MENTORING

2019

CERES SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT 2019

INFORMATION

Last Friday, March 2nd, Sustainability Team leaders, Kelli Brogan and Robyn Smith were presenters at the annual Steps to Sustainability Conference at Melbourne Zoo.

Their presentation (Biodiversity on a Shoestring) addressed Goal 15 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Life on land). They showcased Killara Primary School’s achievements in biodiversity; outlining how, with very little resources, you can achieve a biodiversity audit score of 95%. Their presentation also focused on the importance of creating a culture within schools that respects and fosters a desire to improve our natural environment, and detailed how we involve students, utilise resources, create partnerships and achieve our goals! The aim of their presentation was to encourage others to follow our lead by showing them the programs/initiatives we have in place – Sustainability Spotlight Vodcasts, HEROs, 3 For the Sea, Nude Food, native tree plantings, orchard, insect homes, native bee hotel, bird boxes, recycling, composting, veggie garden – to name a few. Their presentation was very well received by teachers and other attendees on the day, who were eager to return to their schools and start setting up similar initiatives.

Kelli and Robyn were very honoured to present at this conference and succeeded in shining a very bright light on the achievements of our school and the importance of our local environment.

2018

KILLARA HOSTS THE TEACHERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK MEETING & SCHOOL TOUR-  

FEB 2018

Last Thursday the Sustainability Team hosted the February TEN meeting for interested teachers/principals within the Hume area. 15 guests arrived and were impressed straight away with our veggie garden and compost system at the front of the school. Kelli Brogan hosted the evening and spoke about sustainability at Killara with the help of several students from Year 5/6. Erin, Hamish, Morgan, Piper and Zac spoke of their experiences being HEROs and being part of our very successful Sustainability Spotlight episodes. We had 2 special guests who spoke about the Sunbury Boomerang Bags, an initiative which has taken off in Sunbury, cutting down on the use of those pesky plastic shopping bags! Check out their web site: http://boomerangbags.org/about/

To top off the night, our 5/6 students conducted a guided tour of our grounds, highlighting our veggie garden, orchard, native bee hotel, bird boxes, native trees, shrubs, ground covers, water tanks, and we even saw a huge flock of grass parrots and galahs on the oval!  It was an extremely successful night with everyone congratulating us on all our hard work to create, as Hamish would put it, A BIODIVERSITY WONDERLAND!

2017

KILLARA LEADS THE WAY IN SUSTAINABILITY CHANGE 2017

On May 4th 2017 Hume City Council hosted a Teachers’ Environmental Network meeting for schools within the Northern Region to attend and discuss/share initiatives and ideas for sustainability in schools. Randy Mendez from CERES was the first speaker for the night showing all in attendance how CERES can support schools who join The Victorian Government and Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart initiative.

Killara Primary School were also invited to be a presenter on the night. Robyn Smith and Kelli Brogan spoke on behalf of Killara Primary School’s Sustainability Team. Robyn is the leader and co-ordinator of Sustainability within the school, as well as being a Year 3/4 teacher. Kelli is a founding member of the team and Killara’s Performing Arts Coordinator. Robyn and Kelli presented an engaging and informative account of Killara’s Sustainability journey.

Their passion for the environment showed through at every point of their presentation, showing why Killara has excelled in achieving their 3 star accreditation so quickly.

Robyn and Kelli spoke of the support of the Sustainability Team at Killara, the programs that the school has put in place, the benefits of applying for Grants, and how the school has overcome obstacles to achieve their success. Questions on how to get programs started within schools were answered and advice given on how to go about engaging the students and staff, so that a whole school approach could be achieved.

Killara Primary School is lucky to have both Robyn and Kelli heading Sustainability at the School. Their passion, knowledge and skills allow their school to keep ‘kicking goals’ and progressing towards achieving 5 star status. Hume and CERES were very impressed by their presentation and the initiatives and programs Killara Primary School has in place.

2016

SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT ONE SEAT AT A TIME!

On May 16, 2016 the Sustainability Team at Killara unveiled their Friendship seats at our school assembly.  The seats have been a dream of the team since 2011, when the school became a collection point for plastic bags.  These bags were collected and delivered to REPLAS.  REPLAS is a company that is committed to reducing the amount of plastic going into landfill, by creating wonderful outdoor furniture, bollards, decking etc. all made from recycled plastic bags and scrunchable plastic. Check out their website at: replas.com.au

Each seat weighs 85kg and was created with 21,250 plastic bags!  As you can see, we were lucky enough to have two ‘Minions’ visit on the day to help unveil the seat and demonstrate how the initiative works. The 4 seats have been installed around the school to help students who find themselves without a friend. They can use the seats as a meeting place for others who are in the same situation.  (Research shows that making friends doesn’t always come easy to some children and they need assistance from parents and teachers). Yard duty teachers and Year 5/6 Leadership students will be keeping an eye out for any students who need a helping hand to make friends.

Staff, students and the wider community were extremely excited by the arrival of our four friendship seats.