In addition to participating in various sustainability programs, students in the Green Team actively take part in the college and external leadership opportunities.
Sir John Monash Awards 2023
Chinmayi J has won two prestigious awards at the Sir John Monash Awards ceremony held at the Museum of Australian Photography, Wheelers Hill, last night.
Sustainability Leadership award
Overall Outstanding Leadership award
Chinmayi is the Green Team captain in 2023 and an active member of the SRC. She has been the driving force behind many successful student-led initiatives such as the house litter challenge, Brentcast, trash toss, solar buddy and many more.
Bike Safety Check Program 2023
The Green Team, in partnership with the Monash City Council, organised a Bike Safety Check Program at Brentwood on 11th November 2023. Nearly 30 bikes were serviced/repaired during the three hours. The Green Team is happy that there are 30 more safe riders on the roads now. This initiative has helped Green Team achieve SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing and SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals.
Thank you to City of Monash, and Brain Waves bikes, for running the program at Brentwood.
Oz Harvest Donations 2023
Oz Harvest HQ was very excited to receive the 50 kilos of pantry staples and other goodies from Brentwood SC Environmental Science Class, Year 11.
The teacher students did a food drive to assist Oz Harvest as they are studying food insecurity, which is rapidly on the rise.
The class had a visit from Katharine Balson, the Victorian Education Coordinator, who spoke about Oz Harvest and also the issues with food waste. She found the class to be knowledgeable and engaged.
These generous donations will be given out to members of the community who are in need, and we are very grateful for your support.
NextGen Landcare Youth Forum 2022
The Brentwood Green Team presented at the Intrepid NextGen Landcare online Youth Forum on 23 August for 60 other like-minded schools passionate about the environment. Congratulations to Brendan, Arvind, Katie, Anais, Saadana, Nikhil for sharing Brentwood's story at the NextGen Youth Forum.
The NextGen Landcare Youth Forum has been designed for senior primary school students, high school students and youth groups aged 18 or under. Senior primary school students, high school students and youth groups aged 18 or under from all over Australia are invited to participate in the online forum.
A recording of our presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5O8DstQ4Qw&t=2s
Full article: https://intrepidlandcare.org/nextgen-landcare-youth-forum-2022/
Student Engagement and Voice in Environment Network (SEVEN)
The Brentwood Green Team launched SEVEN in 2020 with the aim to network and coach our neighbourhood schools in their sustainability journey.
SEVEN meets every term via Teams meeting and provides an opportunity for students to share their successes and challenges in sustainability projects.
Student Engagement and Voice in Environment Network (SEVEN) Meeting 2022
The Brentwood Green Team hosted another successful session of the SEVEN meeting on 24 August. Congratulations to Brendan, Arvind, Katie, Nikhil, Diti and Saadana for presenting at this SEVEN online meeting and making it a huge success! Over 30 students from seven different schools (Brentwood Secondary College, Mallauna College, Our Lady's Primary School, Vermont Primary School, Mazenod College, Avila College, Wheelers Hill Primary School) participated and shared their successes, challenges, and future sustainability projects at their schools. A special shout out to Saadana for designing the SEVEN logo!
Thank you to Jessie, the RSS facilitator from EASL for taking the minutes of the meeting and arranging certificates for the participants.
BiC Photo Competition
Brentwood submitted photos of our writing instruments collections to the BiC Photo competition. We received a certificate and stationery pack worth $100 for winning this competition.
The recycling stations placed in the library and general staffroom collect old markers, pens, textas each year. The writing instruments are dropped off at the local collection hub run by TerraCycle.
Recycle Right Challenge
Brentwood ended as a runner up in the recent Recycle Right Challenge run by Planet Ark. Brentwood received a copy of the famous 2040 movie DVD and book signed by Damon Gameau and two boxes of recycled paper from Planet Ark.
The Brentwood Green Team ‘Recycle Right’ video was submitted to this challenge.
EEV Awards 2020
This is a very proud moment for Brentwood and the Green Team!
