Narrabeen Lakes Public School by the lake, next to the sea

Narrabeen Lakes Public School by the lake, next to the sea

Narrabeen Lakes Public School is committed to making a difference through the implementation and delivery of ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION for students, family and the community.

Working together NOW For a sustainable future with Excellence and innovation in facilities management, resource efficiencies and teaching and learning programs.

Energy Efficiency Narrabeen Lakes Public School was the first NSW school to have solar panels installed. All BER buildings will have solar panels included. $50,000 government grant for more solar panels is anticipated in 2011. Year 3 and Year 6 participation in the Climate Clever Energy Saving project Energy efficiency is encouraged throughout the school through student led energy audits. Energy saving posters are displayed in all rooms throughout school.

Water Efficiency Improvements in facilities management with the inclusion of rain water tanks, spring loaded taps and bubblers and dual flush toilets throughout the school. Tank water is used to water the school vegetable garden. Building plans in place for retro fitted water tanks to be connected to the student toilet block in 2011.

No water oval GOODBYE to long term, daily upkeep with watering, weeding and costly maintenance.. HELLO to an artificial turf oval with long term savings in reduced water consumption and low maintenance.

No Water Gardens Students, parents and teachers have donated native and indigenous plants to plant around the perimeter of the new artificial turf oval during Education Week Open Day and environmental theme days. Regular mulching of all garden beds is carried out by enthusiastic garden club members.

Native Gardens Students have participated in programs to add to the biodiversity in the school with the planting of additional native grasses and shrubs. Native gardens have been planted throughout the school, especially in the Adventure Playground.

The vegetable garden A vegetable garden is used regularly by students during science lessons. The vegetable garden uses the water tank water no longer required for the oval. From little things, big things grow

Worm farms Five worm farms are used on a daily rotational basis for food scraps. Every class is supplied with Crunch and Sip fruit and vegetable scrap buckets. Compost bins are used for food scraps.

Nude food Rubbish Free Mondays and Waste Free Wednesdays initiatives to encourage waste free recess and lunch. Nude food is promoted throughout the school with posters in each class. Green merit awards are given to students with Nude food. Crunch and Sip breaks are taken during class time to encourage eating fruit and vegetables.

Battery, mobile phone and print cartridge recycling Students recycle batteries, mobile phones and print cartridges. Students are rewarded with Green Merit awards at assemblies and on presentation day.

Swap and save During National Recycling Week, students walked to the Tramshed in Narrabeen to attend the Swap and Save event conducted by Warringah Council. Students were able to swap their items for something they could reuse. As part of Education Week 2010 the school will conduct its own Swap and Save event.

Junk art in the vegetable garden Students, parents and teachers are encouraged to reuse discarded household items to create functional junk art displays to enhance the vegetable garden and provide important support for growing plants. The additions to the vegetable garden so far include old boats, recycled fencing, old bed heads, ladders, hub caps, wheel rims, tyres, chairs, benches, pots, snowboards, toys, wheelbarrows and of course, the scarecrows, the larger scarecrow winning the PCS Year 6 Scarecrows on the Beaches competition. Waste is just inefficient design!

ride2school Students are encouraged to ride to school along the Narrabeen Lagoon cycleway. Bike riding is promoted during the participation in the annual Ride 2 School day with a strong focus on sustainability and environmental themes for the day. Many students, parents and even teachers now regularly ride to school.

Sustainability skills and practices are embedded in all learning programs K 6

Kindergarten Weather in my World Students develop their understanding about the air, sun and wind through hands on activities. Through investigations, they increase their knowledge of how the characteristics of weather affect their daily lives and observe the impact of changing weather conditions on their seasonal flower display.

Year One Water Works In science, Year One students use the Primary Connections unit Water Works to explore how water is used, where water comes from and how to use it responsibly. Students build landform models of their local area to replicate the catchment area and show where rainwater can run off, pool and soak in. They visit the Coastal Environment Centre and explore the rock platform to gain a further understanding of water in their local environment.

