School Education
Learn about Council's school and preschool waste education programs.
Council works with two environmental education providers to deliver high-quality waste education to local schools and early education centres.
Schools Waste Program
The ‘Let’s Get it Sorted’ waste education program is available to all schools within the Bega Valley Shire region to implement waste related activities and/or education projects. It is a fun and hands-on approach to education and helps students to change their perception of what waste is and to empower them to make changes to their own waste-related behaviours at school and home.
This program has been offered in conjunction with Bournda Environmental Education Centre for projects with one or more of the following outcomes:
- Encourage and foster sustainable waste management behaviour amongst the school community
- Promote the reduce, reuse and recycle message
- Increase community awareness of BVSC’s Waste and Recycling Centres and their role
- Supports waste strategies undertaken by Council
- Supports innovative waste management projects
In 2023-24, the program educated over 900 students and involved over 50 educators/staff across 6 schools. The program supports schools to conduct waste audits, analyse their individual school audit results, action plan for making change, and implement waste minimising and waste education projects in their schools. This all leads to a reduction of the amount of waste being sent to landfill from their school and a reduction of overall contamination in their bins and has a flow on effect past the school gates into the students homes.
For more information about the Let’s Get it Sorted waste education program, including how to get your school involved, can be found here.
EnviroMentors Early Childhood Education
Council engages environmental sustainability educators EnviroMentors to run a series of workshops in our shires early learning and preschool centres. The workshops are designed to educate children on recycling and composting at a foundational level, and target activities at a younger age group.
In 2024, 9 schools were visited over 5 days with 285 students participating in engaging and hand-on education about recycling and composting at home and at school. Some centres have continued the conversation and activities about waste and sustainability after the sessions and have further integrated the material into their educational plans.
The feedback from children and teachers was overwhelmingly positive, including:
- ‘This was a great introduction to rubbish and litter’
- ‘So engaging and age appropriate for the children’
- ‘The children have not stopped talking about your visit all afternoon’
This program is brought to the Bega Valley Shire with the support of the Canberra Region Joint Organisation.
© Bega Valley Shire Council 2024
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Contact Us
- 02 6499 2222
- council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au
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Zingel Place
PO Box 492
Bega NSW 2550 -
Monday to Friday 9.00AM to 4.30PM
Administration building Zingel Place Bega
Australia -
ABN: 26 987 935 332