Environmental workshop

Thanks to funding from the NSW Environmental Trust Eco Schools Program, Katoomba Public School has recently had Lis Bastian run a three-day environmental leadership course for some students in Year 4, 5 and 6 who have expressed an interest in the environment.

The course was run over three consecutive Thursdays. Students learnt about climate change and the small yet important ways each and everyone of them could enact change in their life, the school and that of the wider community. Students discussed permaculture practises that they could apply at home or school and how these actions positively affected our environment.

On the last day of the course students were tasked with the design and construction of a rain garden at school. The location was selected by students who were looking for an ideal location to “slow it, spread it, sink it”, a mantra of permaculture that addresses water runoff. To "slow it" students assessed the contours of the Kitchen Garden to select the best location to capture water runoff and slow it to prevent further erosion. Next students looked to "spread it", spreading the water over a larger area so more areas of the garden can benefit from the water. Lastly students looked to "sink it". This involved removing a large plastic sheet which lay just under the surface of the grass and creating a porous patch of soil planted out with water loving plants, this would allow water to drain easily into the soil and promote water retention in our Kitchen Garden veggie patch.

As you can see from the pictures our environmentally conscious students took their learning onboard and created a practical and beautiful rain garden. They have also developed their environmental leadership skills and are ready to teach their peers what they have learnt.

We would like to thank Lis Bastian for teaching us and congratulate the students!