Joined the Waste Wise schools program by completing the External Professional Development Module in 2009. Waste Wise teacher Lisa Smith remembers when she first started at Cornerstone Christian College and brought stacks of paper home with her to recycle, otherwise it would have been sent to landfill. Thanks to Lisa's dedication, the school now recycles and reuses all of its paper!
It's taken a while to get high school students to do the right thing, but with a portion of the Waste Wise grant money the school now has colour coded bins located throughout the school to recycle paper and glass. The bins for collecting paper were donated by the shire and collected for free via kerbside collection. The school purchased the can bins that are specifically for cans.
The Organic Gardening Club members are Year 9 and 10 students, who are each responsible for educating one class on the importance of recycling. They are also responsible for setting up the signs on the bins, and taking them to the curb.
Lisa describes the students as "very active in the gardens and enthusiastic about planting vegetables. They collect food scraps from the canteen, and work with me to learn about composting and worm farming". The garden beds have been built up alongside the classroom, which makes them very accessible, and there are plans in the future for a greenhouse. Cornerstone Christian College has a dedicated teacher and students, and more staff are beginning to understand the importance of the 3Rs. This is happening due to the organisation and accessibility of the recycling bins, and the Year 9 and 10 students take ownership of the projects. Engaging students is sometimes difficult for high schools, but the Year 9 and 10's have done an outstanding job. The future plans for the school included getting the primary students more involved