Blog

With the goal of securing carbon neutrality, Albert Park Primary School (APPS) has actively made it a priority to reduce their carbon footprint.

The 15th Annual School Sustainability Festival was held online for the first time in November 2020, uniting schools across Victoria to celebrate inspiring actions our youth are taking to create a more just and sustainable world -- even during a pandemic. For further information please contact the Port Phillip EcoCentre at ecocentre.com/schoolsfestival or schools@ecocentre.com The festival was proudly sponsored by the City of Port Phillip and Bayside City Council. This project was funded with support of the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation.

NatureSpot Spring 2020 survey results are in!

279 spots, 173 fauna, 120 flora and 6 fungi submitted by citizen scientists over five weeks -- thank you for contributing to catalogue urban biodiversity! We've put together a snapshot of this data.
 

Join the EcoCentre’s Matt McArthur on a dive into the Port Phillip Bay to discover the biology, migration and distribution of native Giant Spider Crabs (Leptomithrax gaimardii). You may have heard of the Giant Spider Crab aggregation events in the shallow waters of our Bay during winter. In the seminar recording below, Matt shares his stories and explains why marine biologists and scientists believe these fascinating creatures gather in shallow waters for such events every year.

Effective green teams in your school can help drive a culture of sustainability. Here are some of our top tips on how to create effective green teams in your school community:

Resist the urge to do this work on your own.

Have conversations with colleagues, leadership, the school business manager, parents and of course your students. You will find traction for your ideas in one or more of these conversations. It is important to have succession in mind. If you were to leave the school, would the Green Team and its work continue and thrive.

Along with public parks, gardens on private land can help enhance biodiversity and improve our wellbeing. Download our free Grow Wild backyard biodiversity guide to find out which plants to choose to support urban wildlife in your garden or balcony.

Potentially a world-first, Caulfield Primary School has installed a bilingual compost system with signage in both English and Japanese.

The Student Environment Club designed the signs so students could understand what does and doesn't belong in the compost bins in both languages.
 

Download our free nature bingo card and see what nature you can see, hear, and smell from your balcony or backyard! Fill in the card and tag us on Instagram (@ecocentrestkilda), Twitter (@ecocentrestk) or Facebook (@ecocentrestkilda).

Click the photo to download the bingo card.

We’re keeping our volunteers, staff, educators, students, and broader community safe.

The EcoCentre is adapting our programs based on expert public health advice. Until further notice, the EcoCentre will be connecting you to nature online.

We're launching a series of Thursday 6pm workshops and presentations.

Guest blog post by Alive Outside Snorkelling Safari participant, Shreya (12 years old)

The waves slithered onto my feet as I took a step closer. The sun was scorching and the water was cooling, just a perfect snorkelling day. I splashed into the water and slipped on my fins and started walking backwards, so that I didn't fall.