Good Shepherd Lutheran College Leanyer receives gold eco-school status

A Top End school’s efforts to become more sustainable and eco-friendly have paid off as the students receive a global accreditation.

A Top End primary school has joined an exclusive group of schools in the country to receive a globally-recognised “green flag”.

Good Shepherd Lutheran College Leanyer received its golden eco-school plaque on Thursday after it became one of four NT schools to meet the requirements of an environmentally-friendly campus in December.

GSLC’s eco-schools coordinator Angela Beukes said the school’s student “eco-committee” helped teach their peers about green topics such as cleaning up litter, recycling, encouraging biodiversity, and climate change.

“Community, respect, and service are our college values, and this year the biggest thing is living your values,” Ms Beukes said.

“This (program) basically shows that – you have to get the community involved, and the service that comes towards it.”

Good Shepherd Lutheran College Leanyer's eco-committee alongside Keep Australia Beautiful Council NT CEO Heimo Schober and eco-schools coordinator Angele Beukes. The committee members include Jansen, Dimitri, Ava, Ryan, Dorothy, Maggie, Andy, Lachlan, Finn, Imogen, Sharon, Mettabel, Sarah, Isla, Minnie, Harry, Viaan, and Eva.

Good Shepherd Lutheran College Leanyer's eco-committee built a yarning circle as one of it's projects.

Head of school Tahlia Anver said one of the eco-committee’s projects included a submission to the NT Administrator about the Casuarina Coastal Reserve and its potential national park status.

“They wrote a letter to the school families and put a call out for family photos in that area,” she said.

“(They) put together a little video and spoken word over the top to submit.”

Keep Australia Beautiful Council NT CEO Heimo Schober said the eco-schools program – run in the NT and New South Wales – was run in partnership with the UN.

“The idea is that if we go from eco-tots – which is the preschoolers and the early daycare – through to preschool, through to primary, through to middle school, and then secondary school, then we have that sustainability learning and understanding,” Mr Schober said.

“(Then) as tomorrow’s future managers … they’ve already given consideration to the environmental sustainability consequences of that managerial decision.

“The whole idea is just sustainability being at one with planet Earth – planet Earth, doesn’t need humans but humans need planet Earth.”