2025 ResourceSmart Schools Awards

Partnering for impact with environmental advocates

Aitken College has worked together with many leading environmental organisations to become a leader in sustainability education, under the guidance of sustainability coordinator Dwayne Ganci. 

This 5 Star school partnered with Melbourne Water on the Brodies Creek Revegetation Project to improve stormwater quality and reduce erosion, and received a Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant to regenerate local wetlands. 

Their Bush Tucker Garden project connects students with First Nations culture and increases biodiversity, while staff received WaterWatch training to monitor wetland and creek health. 

Their new Cumberland Building was awarded the 2024 Learning Environments Australasia Design Award, and their Precious Plastics program educates students on plastic pollution and recycling.

5 star status builds momentum in Monbulk

Monbulk Primary School has made significant progress in sustainability, achieving a 5 Star status in 2023. 

The school’s sustainability leader, Danielle Lamport, has led various initiatives, including planting native grasses, creating a water-wise indigenous garden, and reducing waste to landfill through CDS Vic. 

The school has also worked together with the community through partnerships with local nurseries and participation in events like the Repower Festival. 

The school’s sustainability values are integrated into the curriculum and everyday actions by staff, students, and the wider community.

Leading the way with a greener cafeteria

Camberwell Grammar School boosted the sustainability of its cafeteria by reducing landfill waste, improving recycling, and ensuring ethical purchasing. 

Students, staff, suppliers and parents worked together on key initiatives such as eliminating single-use plastics, using reusable bowls and cutlery, and implementing Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins. 

Student-led campaigns promoting sustainability behaviours complemented these operational improvements. 

This 1 Star school improved waste sorting and reduced contamination, with annual audits revealing a reduction in landfill emissions and improved recycling rates.

Farm at the heart of campus sustainability

Students and staff at Croydon Hills Primary School have worked together to create their on-campus farm, including an orchard, composting area, chicken yard, and vegetable plots with innovative wicking beds. 

Using a Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant, this 3 Star school turned an unused lawn into a biodiverse garden. 

Energy efficiency was improved by installing LEDs, while an upgraded rainwater system stores up to 120,000 litres. 

The school also diverts 95% of its food waste to compost.

Sustainability club’s rapid rise

Box Hill High School’s journey began in 2022 with the establishment of a sustainability club, which has grown from 4 members to more than 25. 

The school community has worked together to implement composting, container recycling, and a recycled stationery station. 

They have also delivered annual events like Sustainability Week, beeswax wrap making, and Walk/Ride2School Day. 

The school worked together with Monash University students on a car idling research project to reduce emissions around the school.

Sustainability a tick for student wellbeing

Siena Catholic Primary School has made significant strides in sustainability through its EarthCare program, introduced in 2024. 

The Grade 6 EarthCare Leadership team and the Green Team lead various initiatives, including managing green waste and paper recycling, participating in Clean Up Australia Day and National Tree Planting Day, and conducting biodiversity audits. 

By working together on sustainability projects with families and the wider community, student wellbeing has improved. 

The school’s efforts are supported by local partnerships, including collaboration with Ballarat City Council.

A hands-on effort to transform school grounds

Ocean Grove Primary School has made significant strides towards sustainability, thanks to its dedicated parent volunteers Blair, Emma and Tiffany. 

These 3 leaders worked together with other parents to design and build a Yarning Circle for cultural learning and biodiversity, and a new kitchen garden with a veggie patch and composting system. These projects help to deliver this 3 Star school’s Sustainability Master Plan to improve habitat quality, create green corridors, and promote sustainability into daily school life.

Parent sustainability group makes Overnewton proud

Overnewton’s Parent Sustainability Group has worked together to boost sustainability awareness and inspire pride in community of this 2 Star school. 

With a focus on recycling and waste reduction, they’ve organised a waste audit, reusable party kit and stationery drive. 

The parent group participated in National Tree Day and volunteered with the local council to plant trees and increase biodiversity. 

They teamed up with Rethink Recycling to support classroom learning through incursions and a bottle top lid recycling collection.

Students spearhead sustainability journey

The Brunswick South Primary School’s Environmental Action Team (EAT) was founded by Year 3 and 4 students and now boasts over 30 members who work together on sustainability initiatives such as waste-free lunches, designing an indigenous garden with educational signs, and building insect hotels from salvaged materials. 

Notable activities at this 1 Star school in 2024 included a sustainability trail with guided tours and presentations on plastic pollution, and the 12 Days of Ecomas, a campaign for an eco-friendly Christmas.

Eco Club goes above and beyond

Fairfield Primary School's Eco Club is committed to sustainability, becoming a 2 Star school for their waste management efforts. 

The club tracks waste, uses worm farms, and promotes litter awareness. 

Their activities reach beyond the school, including creating artwork for Plastic-Free July and selling eco-friendly products made from waste materials. 

They’re working to reduce energy consumption and enhance biodiversity by creating an outdoor learning space filled with native plants and a frog bog, created with Victorian Junior Landcare funding.

Student green thumbs nurture biodiversity

Kardinia International College’s student-led committee Earthcore works together to foster a school-wide culture of sustainability.

Earthcore’s key achievements include reducing waste through a 5-stream waste system, conducting annual waste audits and promoting proper sorting for recycling. 

Biodiversity projects include planting 600 native trees and maintaining the educational Bush Tucker and Indigenous Garden and Senior School Vegetable Garden. 

This passionate team has also raised $1,500 for social and community causes, as well as money for their own sustainability projects.

