National Recycling Week - Influence

National Recycling Week was from the 11th-15th of November and this year, it was focused on the five I's: Inspire, insight, implement, initiative and influence.

Friday's theme was Influence and several Environment Committee volunteers from years 9-11 hosted a Recycling Workshop for year 7 students. The workshop aimed to raise awareness and educate students about the importance of recycling. 
The workshop began with a power-point presentation on different recyclables and was followed by a series of games which promoted recycling and sustainability. The games included creating environmental words using recyclable items, the Big Wind Blows and Pass the Parcel. 
There was also a Vision session where students broke off into smaller groups to brainstorm a list of environmental issues as well as ideas for tackling those issues. 

The workshop was a fun way to get year 7 students active and involved in recycling activities and allowed them to use their creative minds.  

National Recycling Week - Insight

Team SS

Team Agent Orange

National Recycling Week was from the 11th-15th of November and this year, it was focused on the five I's: Inspire, insight, implement, initiative and influence.

Tuesday was insight and Hurlstone's Environment Committee held our very own Trivia.
Five teams participated with great enthusiasm. They were tested on their knowledge about Hurlstone's very own Environment Committee, recycling and the environment in general. Thank you to all those who took their time out to participate!

Congratulations to the winning team, Mariants!

National Recycling Week - Inspire

National Recycling Week was from the 11th-15th of November and this year, it was focused on the five I's: Inspire, insight, implement, initiative and influence.

Monday was inspire and many quotes were placed around the school to help inspire everyone to get up and make a difference to help sustain our environment. 

National Water Week

National Water Week is an annual event held in October, across Australia. This year, National Water Week will be held from the 20th to the 26th. It is a week that is dedicated to raise community awareness about current and future water issues and to encourage the community to take action to protect our vital water sources.  It's also a celebration of water achievements in painting a sustainable future for generations to come.

To learn how to protect, conserve and get involved, or for more information, you can visit this link:
http://www.savewater.com.au/programs-and-events/national-water-week

National Tree Day (Part 1)

Mark from maintenance teaching us how to plant trees.

Jason Quek hard at work.

Danny, Julia and Erica are planting a tree together.

President Vincent planting a tree

On the 18th of September, Hurlstone environmentalists gathered for part 1 of National Tree Day. Gum trees were planted along the railway line and it was a great, fun experience for all involved. Big shout out to the Agriculture teachers who lent us their equipment, maintenance who taught us how to plant trees and was there with us for the majority of the day, and our photographers, Kesson from Year 10 and Elizabeth from Year 11. Overall the day was a success and this wouldn't have been possible if members didn't volunteer. So a huge thank to you if you helped out! Please keep an eye out for National Tree Day part 2, which will be bigger, better and just as enjoyable!

Country Fair 2013

Finger-print tree

Panda Made Me Do It with Ex-Hurlstonians

The panda made me hug a tree

Daniel Zhao playing the Ping Pong game

Plant A Wish

Vincent and Julia with Kate Ritchie

Hurlstone held its annual Country Fair on the 31st of August. This was a great opportunity for us to have our own stand with many fun awareness games and booths. Our aim this year was to promote sustainable practices and raise awareness in our school and community.

Games included the Ping Pong and Slime game. Many people who tried our games out, found it extremely difficult to win. We also had many booths along with our fun games. A finger-print tree banner was hung at the back wall for people to come by, contribute and decorate our tree with their own finger prints. We had a Plant a Wish Scheme towards the right side, where those who approached us with a plastic bottle which was to be recycled and used as a tree pot, were given a free plant. There was also a Panda Made Me Do It booth where those who came by, could write a message on the whiteboard and take photos with our lovely panda, Jason and Andy. Accompanying the booth was Pin the Nose on the Panda game. The Environment Committee also handed out pamphlets to raise awareness for different campaigns.

We were lucky to have a special guest visit our stand, ex-Hurlstonian actress Kate Ritchie!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by our stand and we hope we've enlightened you to become more environmentally friendly!

Garden Party

We can only achieve great things if we work together as a team!

Best Year 12 Members of 2013

Food!

On the 30th of August, the executives of the Environment Committee surprised members by throwing them a Garden Party as part of member appreciation. Members were reminded that it was all about them and each and every one of them were thanked for their large contributions to the environment and making the committee what it is today. Membership cards were given out and members enjoyed some bonding time with each other whilst feasting on a whole heap of lollies, chips, fairy bread, biscuits and more! Members were also encouraged to bring their own reusable cups for drinks as a small gesture to help save the environment.

Yen Eco Leadership Camp

Working together to create change

Youth Environment Network 2013

Getting ready for high-ropes

Brainstorming 'change' ideas

Teaching Year 3 students about the environment 

This month, five Hurlstone students: Vincent Anthony, Julia Pham, Tanya Huang, Cindy Nguyen, and Melissa Tran, were selected to attend the Youth Environmental Network Eco-Leadership camp at Wooglemai Environmental Education Centre. The 4 day camp was hosted by OzGreen and about 30 students from 11 schools around the South West Sydney Region attended. The camp aimed to bring together a network of like-minded students who were passionate about working towards a sustainable planet and to help them develop quality leadership skills that would help them gain the ability to teach their peers.


The camp was an amazing experience for young people to make new connections, and meet people with the same passion to not only save the environment, but to share their knowledge to others. Workshops were run throughout the camp. These workshops helped the students gain more and better knowledge and understanding of environmental and social issues, including climate change and the inequality of resources around the world. Not only did they learn about environmental and social issues, but the workshops (facilitated by teachers and OzGreen-Sue Lennox) also taught them valuable leadership skills that would allow them to return to their schools and teach their own peers.
The camp provided them with many fun and memorable experiences. Getting to hear stories and ideas from other young people like them was truly inspiring and the workshops gave them the motivation to work hard as a team to make a change for the better.