Henry LIM, our Green Team captain, from 2020, has been shortlisted as one of the finalists at this year's Environment Education Victoria's 'Student of the Year' award. The winners are going to be announced at a virtual awards ceremony to be held at 7 pm on 27 November.
Henry arrived in Australia just a year ago and has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills. In addition to leading several Green Team projects this year, Henry is also the student representative on the School Council and brought Brentwood international recognition last year through his speech at the Global Food Summit.
Harmony Day 2021
On 23 March, the Brentwood Green Team organised a quiz board stall to celebrate Harmony day’s lunchtime activities. Students were encouraged to test their knowledge about environment-related questions from various countries across the world.
Participants who answered questions correctly were rewarded with lollypops.
The stall had a great outcome with many students giving the quiz board a try! It was an amazing experience to run the stall and get students from every year level to have a laugh and learn simultaneously.
Eco-friendly periods for Vic Schools
Brentwood supported MGC's Eco-friendly periods for Vic Schools campaign by signing individual petitions and sending a photo of our support to the campaign.
Teenovators - Global Food Summit 2019
Global Table is a three-day Global Food Innovation Summit, that brought together leaders of all ages to convene in Melbourne and address the global issues affecting our food system. The summit was held at the Melbourne Showgrounds from 3 to 6 September. https://globaltable.com.au/
Four students from the Brentwood Green Team embraced an opportunity offered by Global Table to participate in the summit, by submitting our applications on a sustainability topic that was close to our heart. Each student was given a free 3-day VIP pass to attend the conference and network with sustainability leaders from all over the world. As Teenovators, we were also given the privilege of opening every conference session with our ideas, inspiring current and future generations of leaders.
Here is a brief reflection from the Teenovators that attended the Global Table Summit:
On Thursday I was fortunate enough to reside a speech where I talked about the key challenges we are facing in the world. My topic was based around the food regulation for an innovative food industry. As a field with little education it is hard to find innovation in food in Australia, as we are restricted by our own disciplines. As I finish, one thing remains certain that to talk your mind is not crime, and that with the future we will continue to think critically about the food we consume. And this is why I urge us all to work together and do our best to contribute to a sustainable future.
- Samantha Shave (Year 11 Student)
It was an amazing experience and the right platform to initiate the impact and the betterment for 2050. I was asked to speak about ‘Paradigm Shifts: Food Experiences from the Future’ In my opinion, food is more than just fuel: it's an experience. From the sharing economy to new retail solutions to culinary tourism, this experience is undergoing significant change. By exploring the relationship between food and experience, we can better understand why we eat, what we eat, and why food is such a powerful language in every culture. My emphasis was mainly on dealing with the high demand for meat and irreversible catastrophe associated with its consumption like developing plant-based meat from biomimicry, growing plants from hydrogels and growing the actual animal meat from the cells. It was also a great networking opportunity with the policymakers, start ups, entrepreneurs, researchers and investors who are all motivated by a singular desire to tangibly affect change at every point in the global food chain.
- Shreeya Kalagotla (Year 11 Student)
My name is Henry Lim and for the past 3 days I attended the Global Table Summit, as a teenovator, mainly focused on the 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). It was inspiring to hear from keynote speakers such as John F. Kerry, the 68th secretary of the United States, Dr Howard-Yana Shapiro, the chief agricultural officer, Mars incorporated and Shama Sukul Lee, the founder and CEO of Sunfed.
I spoke on the topic “The Future of Hemp”. Hemp is a type of cannabis which are used for their fibre as it is very sustainable and is completely biodegradable. The topic of my speech was microplastics and how the usage of bioplastics made of hemp can solve this. Plastics are often dumped into the ocean and companies such as 4Ocean cleaning it up we have hope for the near coming future. But the longer plastics stay in the oceans the smaller they become from degradation, they reach a point where they are small enough for plankton to eat them which are then eaten by small fish which are then eaten by bigger fish which are then eaten by us. To simplify it, what we throw away ends up on the menu. However, with the usage of bioplastics, this problem can be solved as it only takes 3-6 months for the bioplastic to fully biodegrade and they are non-toxic towards the environment.
