Every year the IEU invites members at schools, colleges and early childhood centres to apply for a number of grants, sponsored by Teachers Mutual Bank, to develop sustainability initiatives.
TMB and IEU have a proud history of funding education projects that kickstart sustainability projects. Past grant-winning projects include habitat and biodiversity conservation, tree-planting, composting and vegetable gardens, water and energy saving initiatives, waste and recycling, as well as projects that draw on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander connections to land, community and the local environment.
2024 Environment Grant winners
Early Childhood Education and Care
Evans Head Preschool Association, Evans Head: Compost Champions
The aim of the project is to develop a culture of composting in our services. We will intentionally teach children about the environment, sustainability, and the importance of reducing waste. Through composting, children can learn about the natural processes of decomposition, the role of microorganisms in breaking down organic matter, and the importance of soil health.
Christ Church Gladesville Preschool, Gladesville: Indigenous Multi-Sensory Garden
The Indigenous Multi-Sensory Garden project aims to enable children to utilise all of their senses to experience the many benefits of regular and meaningful interaction and immersion in the natural environment. The garden will enhance childrens’ learning and understanding in the areas of resource management and sustainability. It will enable the children to appreciate and understand more about Country and local cultures. It connects with Country the planting of endemic and native species of the Sydney Basin to communicate the ecological systems of First Nations cultures past, present and future. The Preschool will use as much recycled and repurposed material as possible and utilise teachers, children and parents/community volunteers to help. Ongoing opportunities for children to connect with nature will help them also to develop good physical activity habits; assist in reducing their stress and anxiety; and help to nurture social interaction skills and encourage community contribution. Initial consultation will occur with Dharug community. The children, teachers, families and members of the local community will be involved at every stage – from engaging in discussions about what makes a great, sustainable, multi-sensory garden and outdoor classroom space, to drawing up their ideas and getting hands on and creating and constructing the initial components of the garden
Primary Schools
St Joseph’s Primary, Taree: Green Roof Pergola
With the assistance of your grant money we intend to build a biodiverse green roof pergola that will not only beautify our garden but attract birds, bees and other animals. The addition of this pergola to our garden will support the reduction of our schools carbon footprint emissions. This will give us a space for all students, staff and pastoral care workers to take students to enjoy our already thriving vegetable garden. This garden plays a key role in supporting our Community Kitchen, providing food supplies to create meals for the homeless within our community.
St Therese Parish Primary School, West Wollongong: Native Bees in Schools – Stingless Bees, Hive and Annual Flowers
Our school is a registered Ladato si school and are committed to the ecological improvement of our school environment. Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ reminds us that it is through the “little daily actions” that we can make a contribution to caring for our common home, which finds connections in the life of St Therese who made it her mission to live her life “doing the little things really well”.
Our school aims to provide programs and practices that care for our common home embedding within the school community a commitment to ecologically sustainable actions that promote and nurture ecological conversion.
Environmental education and action challenges our perception of teaching and school life, that we might be alert to and create opportunities through the integration of curriculum, prayer and liturgy, resource management, grounds management, whole school planning and school community that contributes to the betterment of our environment and our relationships with one another.
As a school we are wanting to engage in the stingless bee program via the Sydney Stingless Bee program or Native Bees in Schools with the following aim:
- Response to the Cry for the Earth, Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality, Community Resilience and Empowerment. Pollination and renewal of the school gardens through the involvement of bees. Students are educated about the integral role bees play in the continuation of the web of life.
- Stingless native bees enable children to safely explore, engage, learn and experience close up the social behaviours of the bee, an awareness of the impact of human activity on the environment and the interdependence of living things.
- As an added bonus the bees will pollinate the gardens and your school will be aiding the conservation of the native bee. The keeping of stingless bees is easy and does not require any special expertise, equipment or license.
