This year represents a very positive milestone – it is the fifth year that Ruyton has produced a report detailing our achievements in terms of Sustainability, as part of the annual Speech Night Report. Even more encouraging than the ongoing existence of this report itself is the fact that each and every year, when it comes time to write the report, new and innovative sustainability-related activities can be added to the list of 'what we do' here at Ruyton. For a Co-ordinator of Sustainability, nothing can be more reassuring than to see students and staff taking for granted the sustainability-related activities on offer, as part of everyday school life. In fact, some research has shown that it can take up to five years for changes to become embedded in an organisational culture, and all evidence would indicate that thinking about and trying to act more sustainably has become part of the 'Ruyton culture'.
National and global solutions to the challenge of climate change and other forms of environmental degradation remain elusive and hotly debated. As our students have heard more than once this year, in many different forums both at School and in the community, it is likely that their generation will face a significant challenge in dealing with the consequences of and the responses to climate change. But as they have also heard, it is in their hands to act now and to make a difference. In each and every action undertaken as part of the Sustainability Programme this year, the goal of the leaders, the students and staff, has been to promote student empowerment and engagement, and provide a sense of hope for the future.
Student leadership of Sustainability within the school remains the bedrock of our approach. This year, our School Sustainability Captain, Ella Pleasant (widely known as Captain Planet) provided passionate and enthusiastic leadership of the Students for Sustainability (SFS) group. Her unfailing energy and willingness to promote environmental issues in any forum possible, has seen the committee go from strength to strength. Other members of the SFS have also taken every opportunity to inspire their peers through numerous entertaining and creative Assembly presentations, also representing the School at external forums and events. In the Junior School, the indefatigable Green Team, with its representatives from Prep to Grade 6, has continued to meet every Monday to brainstorm ideas about how to make their School more sustainable, and to diligently support the Recycling and Worm Farm Programmes.
As 2010 draws to a close, the School is pleased to announce that we have underlined our commitment to reducing our Greenhouse Gas emissions by continuing to purchase Government Accredited Green Power for the School’s main electricity account. Based on the previous year's figures, this action has reduced our production of Greenhouse Gases (CO2 equivalent) by several hundred tonnes this year.
Community Engagement and Sustainable Travel
• Ruyton received its first 'star' in the ResourceSmart Schools (RSS) Five Star Certification system. Our first star was achieved for completion of the Core Module. This year, Ruyton has completed the RSS Energy Module, and certification of completion, and our second 'star' will be received shortly. As part of the Energy Module activities, the whole staff attended a professional learning session with Mr Eric Bottomley, CERES Co-ordinator of Sustainable Schools and Communities. We discussed the module, its implication for the School, and our commitment as a more sustainable school. As a staff, we took the opportunity to reflect on our achievements to date, set future goals, and re-commit ourselves to behaviour change.
• Ruyton has been offered a funded place to complete the Waste Module of the RSS programme in 2011. In preparation this year a Waste Audit was conducted, and the Sustainability Co-ordinator attended a Waste Module training session.
• Operation of the Link-A-Lift online carpooling system, and an evaluation of the TravelSmart Programme, was undertaken throughout the School. Ruyton continued the trial of the internet-based carpooling system, in partnership with the Department of Transport. Our TravelSmart Co-ordinator was asked to speak about how to run a successful TravelSmart programme at a meeting of the Stonnington Schools Network.
• Regular TravelSmart Walk to School days in both the Junior and Senior Schools and the continued operation of the Walking School Bus (WSB) on three regular routes. These programmes are supported by the wonderful efforts of the volunteer Co-ordinator, drivers and conductors. The Walking School Bus Programme was reinvigorated by the Bring a Buddy event in Term 3.
• The parents group, FOREST- Friends–of–Ruyton–for–Environmental-Sustainability and TravelSmart – supported actions at the School including our annual tree planting event and hosting a community seminar on Energy in the Home in May this year, in partnership with the City of Boroondara.
