Mildura West Primary School

Rural/Regional: North-western Victoria
Student Enrolement: 510

Key Elements:
Themes:
Partnerships

Recent Awards

• Joint Winner 2004 Waste Wise Towards Sustainability Award
• Winner 2004 Waste Wise Primary Community Project Award
• Winner 2004 Regional Waste Wise School of the Year
• Runner Up 2004 Waste Wise Primary School of the Year
• Runner Up 2004 Waste Wise Visual Arts Project
• Runner Up 2004 Waste Wise Communication Project

“Empowering students with responsibility for the environment and valuing their input into solving issues…(helps) to reduce the school’s environmental impact”
Teacher, Mildura West Primary School

Summary

Environmental Program

• Grade 4 students run a comprehensive recycling centre, collecting and shredding paper, as well as cardboard, plastics, glass, cans, milk bottle tops, toner cartridges, mobile phones, postage stamps and even bread tags for craft!
• The center also features a shade house where native plants are propogated and watered using rainwater collected in the school’s extensive tank system.
• The student Stormwater Ambassdor group educate the community on the important links between waste and water through the local issue of stormwater pollution in the Murray River.

• Savings on Industrial Bin collection in 2004 compared to 2001 are $2358
• Money raised from recycling aluminium cans is used by the local council to subsidise recycling collection services, thereby providing a cost neutral service for theschool.

• Mildura West exemplifies a student learning and empowerment approach which ensures litter, waste and other areas of sustainability are not just an add on, but a fundamental part of student learning in all key area
• Sustainability practices such as recycling and water conservation are linked tightly with the curriculum to give students a deeper understanding of their importance.
• Comnmunity agencies are involved in projects in order to create authentic and real life learning experineces, for example the “House Boat Litter” education inititive linked students with the Sunraysia Houseboat operators, the Mildura Regional Waste Management Group and the Water Watch program.

• Students tackle waste and water issue by reaching out into the community to get the message across.
• The students wrote and performed plays and developed a dance piece ‘Our River Our Life’, stencilled drains, produced and distributed brochures for house boat users and delivered presentations at the International River Health Conference in Mildura and at a National Water Conference in Broken Hill NSW.