Wenona marked Environment Week, with a series of student-led activities built around World Environment Day.
Environment Captains Sanaya and Izzy (Year 11) launched their initiatives at a special Environment Week Senior School Assembly, where they encouraged their peers with simple suggestions for sustainability at School, from signing environmental petitions to fundraising for a worthy environmental cause.
For the rest of the week, they focused their passion by inviting students to collect rubbish around the grounds in exchange for a brownie, during their regular Environment Club meeting session. They will mark World Environment Day itself on Friday 5 June, by selling green ribbons for a gold coin donation at the gate, with the proceeds going to an environment-related charity.
Sanaya says the cause is very personal for her. “I care about wildlife and their surrounding environment, through seeing the adverse impact that pollution and environmental degradation can have on animals,” she said. That concern has led her to take her passion beyond the School gates and into wider initiatives such as bush care participation and beach clean-ups. “I think it is important that we look after local ecosystems, as even small actions can make a positive difference for wildlife and the environment.”
Beyond Environment Week, the Club has been looking at environmental issues around the world and gathering ideas from other schools, with a view to introducing small initiatives that would make Wenona more sustainable over time. What Sanaya values most is the conversation that follows. “I enjoy seeing students getting involved, contributing to discussions and sharing their ideas on the environment,” she said.
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 and first held on 5 June 1973, under the slogan “Only One Earth”. It is led by the UN Environment Programme and now marked by more than 150 countries.
Sanaya’s hope is that Wenona students will leave with a clearer sense of why caring for the environment matters, and how to do it where they can. “Together an entire community effort fosters connections where change can be made,” she said.
