Sustainability News
Wanjoo to Spring. The Noongar season is Djillba. A transitional time of the year, Djilba has days that are very cold, some that are rainy and windy and others where the sun comes through. As the days start to warm up, you’ll hear and see the first of the new born animals with their parents providing them with food, shelter and protection from other animals and people. The woodland birds will still be nest bound, hence the swooping behaviour of the Koolbardi (magpie), Djidi Djidi (Willywag tails) and the Chuck-a-luck (wattle birds).
This is the start of the massive flowering explosion in the South West. It begins with yellow flowering plants such as the Acacias. You’ll also notice cream and striking blue coloured flowers. As the season progresses and the temperatures continue to rise, you will see the flower stalks of the Balgas (Grass Trees) emerging in preparation for the coming Kambarang season.
Traditionally, the main food source at this time of the year included many of the land based grazing animals including Yongar (kangaroo), Waiitj (Emu) and the Koomal (possum).
After School Garden Club
Our small but dedicated group of students, parents and staff come together every Monday afternoon from 3.15pm to 4pm to look after the garden. Our seedlings and seeds have popped their heads up and are growing vigorously. We should have a wonderful harvest in Term 4. Our worms are busy breaking down food and producing worm whiz for our vegetables. The compost heaps have nearly turned into soil thanks to the many micro-organisms and healthy bacteria doing their ‘jobs’. A big thank you to all the students, parents and staff who turn up each week to nurture, learn and share a love of sustainable gardening. Week 9 was the final week for the term and we celebrated our community togetherness with an afternoon tea.
Term 4 invite will go out in the first week, with spaces limited to 20 students.
Please continue to bring in:
- Batteries
- Coffee pods (make sure they are DRY and EMPTY). You can bag the grounds up and sent to school as well.
- Ring pulls from cans of drink
- Plastic lids from bottles (wash and remove inner seal)
- Containers for change bottles/cans (clean and LIDS removed). Place in the BIG blue recycling skip near the admin area
Containers for Change bottles/cans (clean and lids removed). Place on the large blue recycling bin near the Administration Office.
Please note ring pulls now need to stay on cans and placed in the large blue bin
Students from the upper years ESC and the After School Garden Club have begun to plan, draw and execute a mural using bottle tops collected from the community. This mural will carry an important message about keeping plastic out of our oceans. It has been a student led area of concern, with several very talented staff members contributing. It will also highlight just how many bottle tops we use as a society, with most of them going to landfill. We’ll keep you posted as we are photographing our journey.
Finally, take a look around the perimeter of the Nature Play area. Nerelle Phillips and her dedicated band of botanists have begun to revegetate this area with local native species of plants. The ESC has helped to place a temporary paving border around this area. If you venture up there please be mindful that students need to keep out of this bordered area to give our plants a chance to establish. As we become more sustainably aware of our ‘backyard’ the schools will begin to work collaboratively on some joint projects to encourage biodiversity.
Happy gardening and sustainable thinking,
Sandra Bennett – Science/Sustainability Teacher (JESC). Sustainability Coordinator (Joondalup Schools)