Dubbo students have been learning about their environmental responsibilities through a series of sustainability education workshops focused on recycling and reducing plastic.
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Dubbo Regional, Narromine Shire and Mid-Western Regional councils have engaged sustainability consultancy Environmental Education to offer their sessions to primary school students.
The program is part of an ongoing collaboration between the three councils, which began last year with the introduction of the Food and Garden Waste bin.
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Dubbo Regional Council manager solid waste Mark Giebel said the interactive workshops educated students on how they could reduce their impacts of waste on the environment and provide kids with practical tips they could use at home.
“Choosing the right bin not only reduces the impacts of landfill on our environment but also reduces costs to our local community. The school programs are a great way to educate kids on what happens to their waste after it goes in the bin and to get them involved in minimising the effect of waste on our society,” Mr Giebel said.
Workshop developer Jacqui Murray said waste education at school played an important role in developing sustainable communities.
“Young people learning about how to take responsibility for their waste, and how they fit into the systems all around us in our community, fosters respect for the place in which we live and for those we share it with,” Ms Murray said.
“While the focus for the children is on learning and having fun, the program also delivers economic, social and environmental benefits to our community.”
One of the modules in the workshop is Everything Organic, which includes a video of the processes at the Dubbo Regional Organics Processing Plant, run by waste contractor JR Richards and Sons. It teaches students about the role we play in the systems within our world, with particular emphasis on the recycling of organic waste resources.
The All Packaged Out module raises students’ awareness of the abundance of packaging waste in society and encourages waste-free lunches, while identifying ways everyone can use less packaging.
Teacher Ann-Kathrin Kiehn, who saw the program in action last year, said children definitely had the power to make a significant impact on their environment both at school and in their home lives.
“I have no doubt our students have taken home information they’ve learnt during these workshops and positively influenced the waste practices of their family and friends,” Ms Kiehn said.
The sustainability education workshops will run in Term Two.
