2024 Sustainability Leadership and Outstanding Leadership

Erin Bartleton and Leasyl Richards

Wheelers Hill Primary School is a 4 star Resource Smart School embracing sustainability led by Leasyl Richards (Assistant Principal) and Erin Bartleton (Year 2 Teacher), supported by Wheelers Hill Primary School staff. The primary school has taken multiple actions across many areas of sustainability to embed sustainability into the school curriculum.

  • Under the direction and supervision of Leasyl and Erin, some of their accomplishments are:
    Composting food waste at school. This allows for a circular system at school, introducing the idea of waste as a valuable resource and keeping organic waste out of landfill
  • Nude Food everyday i.e. packaging free lunches, reducing waste and encouraging students and parents to re-think food packaging
  • Five-bin system in each classroom significantly reducing waste to landfill and implemented community recycling batteries, mobile phones, bread tags, markers, light globes, ink cartridges, clothing bins
  • They have developed an Indigenous garden, bee hotels and bird boxes to increase native wildlife habitats and pollination
  • Sustainability leadership in Year 6 and Water Warriors in each classroom are responsible for composting and ensuring lights are turned off. In addition, they have also completed Water, Waste and Electricity Audits to see how they can improve.
  • Their next goals are to raise funds for the replumbing of their school water tanks and implemente solar panels.

This way of teaching and practicing sustainability will be passed onto the parents/guardians of these students to show how sustainability can look in households too.

By embracing sustainability at school and leading by example they are creating a sustainable path for students, school and the broader community.