Across Australia, schools are playing a critical role in equipping youth to be lifelong stewards of society and the environment. Recognising this, The Educator’s 5-Star Sustainable Programs aims to influence more schools and communities to follow suit in this growing movement.
The Educator recently invited Australian schools to share their initiatives and showcase how they’re leading the sustainability charge. After considering a large number of submissions, 25 schools stood out from the rest as shining examples of effective sustainability education in action.
The Educator’s 5-Star Sustainable Programs 2024 winners are a collection of forward thinking and innovative schools, leading a movement to conserve natural resources and create a greener future.
This work is vitally important in education as the latest national data shows 4,086,998 students were enrolled in 9,629 schools nationwide, meaning there is a huge potential impact to promote and implement sustainability in schools.
“When we talk about sustainability, what we're working for are ways that our societies can continue to thrive,” Peta White, Associate Professor in Science and Environmental Education at Deakin University, told The Educator.
“If we continue to use resources at the rates that we are, then thriving isn't going to be possible for our communities and our species, but also for other species.”
The Educator’s 5-Star Sustainable Programs 2024 winners are a collection of forward thinking and innovative schools, leading a movement to conserve natural resources and create a greener future.
This work is vitally important in education as the latest national data shows 4,086,998 students were enrolled in 9,629 schools nationwide, meaning there is a huge potential impact to promote and implement sustainability in schools.
White explains, “If you consider that sustainability is how are we as a species determining our survival on this Earth, then it's the biggest issue and right now I would use language such as climate change education and sustainability education to talk about the kinds of things that we need to be paying attention to.”
White pointed out that many schools are not paying attention to the fact that they are a community and that the choices they make impact on the ecological systems within those communities.
“The choices schools make in their communities are really important, and the criteria that a school might put around making those choices is also important,” White said.
“We don't want to be in a situation where the environment continues to subsidize all our choices around living and thriving. We need the environment to be prioritized so that our ecosystems, our Earth systems are not disrupted because of human choice.”
Indeed, this is the mandate and ethos all of the 5-Star Sustainable Programs 2024 winners have adopted.
So, without further ado, here are some of The Educator’s Most Sustainable Schools for 2024.
Hills Grammar
Sunshine Coast Grammar School
Matthew Flinders Anglican College
The full list of winners and the report can be viewed here.