STEAM cleaning the bay

Last year St Columba's was thrilled to be awarded a grant from the Port Phillip Bay Fund. Our grant application - Operation STEAM Clean the Bay (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Maths) - was developed through the hard work and dedication of our Green Team parents and April Seymore at the Eco Centre and will see a number of wonderful environmental improvements and opportunities come to our school over the next 3 years.

In line with the Fund's focus, the project aims to transform our landscape, curriculum and leadership projects - making people think about and connect the health of the Bay to everyday decisions and ultimately improve Bay health.

The project includes:

• redesigning the schoolâs frontfacing landscape (rain garden, erosion-proofing, drought-proofed gardens, stormwater management) to reduce and address Bay's health threats
• our students learning and sharing Indigenous historical and scientific knowledge of our bayside ecosystems with the Boon Wurrung Foundation, Port Phillip EcoCentre, and guest career speakers from Bay related fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math
• conducting community engagement activities, including signage, artwork, community cleanup days, a fabulous Climate Change Choir - that increase awareness of the Bay's environmental health and value.

Last week, the Green Team and Eco Warriors together with the wonderful guidance and assistance of the Eco Centre worked tirelessly to develop our new rain garden.

Thank you again to all the parent members of our Green Team who have given a lot of their time and support in applying for, promoting and implementing this work. We could not have made so much progress without their dedication.