16 March 2022

Mary Immaculate School, Ivanhoe, participated in the annual Clean Up Australia – Schools Clean Up Day. The school shared some reflections on an event with a strong message of caring for our environment:

As stewards of creation, this is an important event and a way for our staff and students to take practical environmental action to reduce the impacts of rubbish in our school and local area.

Prior to the clean-up, each year level participated in rich and engaging learning experiences in their classrooms. Students learned about the importance of the responsible disposal of rubbish and the repercussions of rubbish dumped irresponsibly in the local environment, including making its way into our waterways. Teachers worked to raise awareness among the students of the rate of waste material breakdown and how this can take many years, the differences between biodegradable and non-biodegradable items, and how to find ways to reduce their waste footprint. Students contributed ideas about how to tackle large-scale waste issues and also how to make positive impacts in their homes and local communities.

On the day of the ‘Clean Up’ event, the Year 6s went for a walk in our local neighbourhood and looked for rubbish on the footpaths, nature strips and gutters. Despite our neighbourhood looking quite clean at a glance, the students were extremely rigorous and picked up every piece of rubbish they came across. Along the way, the students connected with a number of our school neighbours, who stopped to thank them for their efforts. Their commitment and diligence ensured that they were able to collect and responsibly dispose of three full bags of litter.

After lunch our Prep to Year 5 students, with the support and guidance of our Year 6 Environment Leaders, cleaned up our school. With every student putting in their best efforts to search high and low, they were able to collect a further four bags of rubbish.

The Schools Clean Up was a great success with a total of seven bags of rubbish collected and responsibly disposed of. The active participation of our students on this day made a real difference to our school and local community, saving hundreds of small pieces of rubbish from our local waterways.

Our staff and students remain committed to keeping up this important work, and continuing to work towards reducing our waste and learning about the ways that we can take practical environmental action in our school, homes and local communities.