Green efforts paying off

By EMMA SUN
MOUNT Evelyn Primary School is doing its town proud after being nominated as a finalist in six categories of the Sustainable Cities Awards.
The achievement means the school will be in the running against whole city councils, which is a rare occurrence for small community of staff and students.
The school is up for awards for their work in protecting the environment, waste management, water efficiency, being an active school in sustainability, forming a young leaders group and an overall sustainability award.
Principal Phil Comport said the nominations were as a result of hard work and dedication by the school’s students and staff, particularly the Environmental Leaders for the Future (ELF) students and sustainability teacher Trish Rathmell.
“The school’s nomination as a finalist in all these categories reflects its commitment to sustainability and its determination to act to fulfill that commitment,” he said.
“The school’s ELFs and sustainability leader Trish Rathmell deserve special congratulations for their dedication and efforts.”
Mount Evelyn Primary School has taken big steps since first taking part in the Yarra Ranges Council Sustainable Schools Program in 2005.
The ELF group was formed to encourage students from Grade 3 onwards to get involved and learn about protecting the environment.
Ms Rathmell said the school has saved about 1.5 million litres of water over the last three years through harvesting storm water, which has also protected the nearby Little Stringybark Creek from too much runoff water.
The school has also reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by half through composting and cutting down paper usage.
It is also one of 43 schools in Australia to be a five-star sustainable school.
Ms Rathmell it was a great result for something that initially started as a small project, and hoped it would continue educating students on the importance of sustainability.
“We initially just decided to go for it and it all seems to be paying off – everything we put in place now is going to be daily life for everyone soon.”
Mr Comport said the school was very pleased to be part of the prestigious awards and looked forward to the finals.
“I think it’s very exciting because it shows how much is achievable when people are committed to sustainability,” he said.
“Sustainability is one of our school values and we’re proud to model sustainable practices to its students, their families and the rest of the community.
“It’s for our future and it’s the next generation that will be even more challenged than our generation to create and maintain a sustainable world so we’ve just got to try and make sure it’s not too late.”
The Sustainable Cities Awards will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.