Creating an environmentally friendly school is fun, challenging and a good learning tool.  Learning about the environment is part of your Schools Environmental Management Plan and can easily be part of your curriculum.

1. Develop a native habitat corner in the school grounds. This can be incorporated into lessons and increase your schools biodiversity through the plantation of local provenance plants.
2. Purchase recycled paper.  Recycle all paper.  Print on both sides or re-use both sides for scrap or art.
3. Recycle students drink containers, or better still encourage them to use re-usable drink bottles.
4. Install rainwater tanks for toilet flushing, irrigating gardens, plants or lawns.
5. Ask the maintenance crew to use biodegradable and natural cleaning products. Look at The Easy Guide to Natural Cleaning.
6. When you see a leaky tap, bubbler or toilets, always let a teacher know so that it can be fixed immediately.  Even small leaks can waste thousands of litres of water.
7. Get a compost bin for the school to reduce the volume of food waste going to landfill.
8. Grow your own food or make a sensory garden. Use organically produced varieties of seed or seedlings.  Sensory gardens are full of plants that stimulate the senses such as aromatic, colourful plants or ones that are good to touch or taste or that make sounds when their dried seed capsules rattle in the breeze.
9. Use lunch boxes and containers for a packaging free lunch.
10. Set up a school environment team and do a School Environmental Management Plan (State schools are required to do this by law).

If you would like to talk to someone in the environment team to get advice on an environmental initiative in Woollahra, please contact 9391 7095. We will try to help.