Council's Learning for Sustainability (or LfS) team works with local schools to teach students about the environment and sustainable living in a fun and practical way. And recently, a couple of the programs (which are developed and run collaboratively with local schools) have caught the attention of both the State Government, as well as the international community.
The team's HabitAT Schools program - one of a dozen activities offered under Council’s LfS program - has been named as a finalist in the "Environmental Protection" category of the Premier's Sustainability Awards for 2013.
With the help of customised worksheets and Council resources, teachers and students are encouraged to conduct an audit – or HabitAT Census – of their local area. They then develop a HabitAT Plan tailored to their site and take action that addresses the biggest threats to local wildlife.
The Premier's Sustainability Awards will be held on 22 October. Winners will be selected and presented at the ceremony by Victorian Premier, The Hon Dr Denis Napthine.
But it is not just sustainability fans in Victoria that are recognising the achievements of the LfS team...
Building on the fantastic collaboration between Council and The Patch Primary, the LfS team - along with The Patch's Environmental Educator Michelle Rayner - have been sponsored to present at a conference for the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO in Okayama, Japan.
Impressively, despite the conference being attended by environmental educators from across Asia and the Pacific, the LfS team will be the only presenters from Australia at the event.
The story of Council’s partnership with The
Patch Primary School will also be compiled into a resource that will distributed to
the international community in the lead up to the UNESCO World Conference in
2014.
For more information on the Learning for Sustainability program, check out the website
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