Becoming A ResourceSmart School

ResourceSmart Schools is a Victorian Government initiative that encourages schools to incorporate sustainability in everything they do, and benefit from the process.

School’s become involved by minimising waste, saving energy and water, promoting biodiversity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This creates a sustainable school environment that reduces costs, provides students with a tangible and realistic environment to learn about sustainability, and helps work towards a more sustainable way of life for the community. School’s can track their sustainability journey by identifying savings made on their energy, water and waste bills, and greenhouse gas emissions. School’s will also receive recognition and rewards through the Sustainability Certification process.

The Australian Curriculum has a cross-curriculum priority to address sustainability. Students will benefit by developing leadership and problem-solving skills and increase their confidence in their ability to make a difference to their lives and to their community. The ResourceSmart School’s website can provide support to school’s to help them understand and implement sustainability programs across the curriculum.
Reptile Encounters can help too!

Within the ResourceSmart School program there are 5 modules for school’s to be certified with; Core, Biodiversity, Energy, Waste, and Water. For each module there are a certain number of actions that must be completed for a module to become certified. Each module involves three key areas; Workplace/operational, learning & teaching, and whole school community engagement.

Reptile Encounters can provide the perfect curriculum activity for engaging students in learning and taking action to conserve and increase biodiversity in schools. Reptile Encounters has six fun, hands-on and interactive educational shows that feature native Australian wildlife, with many animals that are local to Victoria. Each incursion show has been specifically created to meet the curriculum requirements of each school level, as well as promote sustainability and inspire students to conserve Australia’s amazing animals. Our newest show, Aqualife, focuses on freshwater species and is adept at encouraging students to realise that they are in fact a part of the ecosystem and there are choices they can make that will have a positive influence on sustaining the biodiversity of Australia.

1022 Victorian School have already started saving with the ResourceSmart School initiative, and 26 school have reached 5 Star status. Over $5.2 million has been saved by Victorian Schools between 2008 and 2013.
Reptile Encounters is looking forward to assisting schools becoming ResourceSmart!

To get started visit the ResourceSmart School’s website: http://www.resourcesmartschools.vic.gov.au/