Year Two Schoolyard Safari Year Two use the Primary Connections Science Unit Schoolyard Safari to investigate invertebrates in the school grounds and gain a better understanding of how their adaptations help them survive in their habitats. They apply their understanding to conduct regular audits of the types of invertebrates found in the school vegetable garden and utilise organic methods of pest control.

Year Three Plants in Action Students develop an appreciation of how to live sustainably as they investigate the process of germination, the stages in a plant's life cycle and what plants need for growth. Students participate in the on going management of the vegetable garden with the planting of vegetables and the management of the worm farms and composts throughout the year. They visit Kimbriki Tip and the Eco Garden to gain a further understanding of how to live in a sustainable manner.

Year 4 Kids Design Challenge Sydney Water Water in the Built Environment The KDC Sydney Water Challenge asks students to critically examine their local built environment and propose changes to improve it. Students in year four focus on evaluating water use in the school, design changes to reduce water use and develop water saving strategies. Classes work with industry specialists to help them understand and value water and receive feedback from architects on their final proposals and models.

Year 5 Earth Alive In this unit, students work with the Field of Mars to increase their knowledge and understanding of ecosystems and biodiversity. They conduct a scientific investigation into the biodiversity within the school grounds, and plan and undertake an action project to improve or construct a local ecosystem.

Year 6 Climate Clever Energy Savers Program Year 6, along with year 3 plus year 10 mentors from Narrabeen Sports High are working on the Climate Clever Energy Savers program. They are investigating how to reduce the consumption of electricity in the school by examining structural and behavioural changes and the use of devices to reduce energy use. Year 6 will submit their proposals for the type of devices to install in the school to reduce energy use and await the results of their submission to see if they will be successful and granted funding to implement their proposals.

Environment Club Two elected representatives from each class are in the Environment Club. They help with environmental activities for the school and represent the school at environmental events. Environment Club representatives collect fruit and vegetable scraps from the classrooms for the worm farms and composts, help in the vegetable garden and assist with green theme days.

Working together NOW for a sustainable future with: Leading sustainable practice through collaboration with staff and students at regional and state level, delivery of local education training initiatives and ongoing development of SEMP strategies and continual updating of staff knowledge and expertise.

Keep Cups for Peninsula Community of Schools As an initiative for sustainability in the PCS, we are promoting the sale of Keep Cups at each school in our community. This means that if 600 members of the community of schools use these instead of two take away coffee cups per work day, then this will prevent 24000 disposable cups per month going into landfill.

Sustainable Schools Network Narrabeen Lakes is actively involved in the sustainable schools network which involves the sharing of ideas and showcasing what each school has achieved. Connected Classroom Teachers and students use technology to connect with experts, school communities and relevant agencies to support the vision of learning for sustainability.

Education Programs Climate Change For Beginners Mrs Mayo from Narrabeen Lakes Public School worked with teachers from Narrabeen North PS and Elanora Heights PS, the Coastal Environment Centre, Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre and Taronga Zoo Education Centre. A Year 5 and 6 Education Unit was developed for the whole state to use. Students from Narrabeen Lakes Public School were part of pilot program. The program includes 21 suggested activities including energy audits, global warming domes and excursions. Worksheets, assessment information and recommended websites is also provided so that teachers have all the information they need.

Students teaching students Sue Mayo in association with Taronga Zoo is developing a conservation science unit on the long nosed bandicoot (at risk in our area) for students to teach students. Narrabeen Lakes students participate in Zoo Snooz activities. Student representatives from schools around NSW are involved in a mentoring program, teaching other students about the effects of climate change.

Kids teaching kids In February 2010 students from Narrabeen Lakes Public School and Narrabeen Sports High School presented at the state environment conference at the University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown campus. Students presented to teacher and student delegates. Students taught students from a local public school how to conduct invertebrate surveys.

