Campaign wants solar on Bellarine schools

PARENTS and carers from the Bellarine have added their names to an open letter asking Prime Minister Scott Morrison to provide funding to install solar panels and batteries in schools and early childhood centres across Australia.
The Solar Our Schools initiative, led by Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA), urges the federal government to provide full funding for solar and batteries for every public and non-profit school, preschool and childcare centre in Australia as part of the nation’s coronavirus recovery plan.
The initiative would also provide means-tested grants for all privately-owned schools and early learning centres.
About half of all schools in Australia do not have solar panels, nor do an even larger proportion of early childhood centres.
More than 5,000 parents nationally have already signed the open letter, with 260 of these being local parents.
AP4CA also created a huge piece of sand art on Ocean Grove beach late last month to draw attention to the initiative.
“Every school and early childhood centre in Australia should have solar and batteries installed – not just the schools that can afford to pay for them,” Ocean Grove mother and AP4CA national director Suzie Brown said.
“As a parent, I’m more interested in our school spending money on resources for our children’s education than in paying tens of thousands of dollars a year in power bills when there is a simple way to reduce those energy costs.”
Solar Our Schools estimates installing solar and batteries at every school and early childhood centre will create 7,000 renewable energy jobs across Australia, free up funds at schools for more teaching staff and learning resources, and also reduce Australia’s carbon emissions by millions of tonnes per year.
AP4CA is a group of concerned parents formed in 2019 with more than 8,000 members, and 30 regional groups who are concerned about a safe climate future for the nation’s children.
For more information, head to ap4ca.org/solarourschools.