Sandon Public School will this year undergo some changes to reduce its environmental footprint and increase pedestrian safety with Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, centre, joining teacher Kate McCulloch and students Roqua Abdullah, left, Jack Clayton, Cooper Johnson, Sophia Bjorkander, Ella Kelly, behind, Jackson Burton, middle, Isabella Brodbeck, Isabella Hayden, Chelsea Webb and Kellie Pilkington.
Tuesday, 25 May 2021.
IN order to create a clean, green image for their school Sandon Public School’s new Enviro Club is getting dirty, using a $13,805 State Government grant to upgrade its classroom and playground bin systems and educate class mates one simple ways to reduce their environmental footprint.
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall announced the funding today and said last year students took a dive into the dump and were shocked to find how much waste they were generating into landfill.
“Following an intensive waste audit and survey of the school community, students learning about environmental sustainability discovered 90 per cent of waste being generated at Sandon Public could be diverted for recycling,” Mr Marshall said.
“Through the efforts of teacher Kate McCulloch, the Enviro Club was formalised to come up with ways to put a lid on the problem.
“Using this grant, new indoor and outdoor bin stations will be rolled out across the school grounds, highlighting what types of rubbish should be recycled and what goes to landfill.
“The school has also tapped into the expertise of council and local waste disposal services to get tips on the correct and most effective ways to recycle.
“Sometimes it’s the smallest changes that can make the biggest differences.
“By getting these children thinking about recycling and the environment at an early age, they will take these habits home and adopt them in their day to day lives.”
Sandon Public School Year 6 student and Enviro Club member Ella Kelly said she was excited to see how big an impact the changes would have on her peers.
“As part of our program we will make videos and resources to share with other schools in Armidale explaining the changes we have made on the way we recycle,” Ms Kelly said.
“These resources will include educational videos, posters and written guidelines on how to do things such as complete waste audits, how to set up a sustainable classroom and composting and worm-farming within a school.
“After this project I think we will further improve our school’s sustainability and lower our impact on the environment.”