management plan or equivalent sustainability planning tool, to give a detailed view of your
sustainability results and plans for the future.

Up to date ResourceSmart Schools Online data helps demonstrate your achievements in an objective and measurable
way.

Letters of support - evidence showing appreciation for your school's sustainability initiatives from community partners,
local government or agency staff and representatives.

Include material you have created during the year like a song about waste, a poem about biodiversity or a play about saving
water as well as any tables, charts, measurements and graphs that show improvements in resource efficiency.

Any promotional material produced about your school's sustainability work. This may include stories published in your
local newspaper, screens shots from your website, school newsletters, speeches from school assemblies or other
presentations.
Entry tips
Entering the awards is easy and is a great way to tell your sustainability story.
Follow these steps and you are on your way:

Talk to your school principal about your intention to enter the awards.

Make a timeline of sustainability initiatives achieved since 1 July 2014.

Ask students and teachers to recommend which categories they would like the school to enter, and schedule class time to
plan and prepare the entry.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from teachers, students and the broader community.

Take photos and record thoughts throughout the year as this will help with recounting your school’s journey towards sustainability.
For first time entrants:

Review the online entry, save as you go and see what is required so you have adequate time to prepare.

Be organised and start early – the time it takes to complete an entry form varies for each school.

Have a look at the sample entry form to get an idea of how to structure your answers.

Demonstrate measurable results and link these with the actions you took to achieve it.
If you have entered before but have not been named a finalist:
Be sure to show sustainability outcomes, not just actions.

Compare achievements to baseline measurements taken before your sustainability actions were taken to show the difference.

Ensure your answers are backed up by evidence and against a timeline.

Be concise and specific in explaining your school’s sustainability achievements.

Use dot points where possible and provide supporting material relevant to your category.
If you are a ResourceSmart Schools 4 Star or 5 Star and/or previous award winner:


Outline the new actions you have taken since 1 July 2014.
If you are entering projects that have already been presented in a past entry please outline the ongoing efforts you have taken to
keep your projects alive, and include any new data to support this. We know that it is one thing to set up a project, but another to
make sure it is sustainable! Refet to Terms and Conditions of Entry.

Include supporting material that proves you are continuing to improve your resource use.

Enter a category you have not entered before or some of the newer awards categories - Student-led Action Team or Teacher of
the Year - to show how your school is continuing and broadening its sustainability efforts.
After you enter
When your entry is received, a confirmation email receipt will be sent to you.
If you sign up to receive ResourceSmart Education Awards 2015 eAlerts, Sustainability Victoria will email you with updates about the
program's progress.
Finalists will be announced 1 September 2015. All finalists will be invited to participate in the ResourceSmart Education Awards event on
Wednesday 14 October 2015 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The 2015 winners will be announced at this event.
Good luck!
Further information
If you have questions about the ResourceSmart Education Awards contact the awards hotline on 1300 061 565 or email us at
resourcesmartawards@sustainability.vic.gov.au.
For all ResourceSmart Education Awards information go to www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/educationawards
For more information about ResourceSmart Education Awards go to www.resourcesmartschools.vic.gov.au
Sustainability Victoria Level 28, Urban Workshop,
50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone (03) 8626 8700
sustainability.vic.gov.au
Published by Sustainability Victoria.
ResourceSmart Education Awards 2015 ResourceSmart Education Awards Information Kit
© Copyright Sustainability Victoria, April 2015
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