- The hive needs to be located in shade, the bees will forage in the garden darting back and forth laden with pollen.(SIC – https://sydneystinglessbees.com.au/native-bees-schools-kindys/)
With this grant we will be able to set up the program with the purchase of the Bees, hives and annual flowers for the bees to pollinate. This will be a coeducation program and form an integral part of our overall sustainable environmental program in our school.
The Assumption Catholic Primary School, Bathurst: Buwanha Walan (Grow Strong in Wiradjuri Language)
Build a garden next to our Yarning Circle filled with Natives and bush tucker plants. To share with all students and our school community our country’s amazing plants and learn how our First Nations people once used them and how they still have significance to our country today. Learning how First Nations peoples cared for the land and the lessons around this. The joy in preparing the soil planting and watching something grow (buwanha) through the seasons and the importance of improving environmental sustainability by caring for the country we live on.
Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School, Nicholls (ACT): Indigenous Garden
This project will involve a revamp of our current Indigenous Garden located in our Adventure Playground. We will plant some new native plants, including some edible plants if possible. We also hope to add some seating around our firepit to create a yarning circle that can be used by students in our Primary school and ELC. The project will be a great way for classroom teachers to educate students around local plants and uses by Aboriginal people. The space will be available to be used by all members of our school. Students will have access to the space once the plants have been established, during recess and lunch time. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from our school will be involved in choosing plants that are native to the Ngunnawal people and other forms of bush tucker or native plants that will thrive in the environment. The seated area will be used when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students gather together to learn and share about their culture.
Secondary Schools
McCarthy Catholic College, Tamworth: Germination and growing of Native plants for the McCarthy Environmental Regeneration Project
The grant being applied for will be supporting a stage of the McCarthy Regeneration project. The aim of the Regeneration Project is to provide opportunities for students to be involved a long-term project. Behind the school, there is a badly damaged riparian zone. The project looks at regenerating this zone by growing and planting native plants and building animal habitats.
The Regeneration Project aims to:
- Increase and foster student interest in the local environment and community.
- Increase the partnership between the school and the local Community.
- To develop an Environmental resource which can be used within the school curriculum.
- Provide a source of pride for the students that may increase their pride within the school.
- Develop the natural habitat for the local fauna
- Provide a space and assistance to develop local Aboriginal food resources as well as a platform for greater understanding of local Aboriginal culture.
An important stage of the project is to germinate and grow seeds from native plants. The grant being applied for will go towards obtaining soil for the potting mix and slow release fertiliser. The new seedlings are used in the Riparian Zone behind the school. Some plants are also donated to the Local Landcare nursery.
Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta: Enhancing Marine Education through Underwater Exploration
Our project aims to enhance marine studies education by providing an underwater digital camera with GPS tagging and snorkeling equipment for Year 9, 10, and 12 students. Through hands-on exploration of local marine environments, students will capture and analyse data, integrating technology with their learning. This initiative will foster environmental awareness, develop technical skills, allow students to contribute to citizen science and promote stewardship of marine ecosystems. It will enrich the educational experience, engage students in real-world geography, and contribute to a culture of conservation within the school community.
Preschool – 12 schools
The Central Coast Montessori School, Bateau Bay: Water Saver
Our goal is to operate at a carbon neutral level, supplanting our grid connections with small scale energy generation infrastructure such as small scale wind turbines, batteries and solar. Additional water storage tanks will be used to supply water for the grounds and filtration will be used for cleaning the water. The grant will go towards water tanks to collect rain water to maintain the gardens.
Additionally food is a huge part of this project, As we plan to develop a sustainable garden of seasonal vegetables and fruits to serve the local community and children. We plan to incorporate as many native and indigenous food plants into our gardens. Children will help grow and maintain the garden as well as learn the fundamentals of agriculture.
