BACK TO NATUREANDWELLBEI

IN NATURE there is an intimate

connection between every being

and the universe, so it is our

responsibility as environment

and sustainability teachers to ensure

that the children who are in our care

have the opportunity to develop this

connection.

St Louis de Montfort's primaryschool in Aspendale is very luckyto be located on 3.5 hectares ofreclaimed swamp land bordered bybike paths and wetlands. However,as we are built on reclaimed land,the soil can be very difficult to workwith and we are subject to flooding.The school opened in 1964 and istherefore a relatively young school to760 students, 28 classes and 85 staff.

As St Louis' EnvironmentalSustainability and Health andWellbeing leading teacher, 1 haveendeavoured to develop a wholeschool approach to sustainability byembedding long term change in ourstudents and school community.

WE ALL DELIGHT in watching children learn and are astounded by theiraptitude for learning. We worry about the future for younger and unborngenerations in a world of climate change and global warming but how well are weempowering youngsters to love the planet that is their home and to engage withher rhythms of creativity? This is a story of a school that is doing exactly that.

When I inherited the role in2011,1 observed that our approachtowards sustainability was isolatedfrom the rest of the curriculum andhad no foundation or connection tonature or our Catholic Identity. Wehad begun our ResourceSmart AuSSIVic journey, we had built six gardenbeds and we were participating inregular education sessions on rubbishreduction and water initiatives. Weheld regular walk to school days,rubbish free lunch days, participatedin Clean up Australia Days and SouthEast Water Poster competitions.

All these initiatives were greatbut they were not providing a wholeschool approach to sustainabilityor embedding long term change inour studertts and school community.The school community had a quitelimited understanding of nature and

its intimate connection betweenevery being and the universe or theimportance of developing recipro-cal relationships between humansand the larger community of life.We did not believe that nature itselfcould enhance human freedom andwell-being or that Earth deserves tobe valued for its own inherent worth,not merely because it is valuable tohuman beings. We also did not havethe understanding that we haveresponsibility to act in a way thatis consistent with maintaining thenatural environment as far as pos-sible in its natural state and to showrespect for Earth's rights. As ThomasBerry writes, all beings have, "...theright to be, the right to habitat, andthe right to fulfil their role in theever-renewing process of the EarthCommunity." We need to have a

22 EarthSong Volume 2 • Issue 9, Autumn 2015

mutually enhancing relationship thatpromotes the wellbeing of the wholeEarth Community.

Where did we begin?As a Catholic school we looked ateducation for sustainability in aCatholic context: 'as agents of themission of the church, Catholic educa-tion encourages and empowers schoolstudents and their communities to takeaction for the common good'. We havethe belief that by being present withand developing deeper relationshipswith creation, restoring the socialbalance and learning to live sustain-ably we are all enriched. 'Enoughfor ever for all' is being embeddedinto each year level and class roomthrough hands- on learning.

We believe that empowermentthrough education is a critical toolfor achieving sustainability. We trustthat stewardship is a call to service,"that creatures exist only in depen-dence on each other to completeeach other in the service of eachother."

We also believe that an intimateconnection to nature improvesstudent wellbeing and that everyhuman has a fundamental right to anenvironment of quality that permitsa life of dignity and wellbeing.

Our ecological education learn-ing spaces provide an environmentwhere students can engage withthe larger community of life. Thisis fundamental to the developmentof the wellbeing of all students. TheVitamin N for Nature research statesthat: 'A growing body of evidenceand research proposes that timespent in more natural environments(indoors or outdoors) can reduce thesymptoms of attention disorders,and improve cognitive functioningas well as creativity, socialization andmental and physical health.' Thestudy completed by Andrea FaberTaylor and Frances E. (Ming) Kuo,found that these symptoms improvedwhen the activities were performedoutdoors in green spaces instead ofindoors or in built outdoor settings.The effects were consistent in bothboys and girls.

By providing our students with a'hands on' back-to-nature approachin outdoor settings we are ableto support student wellbeing andmental health as well as educationaldevelopment, socialisations skills,class dynamics and connection to ourfaith and our Earth.

Another major factor was thatwe saw the opportunity for St Louisto become an exemplary sustainableschool demonstrating an intimateand original connection with nature.We became a school communityfrom which other schools could learnand model themselves.

How was this achieved?a) Supportive Leadership

Supportive Leadership is essentialand our principal Tom Lindemanhas been an advocate for changes atSt Louis. This leadership has allowedsustainability to be front and centreof all that we do. Resources andteacher time have also been allocatedto transition sustainability into thewhole of school approach. Teachersand staff are encouraged to share anddevelop their sustainability ideas andinitiatives.b) Supportive Team and SchoolCommunity

Having a supportive team is essen-tial to achieving great results. Wehave engaged teachers who followcontemporary practices to achievethe best outcomes for all students.We also have a fantastic garden tokitchen team who are passionateabout our sustainability and believein its importance in relation to stu-dent wellbeing and building schoolcommunity.c) Establishing explicit goals

to become an exemplary school insustainability.• to implement a five year sustainable

school Education Precinct designedby RB Landscapes incorporatingexciting infrastructure

• to source funds to pay for theinfrastructure and the program andsource community support

• to develop a Garden to Kitchen(G2K) program that would cater forlarge numbers of students

• to link the G2K program withAUSVELS curriculum

• to expand student leadership• to attain ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic

five star certification• to develop strategies to get the

whole school community on board

Where are we now?We believe that we are developingour community's understandingof nature and its intimate connec-tion between every being and theuniverse. We also believe that we aredeveloping our community to beagents of the mission of the church,

who take action for the good of ourEarth.