- Henry Lim (Year 10 Student)
On Thursday 5th September I, alongside three other Green Team members had the opportunity to participate in the Global Table, an international event where businessmen, brands come to pitch their ideas and likeminded speakers come together to address issues to do with agriculture.
I was lucky enough to give a one-minute speech on ‘Food systems and nutrition’ for the session ‘Let Food be Thy Medicine’. With only a basic knowledge of the food system and agriculture, I found myself learning so much from the panellists and the new food innovations being produced. It is through utilising food as medicine to treat health diseases, we are able to combat them and create pathways for them to be distributed in the market.
Talking about a topic that I was passionate about was such a great experience as I got to address an important issue to not only co-operate businessmen but also got to meet big names in the food industry, such as Dr. Sandro Demaio and Dr. Mary Ann Augustin. You also learn how networking can help you out in the future and making new acquaintances in the event.
Being on stage was a nerve-wrecking, yet electrifying experience. This event was a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity and I will be forever grateful for being introduced to this by not only Mr. Kalva, but also the Green Team. I recommend to everyone that if you’re ever given an opportunity like this, go for it! You have nothing to lose and it’s such a rewarding experience.
- Crystal Lim (Year 11 Student)
Model Solar Car Challenge
The Brentwood Green Team and Digi-tech club have teamed up to participate in this year’s Model Solar Car Challenge (http://www.modelsolar.org.au/).
The challenge will involve students designing a model car as per the competition guidelines that runs on solar energy. The whole exercise is expected to give our students knowledge and skills in design-thinking, mechanics, aerodynamics, electronics and sustainability. The two teams involved are going to spend several sessions during lunch and over the term holidays to build and test their design. The final competition is going to take place on October 20 and 21 at Science works. We wish both our teams all the best for this challenge. Participating students: Alexander Green, Chinmayi Jonnalagadda, Folger Kong, James Dixon, Riley Daniels, Yash Vardhan.
We are thankful to Waverley Toyota for their generosity in sponsoring Brentwood teams for this challenge. The financial assistance provided by Waverley Toyota is going to help us purchase the materials, including solar panels, required for building the model solar cars.
Paul Croft (Digi-tech club Coordinator) and Venkata Kalva (Sustainability Coordinator)
Salvos Christmas Appeal
One big thing that came out of the Future Environmetal Leaders Program (FELP) was the introduction of Slavos Christmas Appeal at Brentwood Secondary College.
Navika Moudgil researched into 'homelessness' as her project as a part of the FELP program. She approached various instituitions that are involved in helping the homeless people. Navika's research ended when she met the Waverley Salvation Army. Salvos Christmas Appeal was introduced at Brentwood to collect essentials and support Salvos to distributet them to those that need them.
The Brentwood community need to be commended for their full support in donating essential items.
The Green Team has been running the Salvos Chrstmas Appeal every year since 2017.
EPA Conference
On 18 August 2017, students from the Brentwood Green Team attended a sustainability conference at the Federation square, hosted by EPA on the topic, 'World's most liveable city: Can Science help Melbourne do better'.
The conference looked at the strategies that need to be implemented to make Melbourne not only liveabale by improving the infrastructure for transport, waste disposal etc, but also how to make it a sustainable city.
Super Problem, Simple Solution
Six students from the Green Team were given an opportunity to participate in the ‘Super Problems’ program offered by the Monash Tech School. The focus of this STEM based program was identifying how to optimise electricity usage at our school.
Over three days, our team investigated the amount of electricity Brentwood uses daily and came up with a solution that could potentially reduce our usage and bills. On November 21, we interviewed school leadership team, staff, students and participated in a video conference with MTS facilitators to get an overview of Brentwood’s electricity usage. On November 22 and 23, we went to the Monash Tech School to engage ourselves in designing a solution for our issue using the design thinking process. We came up with a prototype that would minimise the electricity usage at the school. The solution we proposed involves an investment of $7000 with a one-year payback period and 400% return on investment, that would significantly reduce our usage and bills! We pitched this idea to the other schools and facilitators at the Monash Tech School.
