At Coledale Public School, we pride ourselves on ensuring our students, staff and parents are environmentally aware. Students are taught and involved with our worm farms, chickens, composting, soft plastic collection and paper and textile recycling. We have won awards for our Connecting Threads upcycling fashion program where children have learnt about the impact of fast fashion and found ways to reuse textile waste keeping it out of landfill.
KITCHEN GARDEN
At Coledale Public School, the integration of the garden, kitchen, and chicken care is a central component of our weekly curriculum. Engaging students from Kindergarten to 6th grade, our organic garden program offers hands-on experiences that extend beyond textbooks, providing practical skills in gardening, cooking, and nurturing living organisms. This initiative not only instills a sense of environmental responsibility but also fosters a strong connection to the food production process.
In the garden program, students delve into real-world applications of mathematics, applying concepts such as measuring planting distances, dividing beds for seed broadcasting, and weighing both seeds and produce. These practical exercises not only enhance their mathematical understanding but also underscore the interdisciplinary nature of our educational approach.
Our school community takes immense pride in these environmental initiatives, with students deriving a deep sense of accomplishment from cultivating, harvesting, and even selling the fruits of their labor. By participating in the kitchen garden program, our students not only gain valuable life skills but also contribute to the sustainable ethos that defines our school culture.
CONNECTING THREADS
In 2024 our school started the Connecting Threads Program.
Thanks to the support of a Sustainable Schools Grant from School Infrastructure NSW, our school received funding to organise excursions, invite guest speakers and bring in specialist educators to teach staff and students about textile waste and how they could upcycle in fun, creative and meaningful ways.
In the program students learn about textile waste and gain practical skills in ways they can help in reducing textile wastes. Students involved in the program create artworks for the school and the community using recycled fabrics and plastics.
Throughout the project we have already managed to save over 90kg of textile waste from going to landfill, which is a great achievement!