The Armidale Waldorf School, Armidale: Mud, Fibres, Grasses – The Nest Builders
The project aims to regenerate a section of remnant bush that is in the centre of the school’s car park. We have observed that small birds are attracted to the few remaining original shrubs and grasses in the location. Through protection of the boundaries, establishing clear paths or tracks and replanting, we aim to create a habitat zone of food and nesting sites for small woodland birds. The loss of understorey, a common problem in the New England region due to the process of land clearing for agriculture, has created a shortage of suitable habitat. Birds that frequent our area and that we would be trying to attract and provide a nesting space for include Superb Fairy-wren, Brown Thornbill, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, Yellow-faced Honeyeater, Eastern Spinebill, Grey Fantail, Rufous Whistler, Golden Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush, Mistletoebird, Silvereye, Double-barred Finch, Red-browed Finch and Diamond Firetail.
2023 Environment Grant winners
Early Childhood Education and Care
The Point Preschool, Oyster Bay: Energy From the Sun
Our Energy from the Sun project will make visible our recent carbon negative initiative. Collaborating, with Solar Schools, the project will allow our preschool community to see our energy data using a display monitor. In real time the children will be able to turn appliances on/off and see the data change in 30 second intervals. This will make visible what’s affecting our energy use and support our knowledge of energy consumption.
Lismore Preschool, Lismore: Keeping the Dream Going
This project aims to revitalise the outdoor learning environment of our preschool decimated in floods in 2022. Core to this is the need to replant gutted spaces/beds, bush tucker garden, native trees, timber seating (bird watching) and insect/bee housing using information from local Elders and community. This space will benefit the entire community through the re-use of a highly valuable, long-established preschool with a nature based, wellbeing focus.
Beresfield Community Children’s Education Centre, Beresfield: A Native Connection
To create a sensory walk-through garden for our youngest children using native flora. This will build their connection to country while targeting their learning style. We have been learning to cultivate our own plants from cuttings to ensure we are able to continue topping up the garden as needed. We are sourcing further professional development for educators, so they know how to tend to the garden and convey bush tucker knowledge to the children.
Primary schools
St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School, Panania: Trees for Bees
The aim is to educate students about how bees are part of the biodiversity that humans and animals depend on for survival. Starting with a lunchtime club, we would explore how we can play a role in helping to maintain the population of native, stingless bees by using a portion of our school grounds to plant native flowering trees and plants, and purchasing a native beehive. This project will allow the parent community to become involved, and provide endless learning opportunities for students, not the least being the importance of making our world more sustainable for future generations.
Mt Carmel School, Yass: Extruder Club
We plan to put the money towards buying a benchtop plastic extruder for the school. We will use the extruder to recycle plastic container lids into plastic filament that can be used in moulds to make a variety of objects such as key chains, pens and combs. The moulds created will be sold to our school community through our website. Proceeds will go back into the project to buy more moulds and maintain the club.
Secondary schools
Northside Montessori School, Pymble: Planet Fashion
Students will recycle pre-owned fabric, accessories and clothing purchased from charity shops to create a range of bespoke outfits. They will then hold an Upcycled Fashion Show complete with a student designed recycled runway for Fashion Week, 2024. Students will also sell a range of recycled and upcycled products at the fashion show and display environmental education material including info-graphs, brochures, and posters.
O’Connor Catholic College, Armidale: Tukka Garden and Yarning Circle
This garden will be a learning space for multiple faculties to engage in meaningful learning about the local Anaiwan nation, learning about bush medicine and tucker and then having a yearning space to discuss this learning. It will also make Aboriginal culture visible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, encouraging inclusivity. It will provide a native, usable green space in the school which is aesthetic, maintained and of benefit to the school and the environment. This space will have input from our students, giving them agency in their learning and cultural experience.
Lumen Christi Catholic College, Pambula Beach: Native Plants in Nature
We have recently started setting up a yarning circle for outdoor big and small group discussions. It is quite bare and would benefit with some native plants. We are hoping to involve the students in planting and creating a natural space that incorporates learning in the outdoors, stopping erosion. The students will benefit by being involved in the process and seeing the result of their work for years to come. The environment will benefit because we all need more native plants!