The program provided us an opportunity to learn how to work as a team to find solution for real-life problems. The six of us involved in the program, Aanya Bedi, Chinmayi Jonnalagadda, Emil Dommenget, Hardik Jagtap, Hritik Jagtap and Swee Siang Ng, would like to thank Brentwood community and the Monash Tech School for supporting us in this investigation.
Future Environmental Leaders Program (FELP)
Nine students from Brentwood were lucky to secure a spot in the Future Environmental Leaders Program (FELP) organised by the Centre for Sustainability
Leadership. All participants had to complete an online application and sit an interview in August to secure a spot in this program. The participants include:
Nancy Huang - 9D, Jessica Ji - 9E, Jayden Duong - 9 J, Dhilan Chotai - 9 J, Mohammad Moeez - 9 J, Navika Moudgil - 91, Karwan Angulugaha Gamage - 9 J,
Aasima Ansari - ICE and Momoka Sakamoto - ICE.
The first workshop was held at Chestnut Hill Conference lodge, Kallista from 1 - 3 September. At this weekend retreat, we were joined by 8 students from two other colleges. We engaged in activities that taught us how to become good leaders, work as a group, contribute to a groups Success and how to get others to engage in the initiatives we take up. We shared why we were passionate about the environment and sustainability. All school groups were asked to brainstorm and finalise a school/community based project to investigate and find solutions. The two groups from Brentwood chose the issues of poverty and food waste as group projects. In the next three months, we are now going to come up with ways to reduce food waste and raise awareness about poverty in our community.
As a part of the program we are required to complete an online leadership training and attend six workshops in Melbourne CBD. During the workshops, all groups will share the progress in their chosen group project and involve in further leadership programs. At the final workshop on 1 December, we are required to showcase the result of our project. I hope all nine of us can work together to create a positive change at our beloved school, Brentwood.
Egg Carton Collection for Pantry 5000
Pantry 5000 is a Food Bank run by Longbeach Anglican Parish that provides emergency and ongoing food relief for people in the Southern Kingston and Northern Frankston municipalities. The charity provides fresh food every week to hundreds of people in the community who are doing it tough.
Pantry 5000 gets eggs in large trays from organisations such as Second Bite and Foodbank Victoria but needs empty egg cartons to put them into. Brentwood has been donating empty egg cartons to Pantry 5000 since last year. Any donations can be placed under the recycling station in the main staffroom.
Positivity Week
The Brentwood Green Team ran various activities on Team building and to test the community's knowledge on Sustainability topics as a part of the Positivity Week lunch-time activities organised by the SRC.
The Green Team gave away prizes to the winners from the activities conducted.
Sustainability Student Leadership Day 2016
On the 5th of August, a group of seven students represented Brentwood at the “Sustainability Student Leadership Day”. The program was held at the Werribee Open Range Zoo, hosted by Environment Education Victoria. The day was titled ‘Noah’s Ark’ and the question given to us to answer by end of the day was “Can humanity survive without wildlife?”. The program allowed students to improve their leadership skills, by interacting with other students from a variety schools in order to come up with ideas surrounding the question. We had the opportunity to learn about different animals including the endangered Australian species, Eastern Barred Bandicoots. We also enjoyed sharing ideas with individuals who share the same passion to protect our environment.
The students were also split into groups to discuss many questions that were based on the ‘Noah’s Ark’ theme. Can humanity really survive without wildlife? How important is wildlife in today's society? Is it required to build a ‘Noah’s Ark’ in future to conserve our wildlife? The students were then given time to combine their ideas and present them to the whole team.
The students were also provided with many more resources by Werribee Zoo to take home, including a broad spectrum of knowledge. They were invited to join the beads for life program and were provided a mobile recycling bin to bring back to school. This program made sure all the students were able to appreciate the unique world they live in.
