Being smart with resources earns awards nomination

VICTORY Christian College has been named as a finalist in the 2025 ResourceSmart Schools Awards in the category of Curriculum Leadership School of the Year (Secondary).

The Kairn Road school is among 31 vying for honours in the Sustainability Victoria awards, being held for the 16th time this year and with the theme of Working Together.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the MCG on 5 June.

The college’s category recognises teaching and learning of sustainability through the Victorian curriculum as well as creative and innovative approaches to addressing sustainability in lesson plans, units of work or school-wide curriculum.

The college embeds sustainability into its curriculum, particularly through its Environmental Science pathways for years 9 to 12.

The courses enable students to engage in various environmental projects, integrating practical experiences directly into their learning process.

Students document biodiversity, advocate for recycling, and test water quality. They contribute to citizen science by tracking changes to dam repairs at Kennington Reservoir, collecting water samples, and entering data into the River Detectives Database.

Their efforts include breeding native fish and planting aquatic plants to aid ecosystem restoration.

Investigations into microplastics in fish from the drained reservoir highlighted plastic pollution concerns, with findings shared with local authorities.

The school’s plans this year include stencilling messages near drains to raise public awareness about waste and its impact on waterways.

Sustainability Victoria regions and community action director Katie Pahlow said that by working together, efforts are combined to “build the future we need”.

“We can achieve so much more when we work together, whether that’s with other students, other schools, other teachers, or the wider community beyond the school gate,” she said.

ResourceSmart Schools is a State Government program delivering sustainability education with the aim of helping Victorian schools minimise waste, save energy and water, promote biodiversity and act on climate change.

It has reached more than 1600 Victorian schools since it began in 2008 and has planted more than 5.1 million trees, saved more than $63 million through energy, waste and water savings, has diverted 170,000 cubic metres of waste from landfill, and avoided more than 110,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. More about all awards finalists is available at sustainability.vic.gov.au/2025-rssa-finalists .