Sunshine Coast Grammar is excited to announce that the school has been recognised through The Educator as one of Australia’s Most Sustainable Schools in 2023.
The school takes great pride in looking outward to others and serving the community with passion and purpose. In partnership with Positive Education Schools Association (PESA), Sunshine Coast Grammar School’s People, Planet, and Progress program is at the forefront of change.
Located on a 100-acre natural rainforest site in the heart of the beautiful Sunshine Coast, Grammar is proudly a microcosm of the broader community aspirations. In 2022, the Sunshine Coast region was recognised by UNESCO as an international site of excellence, known as a biosphere.
Leading from the top, Sunshine Coast Grammar School Principal Mrs Anna Owen is a member of the Sunshine Coast Council’s Biosphere Community Advisory Board and the Buderim Foundation Youth Committee.
“We are committed to the sustainability of our region and protecting the biosphere in which we live, work and play,” said Mrs Owen.
The school takes its social and environmental responsibilities seriously and provides enriched student experiences focusing on People, Planet and Progress while delivering on the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since 2009, students have been actively encouraged to serve others in their community through their acclaimed Grammar Helping Hands servant leadership program.
“It is a priority for our students to contribute to, and remain connected to, the world around them by immersing themselves in and celebrating community at all stages of life as the Grammar journey does not stop once our students leave the school gates,” said Principal, Mrs Anna Owen.
“Through our decade-long partnership with Clean Up Australia, we have helped remove over one tonne of rubbish from local beaches. However, the greatest metric is the sustained increase in discussions related to sustainability measures and the interest from students in green initiatives, including habitat preservation on the campus, the creation of projects as diverse as native beehives and reducing waste through our Grammar Green Team initiatives.”
Beyond projects big and small, students remain committed to growing their membership in the school’s service arms and being a voice for change. The community is taking a hands-on approach to environmental care and consideration with tree plantings, recycling initiatives, wildlife encounter sessions, clothes exchanges, guest lecturers and climate change workshops.
Together with our Coordinator of Community and Service Mr Ben Princehorn, Mrs Anna Owen will also speak at the Australian Heads of Independent Schools Australia (AHISA) conference later this month about this award-winning People, Planet and Progress program.
“I have been fortunate in working alongside our fantastic staff and families to develop a local service program for our students. Teachers and schools more broadly, now more than ever, have a chance and responsibility to bring communities together and develop young people who are outward-thinking, global citizens, said Mr Ben Princehorn.
The school is proud of the journey thus far from concept to the first steps of what they believe is working towards empowering a generation of solutions-focused students, with a passion for People, Planet and Progress.