Education Programs Expert Advisors Staff and students at Narrabeen Lakes have on going connections with environmental experts. Field of Mars run a science incursion program for Years 5 called Earth Alive. Collaborative work continues with Gibberagong field studies unit. Years 5 & 6 also recently completed a day of activities based on biodiversity at Taronga Zoo Education Centre. Student delegates represented our school at the LandCare NSW Youth Environment Conference and attended the workshops at the Coastal Environment Centre.

Junior LandCare NSW Youth Environment Conference Narrabeen Lakes students participated in the Junior LandCare NSW Youth Environment Conference held over two days in August 2009. Delegates from the school rode their scooters and bikes to the Coastal Environment Centre on the second day of the conference to show their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. Mrs Janette Clark and Mrs Sue Mayo from Narrabeen Lakes Public School worked with media students from UNSW to produce a LandCare documentary for YouTube.

Go Green Day with Narrabeen North Public School Schools in the local Climate Change community work together to study environmental issues, supported by visits from the Zoo Mobile, Field of Mars and Sustainable House.

Year 10 mentoring program Year 10 students from Narrabeen Sports High mentor students in Kindy, Year 3 and Year 6 These weekly visits are an important link with the high school and foster important on going links to programs on sustainability and environmental education. Year 10 students are currently involved in the Climate Clever Energy Savers Project to assist year 3 and year 6 in the development of their proposals.

Working together NOW for a sustainable FUTURE with Partnerships with industry and community to enhance teaching and learning programs in sustainability.

Bush Regeneration Wheeler Park Bush Regeneration Lawn Replace weedy ground layer with native ground layer Planting of native grasses in clumps Planting of Dianellas Bush land Planting of native shrubs Planting of native Sedges The Environmental Studies Interest Group with students from Years 3 to 6 are currently working on a 2 year bush regeneration project under the guidance of Blayne, David and Jim from Warringah Council with advice from Remi Marion. The site covers approximately 400 square metres of land. Students are currently removing the weedy ground layer. They are also planting native shrubs to improve the diversity while learning about the Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Area.

Wheeler Park Bush Regeneration students work together with Jim to eliminate invasive grasses and prepare the soil for the planting of native grasses and shrubs.

School and Community Garden Club Sustainability and environmental education is promoted through student, and parent involvement in the school vegetable garden. It has a strong school community alliance with parents and students volunteering their time during school, before and after school, weekends and holidays to maintain and add to the garden. Students from year 3 visited the Eco Garden at Kimbriki tip to participate in the filming of a segment of the SBS show Costa s Garden Odyssey which helped to further their understanding of sustainability.

Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Students presented their environmental and sustainability initiatives at Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment forum. A cheque was presented to students and financed by Bunnings. Students were able to select essential tools, equipment and plants to support the running of the vegetable garden.

Warringah Council Partnership activities include Waste Watchers, Green Day Sustainability workshops and the Climate Change Challenge. Valuable teacher education in collaboration with Warringah Council is on going throughout the school s programs. Teacher professional development in Thematic Communication skills for Environmental Education have been developed in collaboration with Professor Sam Ham from the University of Idaho and are currently being applied by the teachers involved in the Climate Clever Energy Savers Project.

Community Involvement Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Festival Narrabeen Lakes school students and families are always active participants in community events involving Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon. Students showcased the school s sustainability and environmental initiatives at the Festival.

Recognition Jim Delaney receiving the Award from Jane Simmons! See the great box of fresh vegetables from our school garden that Mr D gave Ms Simmons! In November 2009, Narrabeen Lakes Public School was presented with the Northern Sydney Regional Award for Environmental and Sustainability Education. Pictured on the right are Mrs Vicky Machar, Mrs Sue Mayo and Mrs Janette Clark with Ms Jane Simmons Northern Sydney Regional Director.

Always Working together NOW for a sustainable FUTURE

... making a difference