Want to make your school a leader in sustainability? Join the Sustainable Schools initiative and empower your students and staff to create real change.
Sustainable Schools supports school and preschool teachers and students to develop the values, skills and knowledge to connect with nature and take action for our environment
You can register as a Sustainable School using this form, or checkout some highlights from the past year that might inspire you to sign up your school.
1. We inspired teachers to prioritise nature-based learning
Across the last financial year, we facilitated 682 school visits with 263 schools, engaging 6,245 students & 2,915 staff and caregivers.
We understand that there’s so much for teachers to learn and stay across and so through our program, we help provide the knowledge, resources and links to help students grasp topics in the sustainability space.
We offered various professional development opportunities with a key event being the Sustainability in the classroom and beyond forum in October at Adelaide Botanic Highschool with over 100 participants. The forum was designed with educators for both school and preschools and environmental educators (in not for profit organisations and small businesses). The forum included keynote speakers, presentations from local educators, workshops exploring a range of environmental topics and connected like-minded educators across Adelaide. The forum is again returning in October.
There are plenty more opportunities for Professional Development in 2025 and we encourage you to sign up to our Sustainable Schools eNews for all the info.
2. We empower student leaders
We inspire the next generation of environmental leaders. We do this through 3 main programs.
- Youth Environmental Leaders
Youth Environment Leaders gives young people valuable leadership and environmental skills, but this program is aimed at students in years 5-8. Participating schools nominate four to 8 students who receive mentoring by Green Adelaide staff. 2024 was a great year with 246 students from 30 schools involved in the program. Examples of projects students completed including working with a Kaurna elder to create signage for their school and partnering with their local council to install nest boxes in their school grounds.
- Youth Environment Council
The Youth Environment Council (YEC) is Green Adelaide’s long running annual program teaching kids in years 7 – 11 leadership skills while having heaps of fun! 2024 was a huge year for the program. Around 60 members participated in a Welcome Forum, a camp, and work on a special environmental projects picked by the participants that culminated in a project showcase in November to special guests and government leaders.
- Youth Voice for the Environment
2024 was the inaugural year for the Youth Voice for the Environment. It started as a collective project with Koala Life designed to amplify the concerns and aspirations of South Australia’s budding young environmentalists. In 2024, the theme of ‘Hope’ was inspired by none other than world renowned conservations Dr. Jane Goodall who visited Adelaide and met with a number of young people. It was illuminating to hear the concerns and hopes for the future from over 160 young people aged 10-25. We are enjoying connecting with young leaders for the environment in 2025 and supporting their recommendations.
3. We delivered school and community events to build curiosity
In 2024 we engaged with 12,446 participants across a range of events to build knowledge and skills. We were involved in several Nature Festival events to also connect with the public. We also hosted numerous plantings days, professional development sessions for teachers and interactive experiences for kids.
Get your school involved today!
Does this sound interesting to you or your student? Let your school know they can still register as a Sustainable Schools anytime by using the quick and easy registration form.
You can find out more on our Sustainable Schools webpage.