The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative
The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) is a partnership of the Australian Government and the States and Territories that supports schools to work towards a sustainable future. As a member of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) we take a whole-school approach to improve our management of facilities and resources including water, waste, energy and biodiversity. These are linked to the school curriculum and our school environmental management plan, and we share what we learn with our community and other schools. We are seeking to achieve measurable educational, environmental, social and economic outcomes.
The process is one of active learning through the development and implementation of sustainable practices embedded in the curriculum and the school management plan. Our goal is to reduce our school’s ‘ecological footprint’. On Touchstone Day and throughout the year we encourage families to join us in taking personal and collective action in support of a world where humanity lives within the means of one planet.
TOUCHSTONE DAY
At Campbell Primary School we celebrate Touchstone Day each year on June 5th, to coincide with World Environment Day. Touchstone Day is the time when we take stock and reflect on our progress towards personal, social and environmental sustainability. The day represents the coming together of our efforts to improve the school environment and to put in place sustainable ways to manage our school both now and in the future.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
THE GREEN TEAM - This is a group of students, teachers and parents who monitor the school's progress towards meeting our sustainability goals.
WASTE-WISE PROGRAM - The school upholds the basic sustainability principles of "Reduce, Reuse, Rethink, Recycle". Paper, cardboard, hard plastics and metals are collected for recycling and feeding lunch scraps to the chooks and the worms in the worm farm also reduces the amount of organic waste going to landfill.
Looking after the chooks in the mobile chook run helps the children to learn about taking responsibility for pets and to apply new skills involved in animal care. Strawberry, Snowy, Fluffy and Chicky are their feathered friends. As well as being very entertaining, the chickens provide the school canteen with lovely fresh eggs which the children collect for use in students’ lunches.
FRIENDSHIP HILL - In 2007, our families sponsored plants which were planted by Buddy classes of students in order to create a community park and ceremonial area on Friendship Hill, located on our school grounds. The landscaping and species selection in this area have been designed to create a xeriscape (low water-use) garden, following sustainable gardening practices, providing habitat, and helping to combat Greenhouse Gas emissions by creating a carbon sink. The area will be developed in time to provide a model of sustainable urban garden design which uses low levels of resources, is prepared for climate change and is landscaped according to environmentally sustainable principles. The garden incorporates plants suited to the Canberra region which tolerate drought, cold and changing weather patterns.
HANDFULS OF HAPPINESS COURTYARD - This special area outside our library was funded through an ACT Health Promotions grant in 2006-2007. It features planter boxes that have been erected for kitchen gardening. Students have planted flowers, bulbs and vegetables and in future will continue this work in partnership with elders from Ozanam Homes aged care facility. A compost bay in the courtyard allows organics recycling and a frog bog will be developed with Landcare volunteers.
PLANT PROPAGATION - A hothouse has been erected for propagating plants and protecting seedlings from frost. These plants are added to well-mulched garden beds have been planted with native plants, aiding water retention, increasing the biodiversity, and attracting native birds back in to the playground.
ADOPT-A-TREE PROGRAM - Each class has taken responsibility for watering the mature trees when the weather is dry, and, with the help of parents, conditioning the soil to help these valuable trees survive.
