The Schools Environment Program
The Schools Environment Program encourages the formation of partnerships between Council, school populations and the local community. It aims to create environmental improvement within school grounds with opportunities to foster greater community awareness in relation to environmental education. This in turn facilitates the spread of environmental stewardship throughout the wider community.
Through the Program, Council is able to assist with the following;
- The development of recommendations for on-ground environmental improvement in school grounds.
- Facilitate the incorporation of environmental education into the school curriculum
through “Sense of Place – A Resource Kit for Schools”.
- Coordination of local field days and excursions.
- Coordination of workshops and presentations relating to environmental issues.
- Accessing external funds to implement on-ground recommendations.
- On-going support and technical expertise.
For more information please contact Councils Environmental Programs Team on (02) 4934 9700.
A Sense Of Place In Maitland – Resource Kit for Schools has been produced as part of an environmental education pilot project by Maitland Region Landcare, through the New South Wales Government’s Environmental Trust. The resource kit has been the most important material output of the pilot project. It has been developed to assist schools’ and communities’ knowledge and understanding of local (Maitland area) natural and cultural heritage, environmental issues and their management and excursion opportunities. Providing access to and encouraging the use of local information, people and places reflects an important aspect in the development of a local sense of place.
Resource Kit for Schools - Part 1 (PDF - 2.6MB)
Resource Kit for Schools - Part 2 (PDF - 3.3MB)
Resource Kit for Schools - Part 3 (PDF - 2.96MB)
The Environmental Youth ForumThe Environmental Youth Forum runs as a component of the Schools Environmental Program. It is a bi-annnual event hosted by Maitland City Council to provide local school students and teachers with the opportunity to come together to learn about and share ideas about the environment. The forum also endeavours to achieve a sense of appreciation for the natural environment within participants. The 2008 Environmental Youth ForumThe 2008 Environmental Youth Forum was held on 20 May at Walka Water Works. The forum was attended by both primary and high school students and teachers. Workshops were presented by the following organisations: - The Reptile Park Gosford: Reptiles and their local environment
- Hunter Central Rivers Waterwatch: Water Quality and Water Bugs
- Department of Environment and Conservation (National Parks and Wildlife Service): Conservation and Wildlife Management
- Walka Water Works Trust: History of Walka
- Department of Primary Industries: Soil
- Maitland City Council: Rehabilitation of Tenambit Wetlands
- Hunter Water: Water Storage & Use
- Conservation - Volanteers Australia & Maitland City Council: Native Vegetation Rehabilitation
- Energy Australia: Energy use
- Maitland City Council - Noxius Weeds Officer: Weeds in the Maitland area
- Hunter Resource Recovery - Recycling in Maitland
- Wetlands Environmental Education Centre - Wetlands
- Total Health & Education Centre: Beauty products from garden plants
Funding for the 2008 event was provided by Maitland City Council with additional sponsorship money provided by Hunter Resource Recovery. The 2010 Forum will be held on April 29. Please contact Council for further information. Sustainability SnapshotsThe Sustainabiility Snapshots Program was an initiative of the Hunter Waste Educators Group, made up of representatives of the five Lower Hunter Councils including Maitland City Council and the NSW Departmnt of Environment, Climate Change & Water. The Program aimed to provide the community with information on how they could reduce their impact on the environment by living more sustainably. The Program saw the development of display boards for static displays and a series of entertainment and educational presentations developed to provide people with snapshots of actions they could undertake to live sustainably in their lives. The Sustainability messages portrayed fall into four (4) main categories, 'In the Home', 'At the Shops', 'In the Yard' and 'On the Move' Waste as ArtWaste as Art is an annual competition run by the Councils of the Hunter Region and the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water to encourage the community to use waste to create artwork. The competition has been running for eleven years. The 2010 competition saw the following artwork categories: - 3D/Sculpture Art
- Special Category 7 Wicked Wastes
- School Age Group
- The Maria Callinan Memorial Award - best use of waste materials
- People's Choice - voted on during the period of exhibition
- Overall winner of the Waste as Art 2010 Art Prize
Works are judged on how effectively they address the 'waste-to-resource' concept, through the use of waste materials in the creation of art. Works are also judged on aesthetic merit, artistic quality, creativity, innovation and craftsmanship. The competition will open once again in 2010 with artwork required to be submitted for judging in late July. The 2011 exhibition will be held at the Wetland Centre from Sunday August 7 to Wednesday August 24 from 10.00am - 4.00pm. For further information on Waste as Art visit the Hunter Waste Educators Group website by clicking here. Love Food Hate WasteCouncil waste audits show that each year, NSW households generate 800,000 tonnes of food waste and businesses generate 300,000 tonnes. This means $2.5 billion worth of food a year is thrown away or about $1,000 a household. Love Food Hate Waste - is an internationally successful campaign to help thousands of households and businesses reduce growing amounts of food waste. There are simple things to do to waste less food, including buying only what we need, preparing and cooking correct amounts, and storing food items properly. For further information visit the Love Food Hate Waste website.
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