By Matthew Sims
Wembley Primary School has received recognition for the Wembley Waste Warriors [WWW] sustainability project in the ResourceSmart Schools’ awards.
The school received the School Volunteer of the Year award at the awards ceremony on Thursday, June 2.
Volunteers Louise Hudson, Christabel Borlin and Joanne Manariti founded the WWW program in 2020, which aimed to embed sustainability into the philosophy of the school.
Deputy principal Taxia Katsouranis said the school’s leadership team of 10 students had carried on the torch from the parents to continue the project.
“Our kids are very passionate,” she said.
“They know they are making a difference.”
The initiative included the construction of an Enviro Deck, which features a garden aimed at creating a calm environment for the students and welcoming more bird life to the school and frequent ‘nude food days’.
Co-founder Louise Hudson said she and her fellow co-organisers were confident that the project would continue to flourish with the support of the students and staff.
“The aim of the creation of the group was to give students a voice,” she said.
“It’s a collaboration between staff, parents and the children.”
Co-founder Christabel Borlin said it was an honour to be recognised for their work.
“It feels lovely to see it come together,” she said.
“It feels really nice to be recognised.”
School captain Isidora said she was “very proud” to have helped to deliver the project and hoped to carry on the initiative.
“This is just the start of a conversation that we need to have,” she said.
Sustainability Victoria community action director Katie Pahlow said she was “inspired and grateful” to all of the entrants in this year’s awards.
