St Peter’s Primary SchoolSustainability Policy

Our Commitment:

At St Peter’s sustainability meansmaintaining the resources available to us to minimize our impact on the environment. It requires adopting stewardship habits involving taking action that is future focused and ongoing.

Objectives:

The engagement of students, staff and the community in our quest to develop a sustainable school environment that ensures the modeling and promotion of:

  • Stewardship of resources, which is a fundamental value of a Catholic school.
  • Exemplary practices in decreasing consumption of energy, water and the generation of litter and disposal of waste to landfill.
  • The broadening of understanding and awareness of the needs to live sustainably whilst enriching the biodiversity of our surroundings.
  • The use of technologies and practical activities, which will assist us and encourage others to achieve sustainability.
  • Recognising the many values, natural and cultural, which the environment may encompass.
  • Valuing and encouraging the wider community’s involvement within sustainability projects.
  • Consideration for future generations.

St Peter’s School promotes an ethos of care for the health and wellbeing of individuals, our school community and the environment. The school provides a rich and challenging curriculum that empowers each child to care for the Earth and all creation. St Peter’s School develops authentic partnerships between home, school and the wider community based on open communication and a shared commitment to a sustainable future.

The ways in which we will strive toward this goal is to reduce the amount of materials we use and waste we produce, re-use materials wherever possible, restore what is deemed to have been destroyed and respect our neighbors and our environment.

Further objectives under the four key areas are outlined as follows:

Energy:

  • Reduce the cost of energy consumption in our school.
  • Use all resources as efficiently as possible with our ecological impact in mind.
  • Reduce our school’s greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Develop a whole school approach to energy efficiency.
  • To involve students, parents and wider community in developing an energy efficient school.

Waste:

  • Minimise the amount of waste we are sending to landfill and promote a preference to recycling and composting of items.
  • To reduce the amount of printing at school and ensure that both sides of all papers are used where practical.
  • Maintain a compost bin and worm farm.
  • Reduce the cost of ‘skip’ pickup.
  • To involve students, parents and wider community in developing a waste wise school.
  • To choose materials that have a smaller impact on the environment through the implementation on a green purchasing policy.

Biodiversity:

  • To develop a garden space as part of our environmental area down the Coulstock St side of the school and to ensure that students are involved in its development and care.
  • To involve students, parents and wider community in developing a biodiversity practices at our school.
  • Maintain areas within the school that currently promote biodiversity, eg the frog pond.

Water:

  • To reduce the costs of water consumption in the school.
  • To use resources and equipment as efficiently as possible.
  • To involve students, parents and wider community in water conservation activities.

Aims and Targets:

We aim to achieve the following goals and targets over the next three years.

  1. To increase biodiversity in the school grounds through collaborative projects with parents and community members including local organisations.
  2. To reduce the amount of waste generated by our school through the implementation of clear policies as well as whole school engagement and support.
  3. To reduce water consumption per individual student/staff member.
  4. To reduce energy consumption per individual student/staff member.

Plan for Program Implementation:

Curriculum Focus:

Students in the school will be involved in environmental education though their learning in inquiry and RE units as well as though curriculum links made in maths and literacy.

Energy:

  • Promote a ‘switch off’ policy for all electronics when not in use.
  • Students to take part in learning about conservation of energy.

Waste:

  • Continue to collect food scraps for use in compost bins and worm farms.
  • To use green purchasing options where practical.
  • Generate greater support for wrapper free days to minimise waste.

Biodiversity:

  • Conduct an inspection of the school grounds to assess which areas require attention.
  • To have working bees in order to get school community involved in developing our school grounds.
  • Network with other sustainable schools who have worked on biodiversity module to gain ideas for developing our grounds.
  • All year levels to grow and harvest a variety of plants as part of their curriculum.

Water:

  • To promote water wise actions.
  • Engage students in learning relating to being water wise.
  • Planting of trees that require minimal watering.
  • Use of water tanks to water plants that require regular watering.

Community Involvement:

We will encourage community participation in all sustainable projects undertaken at the school. We will invite parents with expertise, parishioners and other community members and organisations to help maintain and improve our school environment.

Responsibilities/Communication:

All people within our school will be informed and responsible for implementing the above actions. Communication will take place through the weekly newsletter, school assemblies and school sustainability blog.

October, 2012.