Penrith City Council, New South Wales, congratulates Oxley Park Public School on being recognised as a leader in sustainability.
Last month the school became the first in the state to receive and raise its Green Flag – the top award given by the Eco Schools program, which is a branch of Keep Australia Beautiful and promotes environmental awareness through education.
Oxley Park Public has achieved great success over the course of its eco-journey spanning the past five years.
Council’s Sustainability Champion, Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown OAM, visited Oxley Park with Deputy Mayor, Councillor Tricia Hitchen and Councillor, Robin Cook for a first-hand look at the school’s raft of environmental initiatives.
Mayor McKeown, said, “Oxley Park Public is home to a vast sustainability program – I was blown away by the various projects staff and students have worked hard to roll out since their journey began.
“I was most impressed by the on-site farm, complete with chickens, ducks and a rabbit, as well as the Outdoor Café, where students take cooking classes; they prepare meals in a great space using produce from the very gardens they tend to during the week.
“I am pleased to see our young people, the leaders of tomorrow, working towards a better future and I encourage all schools in our City to get on board.”
Oxley Park Public School has an established orchard with fruit trees that are used for Crunch and Sip, and supply ingredients for their Breakfast Club program.
The school also has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Garden full of bush tucker plants and are involved in the No Bees No Future and Kreative Koalas projects, as well as a range of healthy lifestyle campaigns.
The school is also active in managing their waste by composting scraps and keeping a worm farm. They undertake waste audits, collect materials for the Teracycle scheme and are part of the Litter Legends program.
