Barbecues were held late last year and continue around Melbourne in the next few weeks bringing together families who have enrolled their children at one of the 8 new schools as part of the New Schools PPP Project. The days have attracted lots of families enjoying the BBQs and activities run by YMCA Victoria.

Both parents and students were all thrilled about the schools’ state of the art facilities and to be part of the journey from the start. During the day, students got to meet their teachers, future classmates and familiarise themselves with the facilities and playground.

CERES Education Outreach had the opportunity to hold a stall at these events with engaging materials for both parents and students to start the conversation about the ResourceSmart Schools program which we’ll be delivering to each new school. We talked about some of the sustainability initiatives that the school will be implementing and the benefits for the students. We also had some samples of low-cost nude food equipment to introduce the concept to the parents and encourage them to reduce packaging in the lunch box.

We had some great discussions and captured some of the students & parents interests on our vision board. We also had a Sustainability Team sign up sheet and managed to get a few parents and students on board, which is very promising and exciting!

Randy at the Featherbrook P-9 College Community BBQ

Harvest Home PS’ vision board for their school

Alex at the Tulliallan PS Community BBQ

Our stall at the John Henry PS Community BBQ

Here’s a video from the Featherbrook P-9 Community BBQ in November last year: