Chewton Primary School

Serena Everill, Sustainability teacher, Chewton Primary School

Serena is a passionate, powerful advocate for building sustainable practice across our school. She makes connections with all staff and students, involves parents and community members in the day to day life of Chewton Primary. She empowers students to take action to make our world a better place for all.

These are a few of the things Serena does and how she has made a powerful impact on our school community.

First Nation connections

Planning with Kath Coff from Nalderun Aboriginal Education Corporation to embed First Nations perspectives in all our sustainability work. Kath is teaching First Nation Ways: Country and Place as a specialist subject at Chewton this year.

Planning with teachers to ensure First Nations perspectives are embedded in the curriculum content.

Learning with Kath about First Nations pedagogies so that we can use the process when teaching our students about sustainability: relational world views.

Check in at the beginning of each lesson to share noticings about the Kulin and Dja Dja Wurrung seasons and what students have seen on Country.

Healthy Waterways Day

Bringing together 270 children from surrounding schools, coordinating stakeholders to run learning activities at the river flat by the Leanganook Walking Track for a day of learning how to keep our waterways healthy.

(Nalderun, Landcare, Coliban Water, River Detectives, Chewton Primary Students)

School Cook ups 

Serena organises whole school cook ups each term. Students plan the menu and cook with parents. They are a favourite!

Working with Connecting Country and Post Office Hill Action Group

Planting and watering in on the bush block behind our school. This has been done as parta of our Friday sustainability lessons

Student Led projects that change the world

Supporting students to bring the Dog Poop project to fruition: supporting research, linking in with Parks Victoria, the local community and media.

Waste Reduction

Waste audit, investigating what things can be recycled, reused and what to avoid. 

Working with students to investigate and support positive change at Foodbank.

Veggie garden redevelopment

Grant writing, liaising with local businesses, First Nations excursions and incursions to learn about Indigenous food plants, how to identify, propagate, plant and cook! Working with Murnong Mummas and Nalderun farm.  Designing the garden with students. Engaging parents in working bees!

Showcasing our 204 school of the Year award work to the Minister for the environment, 

local member and VIP guests.

School fete veggie stall

Students growing veggies from seed, selling seedlings and yummy silverbeet!

Connecting with the community

Parents come and work with Serena in our garden each week. She has harnessed a large volunteer workforce to build our new wicking and winter garden beds.

Liaising with Connecting Country, POHAG (Post Office Hill Action Group -local landcare) on planting and monitoring regen.

Liasing with businesses to get the best deal and generous donations for our sustainability program

Supporting our DPP students to approach the local post office and pub to place donation tins for the biodegradable dog poo bags

River Detectives

Learning about water quality

Investigating and identifying water bugs

Sustainability embedded in the curriculum

Reuse, recycle investigations (Prep/1)

Sustainable cities (2-3-4)

Learning about compost and improving our soil health

Resource Smart Awards

2023 Curriculum School of the year

2024 School of the year

Our principal bumped into Costa in the local supermarket and this is what he had to say about our incredible sustainability work