Shire Location:

Coomalie Council

Focus:

Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, Re-thinking Waste

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Adelaide River Primary School Sustainable School Project

Description:

Adelaide River primary school is aiming to establish a kitchen garden to help children and the school community to understand the benefits of maintaining a sustainable food source. They plan to build garden beds, establish a composting system and overall establish a garden and a subsequent cooking programme so that the students can learn the benefits of growing, recycling, cooking and producing their own food products. This project ties in with the schools ‘Sustainable Schools’ proposal for 2009.

Shire Location:

Central Desert Shire

Focus:

Water Conservation

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Alcoota Orchard

Description:

Alcoota School plans to create an orchard irrigated using rainwater collected from the school buildings and stored in water-tanks. This orchard will complement a vegetable/bush foods garden that they are currently developing.
Students will help design and create the orchard, planting trees and setting up irrigation. They will learn how and why we would use rainwater for irrigation as well as how satisfying and fun it is to grow your own food.  They will also learn when and where you should plant and why is it important that we learn these lifelong skills.

Shire Location:

Darwin City Council

Focus:

Energy Efficiency

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Towards a Carbon Neutral School

Description:

Darwin High School has joined the Energy Smart Schools Program. Their aim is to become a ‘best practice’ school with the intention of becoming Carbon Neutral. Their project has three components: Reduction in energy and water consumption, Renewable energy options and Carbon offsetting through tree planting.

Shire Location:

East Arnhem Shire

Focus:

Environmental Education/Capacity, Environmental Education/Stewardship

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Milingimbi Environmental Mentorship Project

Description:

Stage 2 or year 12 students studying the Sustainable Futures course will undertake the building of a greenhouse to complement their studies of vegetation. They will be investigating plant care, sustainability, irrigation maintenance and planting methods. Year 12 or senior Stage 2 students will act as role models and mentors in the planning, organising and maintaining of a greening program for the Milingimbi school community.

Shire:

Darwin City Council

Focus:

Re-Thinking Waste, Environmental Education/Capacity building

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Nightcliff Primary School Recycling Trial

Description:

The Nightcliff Primary School Sustainable School Environmental Action Plan promotes sustainable resource management.  The first year of the plan is focussing on four key action areas: Energy Management, Waste Management, Biodiversity and Water Use.

Our 2009-10 Environment Grant project has been proposed by a team of environmentally aware student leaders, the Eco Rangers.  The project will focus on a trial of recycling in Nightcliff Primary school. 

Shire Location:

Palmerston City Council

Focus:

Wildlife Conservation

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Native Bushland Garden

Description:

Bakewell Primary school plans to design and plant a Native Bushland Garden. Students will be engaged in researching native trees, plants and shrubs for the local Palmerston region. They will prepare the land, mulch and fertilise it ready for tree planting. Students will design on a map where the plants need to be according to growth size, shade etc. Parents, the wider local community and local child care centre (next door) will be invited to attend the tree planting day.

Shire Location:

Palmerston City Council

Focus:

Water Conservation, Wildlife Conservation, Environmental Education/Capacity

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Making Learning Fun – Integrating Science and Sustainable Farming

Description:

The Driver Primary School project emerges from their 2009 Strategic Operational Plan. It aims to (1) develop a garden project to enable healthy foods to be grown, researched and sold to canteen to enhance nutrition and (2) achieve the whole school commitment to increased energy efficiencies & savings through Energy Smart Schools Program. The EnvironmeNT grant will be used for Stage 2 of the school farm. This project caters for students that respond to a kinaesthetic learning style. The construction of a school farm will increase awareness about important issues such as waste reduction and water conservation as the plans include both compost bins, a water saving irrigation system and water tank.

Shire Location:

Darwin City Council

Focus:

Water Conservation, Wildlife Conservation, Environmental Education/Capacity

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Kormilda Wetland Awareness and Improvement Project

Description:

In conjunction with Conservation Volunteers Australia and Land Management students from the Palmerston campus of the CDU, the students of the Flexible Learning Unit at Kormilda College will investigate the natural underground water features of an area of the College grounds that is in danger of disappearing. In response to the history of this natural spring, the students are keen to ‘rescue’ it and develop the area as a wetland and frog sanctuary using native plants and the construction of an appropriate frog pond.

The project aims to raise awareness of:

• Conservation of local wetland native species
• Natural hydrology of the site
• Effect of introduced pest species
• Amphibian indicator species of ecological health of our environment

Shire Location:

Katherine Town Council

Focus:

Wildlife Conservation

Amount:

$2 000 (note this school applied for $10 000 which is over the $2 000 limit)

Project Name:

Kermit’s Retreat

Description:

St Josephs College is looking to provide a safe and secure environment within the school grounds (including pool safety fencing) for the protection of the school’s current frog population. This includes an adequate cane toad barrier with the possibility of investigating an appropriate cane toad eradication program. The school envisages that the frog pond project will also encourage greater student participation in this and other environmental issues now and in the future.

Shire Location:

Darwin City Council

Focus:

Environmental Education/Capacity Building

Amount:

$2 000

Project Name:

Wagaman Primary School Bush Tucker Garden

Description:

The Year 2/3 classes of Wagaman primary school will be reviving the schools Bush Tucker garden. The garden will act as a practical, purposeful and hands on learning experience.  Children will be involved in planning, implementing, maintaining and promoting the garden, raising awareness of their local environment and ecosystems occurring in their own backyard.  Children will also conduct research into uses of the plants and their importance to Indigenous cultures.  An aim of this is to promote pride in local Indigenous students of their culture. (note their previous garden wasn’t maintained so nothing to visually see from last years grants).

Shire Location:

Palmerston City Council

Focus:

Re-Thinking Waste

Amount:

$1 610

Project Name:

Our World, Our Hands, Our Future

Description:

As a part of their ‘Sustainability’ education, Woodroffe Primary School plans to double their composting and worm farm capacity. Two Year 4 classes will work together in collecting food scraps from 8 Middle/Upper primary classes.  To encourage students in Year 5/6 unit of work to be involved in setting up and organising paper recycling for Middle/ Upper Primary classes. 8 classes will be involved in the collection of recyclables. Our local council is willing to pick up our recyclables on a fortnightly basis.
Small changes to behaviour at school will hopefully carry across to their home life.