Jamie, James and Mitchell, students from Riverside Primary School, had a surprise opportunity last week - they received a reward for their Doing More With Less Project efforts. They were invited to a special meeting at Scotch College in Swanbourne to listen to Paul Sharp, founder of Two Hands Project. Paul showed the students a film about his adventures on the Pacific Ocean looking for rubbish sucked into the ocean from the Japanese Tsunami. Paul tracked the rubbish across the sea and surveyed the distribution and types of rubbish found. He showed the findings to the students. He talked about how rubbish affected marine life and how in fact plastic was pollution because it broke down and was now being eaten by marine life and the marine life was in turn being eaten by other predators, and that people were eating the fish.He said much of it was 'stupid plastic' - plastic that was single use, like bottle tops and plastic bags!
The three boys were inspired by the talk and went back to their school and helped organise their own Two Hands Project - half an hour of cleaning up in a place you love. The students at Riverside chose their school.

Look what can be achieved in 30 minutes! 

Riverside young leaders meet Paul Sharp. Two Hands Project

Harvey Primary School Joins Doing More With Less

Harvey Primary School were not able to come to the Doing More With Less Roadshow in Mandurah so the MK Team will visit them on the 17th October 2012. The students have already been to the landfill site and already have ideas about how they can reduce waste. Next week they will visit the Alcoa Refinery and the Wormfarm and look at how a company manages its waste. From there they will start thinking about their own waste management issues, opportunities and challenges. Welcome to Doing More With Less Harvey Primary School. We look forward to hearing your ideas. Cat MK

Asha and Kali Don't Waste an Opportunity

Asha and Kali from Calista don't waste an opportunity to get informed.  Check out the report they wrote after visiting the Rockingham Landfill Site.  Well done!

Landfill Cells

·      At Millar Road Landfill site cells are made by digging a big hole, adding a thick layer of plastic and then adding pipes for the excess liquid.

·      A single cell at Millar Road Landfill will last up to 2 years.

·      When a cell is full they cover it with a thick layer of plastic, clay and then sand. After that is done they plant shallow rooted native plants.

·      From now on there are not allowed to be any new landfill sites on the Swan Coastal Plain.

By Asha and Kali, Calista Primary School

Oscar and Conner and Their Scientific Thinking

Two Calista students are very concerned about the wasted water at their school and are doing something about it.  They have identified the problem, taken some photos and developed a plan.  At Millennium Kids, we get very excited when students think so scientifically and creatively about environmental issues.  Here we have some problem-solvers of the future!  Here's the plan.

WATER SAVING PIPE SOLUTION

                                              

Hi, I’m Oscar and my friend Connor is working on making a water saving pipe system.  It is going to take a while to build because it is complicated and big pipes are involved with this project.  We will need 2 large funnels, 1 pool filter, 2 large Gas and Liquid Nitrogen canisters, 2 medium sized metal chambers, 1 large mesh piece, 1000 kilowatt motor, cement and 50 pipes.

The tools we will be trying to get hold of are shovels, and a jackhammer.

It works by collecting the water  from the air con and the rain.

I am looking forward to hearing the progress of this idea!

Checking Out The Projects

So many ideas. So many great plans. Ingrid and I spent the afternoon checking out project ideas, mapping out the next steps, devising questions about your project plans to get you thinking and coming up with schedules to sit with you and hear how your projects are developing. More soon. Cat and Ingrid

Riverside Rewards - Jamie's Team

So what would you do if you discovered 25% of rubbish going to landfill could be recycled? This is just what Jamie and his team discovered. They just couldn't believe the figure. They asked questions and they didn't like the answers they got. Jamie was really upset. "This is really bad. I cant believe it," he said. Jamie and his team wanted to find out why the figure was so high. They want to meet with the local Mayor and the Minister for Environment to find out how they can improve this result. So Jamie here goes. I have met with a local City of Mandurah Councillor and told him your story. His name is Rhys Williams. Actually, he has been involved with Millennium Kids for a long time so he knows what kids can do and is really keen to meet with you and hear your ideas. Let me know when your next meeting is so we can set up an opportunity for your team to tell meet him so you can share your ideas.

Riverside Rewards - Sustainability Ambassadors Team

The Riverside Team were not content with one project,  so they have three! The Sustainability Ambassadors Team decided to review the waste created at lunchtime. They think the can reduce the organic waste going to landfill. Since the Sustainability Roadshow the team has met with their teacher, Meg Clark, once a week to discuss how they can make a difference. They are going to audit the waste and weigh it. They  will visit the Rockingham Landfill site and education centre with their whole class as a reward for their efforts so far. They want their whole class involved. I met with the Principal and the Deputy Principal. Everyone is very excited about the project and the students' leadership. Great work girls! I look forward to working with you all at your next team meeting. Doing More With Less Mentor Cat