A Bangholme school is celebrating an environmental win.
Cornish College deputy principal Nicola Forrest received an Excellence Award from Environment Education Victoria for embedding sustainability into the school curriculum.
Sustainability has been at the core of the college curriculum since it opened in 2012.
“It is a privilege to have the responsibility of educating young people to be the next generation of positive change-makers,” Ms Forrest said.
“It is a pleasure to be involved in the leadership of the passionate staff at Cornish College who go out and make a difference every day.
“It is an absolute priority to educate for a sustainable future.
“I am so lucky to be part of the Cornish College community who really embrace this vision for a better world.”
Principal Vicki Steer was delighted with the recognition for Ms Forrest.
“The Excellence Award is well deserved and recognises our deputy principal’s tremendous leadership in embedding and driving forward environmental education in our curriculum,” she said.
Last year, thanks to a submission from Ms Forrest, Cornish College became one of 12 Primezone Partner Schools.
Funding from Primary Industries Educational Foundation Australia helped a Year 9 class to establish an aquaponics system.
Ms Forrest successfully applied for a $500 sensory garden grant as part of last year’s Victorian Schools Gardens Awards.
Last year she also helped to lead the Make a Difference Experience (MADE) to Thailand and Laos.
MADE is part of the Global Sustainability course at Cornish College.
Year 9 students made the trip overseas tasked with looking for commonalities and differences to understand the foreign countries’ cultural dynamics and their people.