Sustainable Schools Grants Come to Manly
Member for Manly James Griffin today announced the local recipient for the NSW Government’s inaugural $2.5 million Sustainable Schools Grants.
Mr Griffin said he was excited that Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus had received a grant in the new student-led program that’s focused on improving the environment at schools.
“It’s great to see Manly Campus successful with their grant application, developed by the school’s excellent TAS staff,” Mr Griffin said.
“The Sustainable Schools Grants will empower students and school communities to implement projects that will benefit the environment by helping to save energy or water, reduce waste, or improve biodiversity.”
Manly Campus TAS staff have developed an agriculture unit of working incorporating six vegetable garden beds and two indigenous food garden beds designed and constructed by students.
The project also includes the addition of two native bee hives, a broad range of bee friendly native plants and a range of fruit trees.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said 194 NSW public schools received Sustainable Schools Grants ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 each.
“I’m very glad that schools from across the state embraced the new Sustainable Schools Grants whole heartedly,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The standard of all the submissions was very impressive, and I commend all the participating schools on their efforts.”
“Grant applications included innovative sustainability projects such as kitchen gardens, water storage strategies, and even bee highways to improve biodiversity.
“I encourage other schools to start thinking of applying for the next round of grants.”
The Sustainable Schools Grants program, which provides a total of $10 million over four years, is open to all NSW public schools and preschools with the next application round open in November.
The NSW Government is investing $6.7 billion over four years to deliver 190 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. In addition, a record $1.3 billion is being spent on school maintenance over five years, along with a record $500 million for the sustainable Cooler Classrooms program to provide air conditioning to schools. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.