Stories of Sustainability

Starting Thursday 20 August 4.00-5.00pm, Every Thursday until September 17

Stories of sustainability is a series of online professional learning webinars showcasing sustainability across the state. You’ll get to hear from a range of teachers who each have a have different perspective, different projects and different student communities.

These stories are shared to inspire, to reassure and to help you work on sustainability too!

Embedding sustainability in our schools will remain critical over the next decade. It will mean that our communities will have the skills, understanding and opportunities to thrive within the boundaries of the interdependent and dynamic systems that support all life on Earth.

Thursday 17 September 4.00pm-5.00pm

Veena Nair, and student leaders Larissa, Rose and Madeleine, Viewbank College

Young Persons Plan for the Planet Program

We all know the future of earth, is tied to our sustainable practices and we have seen the importance it holds with our younger generation.

In this session, you will find out about the Young Persons Plan for the Planet Program (YPPP) which provides students an agency to address this concern by evaluating the local, national and global responses through the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals lens and to be actively involved in their local community by providing solutions using STEAM and enterprise development skills. You will hear from student leaders who have been instrumental in initiating and developing a social enterprise Bumble Wraps to combat the use of the plastic in food packaging by students.

STORIES ALREADY TOLD

Thursday 20 August

Future's thinking with Cyrelle Field

Future’s thinking can help us consider possible, probable and preferable futures to help support decision making and taking action. In regards to sustainability, futures thinking activities can also help identify knowledge gaps, prepare action plans, promote altruism and create a sense of hope about the future.

In this session Cyrelle will introduce you to the challenges and benefits of future’s thinking and demonstrate a participatory learning activity that can be replicated with students and your school community to encourage future’s thinking in schools.

Thursday 27 August

Paula McIntosh, Melbourne Girls College

Take out the bins

Reducing human impact on the planet and animals is key to ensuring pandemics do not occur in the future. Melbourne Girls College decided to take the bins out and involve the students in the process.

In this session Paula McIntosh will share why Melbourne Girls College decided to take out the bins and how the students were involved in the process. Find out what they did to support the move through extensive communication and education for the entire school community via the school’s wellbeing program and newsletter feeds. Paula will also share the impact of COVID 19 and how this has affected school initiatives and highlighted the absolute importance of reducing waste to landfill.

Thursday 03 September 4.00pm-5.00pm

Judith Stewart, Lowanna College

The wonders of wicking beds

Productive gardens are an asset to a school community and a great, living, learning space. They work best when the students are involved across all the seasons.

In session, Judith will share how the 40m2 wicking garden system was established at Lowanna College that includes an orchard, a butterfly garden and a growing indigenous food garden. The wicking garden system offers a 50% improvement on water efficiency and one square metre of planting space for each week of the school year, allowing students to plant vegetables on a seasonal basis. Learn about crop rotation techniques and companion planting, as well as vermiculture, and composting.

Thursday 10 September 4.00pm-5.00pm

Jak Dunstan, Footscray High

An inner city school farm

Footscray High School in Melbourne’s inner west believes that tackling global sustainability issues starts with students solving real-world problems.

Join Jak Dunstan on a practical tour of Footscray High School’s one-acre farm to explore and explain the exciting past, present and future sustainability projects. Including the resident bee hives, aquaponics, tiny house, wind turbine and more.

Stories of Sustainability is part of the Education for Sustainability Starts with Teachers project.

This project is supported by the Victorian Government.