Student superpowers to educate classmates

Wellington Secondary College's Sustainability Champions team has built the school’s sustainability culture by working together in ‘climate superpower’ groups, using a program from Melbourne University. 

Those with natural superpowers constructed microbat boxes, established a biodiversity garden, and maintained the community garden. Students with social superpowers educated their peers on topics such as the circular economy, waste disposal, and fast fashion through presentations and games. 

Students with cultural superpowers organised bake and sustainability fashion sales to raise funds for projects and promote circularity.

Problem solving for better sustainability solutions

Sustainability is embedded in the curriculum at Gippsland Grammar. 

Through the school’s outdoor, hands-on approach they work with First Nations community members, horticulturists and council officers, who all offer a unique take on sustainability curriculum. 

The Year 4 sustainability program offers an immersive learning experience where students work together to develop solutions to sustainability problems. 

The school encourages students to own their positive impact on the environment through their learning, ensuring sustainability remains a top priority.

Students’ special connection with earth’s story

At St James' Parish School, sustainability is woven into the curriculum. 

This 3 Star school draws on storyboard narrative teaching styles, helping students form a deep connection to the earth's story. 

As part of the curriculum, students grow seedlings, plant vegetable gardens, harvest and cook with school produce, participate in River Detectives program, analyse water quality data, research local flora and fauna, participate in tree planting days, and utilise digital technologies to produce nature based movies and animations.

Murnong revegetation patch honours indigenous biodiversity

Melbourne Girls' College integrates sustainability across all learning areas. 

The school’s Murnong revegetation patch, a biodiverse habitat corridor to encourage native wildlife, is a focus of the curriculum in science, humanities and outdoor education. 

Biodiversity and cultural awareness are deeply integrated, with indigenous biodiversity a priority since the school hosted its first Murnong Day in 2011. 

Students researched pre-colonial flora and fauna and worked together to design a planting guide reflecting historical grasslands.

Hands-on approach builds student knowledge and participation

Our Lady of the Nativity Primary School has enthusiastically embraced Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic). 

Students in the Franciscan Action Team worked together with the school community to raise awareness of the program and encourage engagement and participation – even the wider community is now involved. 

Students take part in sorting containers to build understanding of the benefits of waste reduction. 

The 5 Star school has deposited a total of 4,214 containers, cutting landfill and raising $421.40.

Community partnership provides opportunity for those with disabilities

Pleasant Street Primary School has made significant strides in waste reduction and recycling through CDS Vic. 

The Pleasant Street Bees, a student-led sustainability team, works together on waste audits each term and manages the collection of 10c items. 

The school is working together with McCallum Disability Services to manage the collection and processing of recyclable containers, providing valuable work opportunities for people with disabilities. 

The school has raised around $200 from recycling efforts over the past two years.

Tackling contamination through community engagement

CDS Vic has proven a cost-effective way to boost Braybrook College’s recycling efforts. 

A Green Team of student volunteers worked together to collect recycled containers in dedicated bright red recycling bins. Some initial issues with contamination were solved through education and raising awareness in the school community. 

The school also worked together to implement one student's proposal to replace the end-of-year skip with detailed waste-stream drop points.

House rivalries accelerate container collection

Kolbe Catholic College set out to reduce landfill waste and increase recycling by 12% over 4 years, and CDS Vic has helped them make a great start. 

The Student Leadership Team came up with the idea to align CDS Vic with the school’s houses. They organised house-coloured collection bins and started a hotly contested Sustainability Shield competition. 

To encourage staff and students to implement CDS Vic at home, the school started Containers for Charities, working together to collected over 500 containers.

Building community connections in Port Fairy

Sustainability Leader Benson Steere has made sustainability a core value at St Patrick’s and has maintained the school's 5 Star status over four years. 

By working together with the wider community, he created real-world learning opportunities for students like beach monitoring days with Deakin University and water-saving projects with Wannon Water. 

His passion has created a culture where sustainability is celebrated and embraced by all, making a lasting impact on both the school and the township of Port Fairy, and building the future we need.

An inclusive approach to sustainability

Garden, maintenance and sustainability specialist Stephen McNeight has helped transform Wendouree Primary into a sustainable environment and a 3 Star school. 

Stephen is a facilitator of the school’s flexible learning program, where he works together with students who struggle in traditional classrooms in gardening, composting and animal care. 

Stephen organises events for National Tree Day and World Environment Day, and has developed partnerships with Fishcare, local wildlife rescues, Rotary and Landcare groups. 

Stephen incorporates First Nations Education and coordinates NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Week activities working together with local First Nations people.

Sharing her expertise to leave a legacy

Sustainability Learning Specialist Shannon Sargeant has been championing sustainability at 3 Star Lilydale Heights College since 2002. 

She has integrated sustainability school-wide through waste audits, an ocean plastic waste project, the No Planet B initiative, second-hand book sales and constructing nesting boxes for local biodiversity. 

Understanding that the school can achieve so much more when working with the wider community, Shannon has shared her expertise through professional learning sessions, engaging local primary schools and presenting at conferences.

Empowering students as changemakers

Sustainability Coordinator Ben Coleman has inspired positive change at St. Monica's College by working together with students and the wider community. 

With a focus on empowering students as changemakers, he has built partnerships with organisations to expose students to real-world career paths in sustainability. 

Ben works together with teachers, too: he reviews lessons, develops new projects, and provides them with practical resources on sustainability. 

Ben’s achievements include transforming Clean Up Australia Day into a whole-school competition and the creation of Bush Tucker gardens as a ‘living classroom’ for new learning opportunities.