The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) is a partnership of the Australian Government and the states The Initiatives vision is for all Australian schools and their communities to be sustainable.
Tasmania began its involvement in AuSSI in May, 2007. The AuSSI TAS Pilot Program has its own unique structure to suit its Tasmanian educational context .The Tasmanian Pilot Program has a Project Officer, Jenny Dudgeon, who is based in the lead school (Lenah Valley Primary School). The Project Officer works to both support her school’s program and support the other AuSSI TAS schools.
The AuSSI TAS program implements improvement in a school's management of resources and grounds (including energy, waste, water, biodiversity, landscape design, products and materials) and integrates this approach into the existing curriculum and daily running of the school. The program is action based and involves the whole school community.
12 schools were selected and are being supported to participate as partner schools in the pilot project which will run from August 2007 to June 2008.
The participating Pilot Partner schools are;
- Blackmans Bay Primary School,
- King Island District High School,
- Lansdowne Crescent Primary School,
- Lenah Valley Primary School,
- Mt Faulkner Primary School,
- Ogilvie High School,
- Rokeby High School,
- Rosetta High School,
- Rosetta Primary School,
- South Georgetown Primary School,
- The Hutchins School,
- The Woodbridge School
All of these schools and their communities have given a commitment to:
- Trial a whole of school approach to environmental education for sustainability including developing learning opportunities and sustainable management practices.
- Create a management team including nominating 2 teachers to lead the process in their school
- Reorientate the school’s curriculum and teaching and learning towards sustainability by developing learning opportunities that focus on creating sustainable futures.
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What’s happening in AuSSI TAS schools?
Outdoor classrooms/Learnscapes are being created e.g. Lenah Valley Primary School has an outdoor classroom at the Haldane Reserve,that is being supported through a partnership with Transend, Greening Australia and the Hobart City Council.
Lansdowne Crescent Primary School, an inner city school is becoming a habitat island and a wildlife corridor.
King Island District High School is considering the social, environmental and economic implications of the school through assessing its ecological footprint and that of its community.
The impact of the AuSSI TAS programs spreads beyond the 12 school gates to their wider communities through the ideas that their students take home
Some of these ideas are:
- composting and gardening practices from Rosetta High School, South Georgetown Primary School and The Woodbridge School
- rubbish free lunches and lunch boxes at Lenah Valley Primary School and Lansdowne Primary School
- paper recycling practices and rethinking water usage at all AuSSI TAS schools
Download the Sustainable Schools Showcase 2008 booklet [PDF 5.9MB]
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About sustainability