We have completed the firststage of the Education Sustainabilityprecinct. This precinct includes manyamazing aspects such as vegetablegardens, orchard, a chicken coop,observation ponds, grey waterrecycling, board walks, meanderingpaths, recycled tyre and sleeper walls,recycled tyre amphitheatre, a bushtucker garden, an aquaponics garden,permaculture area, rabbit hutch, birdaviary, stone paths, sheoak woodlandarea, swales, and wood fired pizzaoven and kitchen built from re-usedshipping containers.

St Louis now runs an extensiveGarden to Kitchen program five after-noons a week. The Garden to Kitchenprogram provides 560 students peryear and 140 students per week theopportunity to return to nature andexperience hands on learning in areal life sustainable environment.The program is implemented throughthree dedicated part time staff(gardening, propagating and cook-ing) and all three work closely witheach other.

We have gained ourResourceSmart AuSSI Vic five starcertification. This means that theschool's policies and practices arenow aligned to decreasing our waste,water, energy and increasing ourbiodiversity. Examples of this are ourrubbish free lunches, walk and rideto school days and paper reductioninitiatives.

The school continually under-takes community leadership projectsand our latest project was filling ashipping container painted insideand out with Australian sustainabilitythemes and filled with 23 tonne ofreusable and recycled items that havebeen sent to our sister parish andschool in South Sudan.

We undertook a comprehensivereview of our learning inquiryapproach and changes were madethat links teaching to all areas of theAUSVELS curriculum as well as oursustainability precinct. For examplestudents learn about biological sci-ence when they research the diverseplant and animal life that exists inthe garden. Another example is thatthe maths curriculum is brought alivethrough fractions and measurementused through real life applicationsin cooking classes and organic pestmanagement sessions.

A strong student leadershipprogram is also a vital component of

EarthSong Volume 2 • Issue 9, Autumn 2015 23

our whole school approach. Duringthis leadership program we empowerthe students to design, research, buildand promote sustainability in theschool and wider community. Thestudent leaders also take part in TakeAction: Make a Difference.This includes:• Organising water and waste

parades to promoting sustainabilityprograms;

• Running rubbish free lunches;• Delivering presentations at

ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic awards,Big Green Schools Festival and KidsTeaching Kids conferences;

• Creating and delivering sustain-ability information sessions atevents (most recent being hands-on sessions for 300 parents at ourSustainability Precinct Launch).

We have been acknowledged for ourcommitment by receiving in 2014:• Victorian Schools Garden Regional

Award winner, Victorian SchoolsGarden Kevin Heinze PerpetualAward and Premiers' SustainabilityEducation Award

• Sustainability VictoriaResourceSmart School Award: WaterPrimary School of the Year

• Sustainability VictoriaResourceSmart Primary Teacher ofthe Year

• Finalists in Sustainability VictoriaResourceSmart School of theYear, Sustainability VictoriaResourceSmart BiodiversityPrimary School of the Yearand Sustainability VictoriaResourceSmart CommunityLeadership Primary School of theYear

• Dolphin Research Institute Award,'i sea, i care' Marine Ambassador ofthe Year and highly commendedKingston 'i sea, i care' Marine Co-ordinator of the Year

Our partnership with KingstonCouncil has been extremely produc-tive as have our partnerships withthe Dolphin Research Institute,the Catholic Education Sciencedepartment, the Royal BotanicalGardens and other organic schools.As former Federal Attorney-GeneralMark Dreyfus said in his speech tothe Australian Parliament on 18thFebruary 2014: 'I congratulate StLouis on the wonderful educationalinitiative. Sustainability should bean increasingly important part ofall Australian students' learning aswe grapple with how best to carefor our land and protect it for future

generations. St Louis De Montfort'sprimary school should be proud oftaking the lead in developing andtrialling applied environmentaleducation though their sustainabilitykitchen and garden.'

This is something that does nothappen overnight - it is a long termjourney but it is certainly happening •

References

Education for Sustainability in theArchdiocese of Melbourne (CatholicEducation Office 201 3)

Education for Sustainability and theAustralian Curriculum Project http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Schools must educate young on sustainability1

Bob Douglas (The Age newspaper,January 21, 2014) see http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNHealthBenefits2012.pdf for literaturesearch of various authors and articles

Wild Law: Is there any evidence of earthjurisprudence in existing law and practice? UKEnvironmental Law Association and the CaiaFoundation UKELA (2009) http://www.ukela.org/content/page/1685/Wild%20Law%20lnternational%20Research%20Report.pdf

Julie Wynne holds a Masters inEducation and Post Graduate studiesin Wellbeing. She is Wellbeing andEnvironmental Leader at St Louis DeMontfort's Catholic primary school andhas been instrumental in the school'soutstanding success in this field.

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