Donate
Donate

When children are exposed to nature, their attention spans, problem solving skills and creativity skyrocket. It makes sense, then, that we should max out the time our students spend in quality, green learning spaces. Right?

Unfortunately, on the whole, our urban areas are becoming decreasingly green – even as temperatures rise, rainfall decreases and heatwaves intensify.

We can take action by reducing our carbon emissions, and planting carbon-capturing trees and shrubs to absorb what’s already in the atmosphere. At the same time, we’ll be restoring habitat for our treasured local wildlife, bringing biodiversity back to our urban landscapes.  

Working together to create cooler, greener neighbourhoods means better learning environments for our young people, and healthier towns and cities for all of us to live and play (animals included).  

With our children already spending most daylight hours in school learning environments, schoolgrounds are great places to model a collaborative, creative approach to climate action and empower children to tackle complex problems. After all, schools already bring people together around a common interest: laying the foundations of a bright future. 

Hunt for school energy savings

Reducing energy use is a great way for schools to cut emissions and do their bit in reducing our collective carbon footprint. Getting students involved in doing the detective work is a great learning opportunity, and will help paint a picture of where and how your school uses energy.  

From there you can see where small changes might make a big difference.

From appliances, to energy-smart habits that stack up in the long term, this energy audit checklist is the perfect place to start.

Download our energy audit checklist

 

Cooling the Schools project

Greening Australia’s Cooling the Schools project is all about connecting kids to nature, empowering them to take action in their communities, and creating greener, cooler places where both people and nature can thrive.  

Thanks to $2.77 million from the NSW Government, Cooling the Schools will work with participating schools and their communities in the Greater Sydney area to add thousands of plants to low-canopy hotspots over three years. Western Sydney University is helping identify areas most vulnerable to the Urban Heat Island Effect. 

Register your school's interest*

Most Australians now accept that climate change is real, but few of us know what we can do about it. The three-part series Fight For Planet A: The Climate Challenge delves into where our energy comes from how transport and travel emissions affect our health, and just what is the carbon footprint of the food we eat?

Cooling The Schools is proud to partner with the ABC series Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge, and is featured in the Community Solutions Plan. Are you interested to learn what you can do in your own community to reduce carbon emissions? Do your own ABC Community Solutions Plan.

Take me there