• Numerous expert guest speakers spoke at Senior School Assemblies, including a World Environment Day presentation by Kirsty Costa, a young environmentalist.
• More than 40 students, staff and parents planted almost 1000 native plants as part of National Tree Day.
Student Leadership and Activism
• Both Senior and Junior School students were involved in an Energy Opportunity Audit conducted in April, which provided many great ideas for how we can easily and painlessly reduce our energy use. 'Checklists' outlining potential actions have been developed and posted around the School.
• Inaugural involvement in the Sustainability Victoria Rubbish Free Lunch Day challenge in both the Junior and Senior School. The Green Team and SFS members made entertaining and informative Assembly presentations promoting the idea of girls bringing a rubbish free lunch on the Challenge day. In the Junior School, Ms Bottomley’s Grade 1 class collected and measured all the rubbish, and in the Senior School SFS members took on this task.The result was a substantial reduction in waste produced on the Challenge day. Ruyton went on to be named the state–wide winner of the Best Newcomer category in the RFL Challenge.
• Some Year 11 and 12 members of Students for Sustainability, plus other politically-interested Senior students, attended the So You Think You’re Sustainable youth forum, where they had the chance to hear from, and challenge, the candidates for Kooyong in the (then upcoming) Federal Election on their environmental credentials.
• Ruyton’s Patron of Sustainability, Ms Linh Do, met with members of the SFS and discussed opportunities for the girls to be involved in activities outside the School, brainstorming ideas for addressing some of the challenges the girls face as environmental leaders here at Ruyton.
• The continued operation of our Co-mingled Recycling Scheme and food waste collection for feeding our worm farms. Throughout the School, the Scheme is operated by the members of Students for Sustainability and the Green Team. Through their efforts, hundreds of litres of recyclables and many kilograms of organic waste are diverted from landfill every year. Empty printing cartridges and other computer consumables continue to be collected by Ms Joanne Brown in the ICT Centre, and recycled through the Close the Loop Programme. We have also collected old mobile phones, for recycling through the Melbourne Zoo’s Environment Programmes.
• Celebrations of special 'environmentally themed' days, such as Green Day, Earth Hour and World Environment Day have all become a feature of the School calendar. On each of these occasions, the Students for Sustainability or the Green Team promoted activities to engage the broader School Community in environmental concerns. A highlight of this year’s World Environment Day was the Recycled Fashion Show. Combining education and entertainment, girls strutted their stuff on the 'catwalk' in Hiscock Court, wearing their creations made entirely of re-used or recyclable material. In the Junior School, the Green Team led a recycled clothing dress-up day and a newspaper clothing and accessories design competition. For Ruyton's Earth Hour, the whole School turned out our lights, in support of the symbolic global action that takes place every year. With each of these activities, the girls provided environmental leadership and encouraged the engagement of their peers with activism that has a positive impact beyond the environs of the School.
• Sustainability themes continue to be included across the Curriculum in subjects including Geography and Science, and the Art Department continues to seek out ways to reduce and re-use material, with their many creative 'recycled' projects. For example, in the Year 9 and 10 Dynamic Design class, girls created fashionable handbags, re-using old plastic shopping bags.
• The new VCE Economics Units 3 and 4 course includes substantial coverage of Environmental Policies. In Outdoor Education, girls are encouraged to engage with the natural environment, and the inclusion of Environmental Science in the VCE offering for 2011 will provide another avenue for girls to enhance their understanding of Environmental issues.
• As part of their unit on Energy in Year 8 Science, girls were involved in the visit of the FutureSpark Energy Trailer in Term 4. The girls were able to ride one of the trailer’s twelve bicycles to generate electricity. They learnt about energy creation, and energy use, including just how much energy it takes to operate every day household appliances.
Infrastructure and Facilities
• The Energy Opportunity Audit undertaken in April has provided the School with a list of potential energy-related improvements which continues to be considered and implemented as appropriate.
• Sustainable design will be a feature of the Junior School redevelopment, including installation of a large water tanks, use of natural light, sustainable heating and cooling options and a dedicated location for a vegetable garden.
