Grange Primary School

Project Profile

Issues

The year five students from Grange Primary School identified issues they were concerned about at their local beach and developed story ideas to communicate their concerns through film. The students engaged with members of the community to collect information and organised a community forum for 140 members of the local community to share their message and raise funds for a local environment group.

Project Detail

Year five Grange Primary School students have been nominated for a National Landcare Award for their work in raising awareness of the impacts of stormwater pollution on Adelaide’s coastline with an original film piece.

The project carried out by the local year five students encourages and supports improved management of coastal resources through the reduction of stormwater pollution. Many community members have reported behavioural changes as a result of the student’s education campaign.

As part of the project, the students worked with a broad cross section of community members including the university, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board staff, local environmental groups and the wider community.

The students identified issues they were concerned about and developed story ideas to communicate their concerns through film. The students engaged with members of the community to collect information and organised a community forum for 140 members of the local community to share their message and raise funds for a local environment group.

The students have also taken their message to the wider community through a range of other initiatives; including presenting environmental messages at several school assemblies and showing their film to more than 180 students, teachers and community members at the Department of Education’s Learning Technologies New Media Awards at the Mercury Cinema.

The students were guest speakers at the Natural Resources Management Student leaders Conference at Warradale Primary School, where they shared their learning and their film. The film will be added to the Natural Resource Management Education website which is visited by many thousands if visitors each year from across the state, Australia and internationally.

Through the project, the student’s message is reaching a wide audience and encouraging people to make change for a sustainable future and has contributed to the personal development of the students. The continued work planned by the students can only lead to further behaviour change across the community

The Grange Primary School project is one of 88 finalists in the National Landcare Awards to be announced in Canberra on 24 June 2010.  Commencing in 1991, the Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups that make a valuable contribution to the land and coast where they live and work.

Photography

Grange Primary School