Measuring our Resource Use
An important responsibility in becoming a more Sustainable School is a commitment to measure our impact on the environment and take steps to reduce the negative impact. When Ruyton commenced the Sustainable Schools process (since re-named as Resource Smart Schools) at the beginning of 2007, a State of the School Report was completed. The Report provided a snapshot of the School and recorded data on resource use, waste disposal and travel modes, along with an audit of curriculum and an overview of our environmental operations and practices in place at the time.
In 2008, Ruyton joined the SETS (Schools Environment Tracking System) programme, an online reporting system for all schools involved in the Resource Smart Schools programme. The School's resource use data is entered into the programme, which provides annual reports on resource consumption. In each successive year, information is provided on the performance of the School in specific areas of resource use, compared to the previous year.
Environmental Performance
Electricity and Gas Usage
Despite our efforts to promote energy awareness, overall, the School has increased its energy use during this year. This is disappointing, after last year when some savings in energy use were able to be reported. One factor which may account for this increase is the extended, cold winter, which saw a substantial increase in both our electricity and gas bills during the winter months. Also worth noting is that the School's enrolment has increased since last year, and the School has been undertaking substantial new construction with the renovations to the ELC and the new Junior School development.
In terms of data, the following figures are of note:
• Electricity: for the first ten months of 2010, to the end of October, there was an increase in the amount of electricity used by approximately 3.6 percent, compared to the corresponding ten month period in 2009
• Our electricity billing arrangements allow us to isolate key areas of usage. The Aquatic Centre accounts for approximately 35 percent of all electricity use at the School, and this proportion has remained steady between 2009 and 2010. During the period measured, the use of electricity in the pool complex increased by 5.5 percent, while general School use increased by 2.7 percent
• Gas: for the first nine months of this year, to the end of September, the School achieved an overall decrease in gas consumption of more than 62 percent. Of particular note is the very substantial decrease in use of gas in the pool complex this year. In fact, all of the decrease in gas usage in the School was accounted for by the decrease in gas consumption by the pool. Non-pool gas consumption actually increased by 32%. As noted above, this may be a result of the increased need for heating during the extended cold season this year.
Water Usage
For the first nine months of 2010, compared to the corresponding nine months of 2009, the School's overall water usage has increased by 3%. The Aquatic Centre accounts for approximately 30% of the School's water usage.
Waste
• For the first ten months of 2010, to the end of October, there was a small decrease (0.5 cubic metres) in the amount of School waste sent to landfill, compared to the corresponding ten month period in 2009
• In addition, the School diverted more than 43 cubic metres of waste from landfill through the recycling of paper waste
• The Co-mingled Recycling System has diverted a minimum of 240L of recyclables from landfill each week of term for the school year, which has reduced our waste by approximately nine cubic metres for the year
• With the introduction of organic waste collection (food scraps) in the Senior School, we are diverting several extra kilos of waste away from landfill each week.
All of this data supports the anecdotal evidence that the promotion of Rubbish Free Lunch days (and our success in the Rubbish Free Lunch Competition) and Five Star Lunches in the Junior School, along with increased paper and cardboard recycling and the continued operation of the Co-mingled Recycling System, have had a positive impact on the waste produced by the School. We hope to see further reduction in waste production in 2011, when we complete the Waste Module of Resource Smart Schools.
Transport
Regular Walk to School Days and Walking School Bus routes have resulted in an increased tendency to walk in the Junior School and increased promotion of the use of public transport in the Senior School. The arrival of a staff bike rack has encouraged several staff to cycle regularly to work. It is hoped it may be possible to start a new Walking School Bus route between Ruyton and Trinity in 2011.
Paper Usage
A final positive note on which to finish is the data on the School’s paper usage, which decreased by 20 percent during the first nine months of 2010, compared to the corresponding period in 2009. The School used 644 fewer reams of paper during that period. It would appear that the introduction of our new duplex printing and scanning facilities in each office have been a successful initiative in terms of paper use.