To finish off the day we took an exciting journey on the safari bus, where we were able to get up really close to the animals in open range enclosures, which were very close to their natural habitat.
As a follow up action from the leadership day, the Green team has placed the mobile phone recycling bin in our school library. We request staff, students and parents to use this bin to recycle their old mobile phone. Brentwood has managed to collect nearly 10kg of old mobile phones over the last two years and send them for recycling.
Jenny WOANG and Lekha KRISHNA, Year 11 Environmental Science Students
UN Youth Sustainability Summit 2015
On 14 September, members of Brentwood’s Green Team participated in the United Nations Youth Sustainability Summit in central Melbourne, a conference run by the UN youth organization. The summit was a day long forum dedicated to providing students with the opportunity to explore the theme of a rapidly growing and changing global community and the challenges it may face. Within the program we were addressed by many speakers, including activist Jonathan La Nauze (Healthy Ecosystems Program Manager, Australian Conservation Foundation), Sam Loni (Global Coordinator, Sustainable Development Solutions Network Youth) and Corina Ritchie (Victorian Coordinator, SEED Indigenous Youth Climate Network), this inspired greater awareness of the shifting climate and its ramifications.
Throughout the day we were divided into workshops where contentious topics, such as climate, natural resource, food security and development were discussed. This provided us with new concepts and a better insight. Furthermore, we had the chance to trial a mock Climate Change Treaty, which was proven to develop our interpersonal skills through cooperating with other students to produce a desirable outcome. Overall, it was proven to be a productive day that ultimately strengthened and cemented concepts of climate change, whilst being inclusive of its vast implications. We can say we believe the day was a great success and that we are extremely enthusiastic in visiting more seminars and events akin to this in the upcoming future.
Kids Teaching Kids 2015
On 11 September, six students from the Green Team participated in this year’s Kids Teaching Kids Program (KTK) hosted by Silverton Primary School, Noble Park. KTK aims to inspire future environmental leaders, who hope to carry on the message and help spread awareness of environmental sustainability.
During the day, we participated in different workshops that focused on the impact of humans on the environment and the consequences. We presented a workshop on energy resources in which the other students were taught about the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non- renewable energy, through the use of a play and an engaging activity. The former was a retelling of the movie, ‘Monsters Inc.’, connecting the characters and themes in the story to portray the renewable energy of the world. On the other hand, a popcorn activity was used to demonstrate the decline of non-renewable energy resources.
Overall, the day was a great success as we picked up new leadership qualities, including team building, being patient while listening to others and problem-solving skills.
Sustainability Conference 2015
On the 24 August, eight students from Brentwood attended a Sustainability conference at the Somers School Camp. This group comprised of the Green Team leaders, SRC representatives and year 12 Environmental Science students. The conference focused on how to take humanity into the future after
an apocalypse. Over the course of the day students participated in various team building activities and learnt new skills, including orienteering and archery. Through getting to know other likeminded individuals, all the students formed connections and friendships within the Victorian school network increasing the sense of community.
‘Life on Mars’ – Environment Student Leadership Day 2014
On Wednesday 22 October, eight selected students from years 9 to 11 represented Brentwood in the Environmental leadership day. This was run at the Victorian Space Science Education Centre and allowed students around Victoria to collaborate and discuss ‘Whether Mars is a viable place to live if Earth is no longer suitable for humanity’.
Each student was assigned a certain specialist area out of energy, atmosphere, health, urban planning, water/waste, architecture and agriculture. We then attended a three-hour discussion and activities, which identified the different aspects and fundamentally how it is relevant to humanity thriving on Mars. After the discussion, students were then put into groups that contained a person from each specialist area and worked together to finally conclude if Mars is an option for humanity.
The day was extremely interesting and effectively tested our communication, collaboration, problem solving and public speaking skills. We also got to experience a guided tour of a model of Mar’s surface, experiencing first-hand what living on Mars would be like. The day ended with a presentation on the different careers in the environmental field and an explanation of how the different skills we have, especially communication skills, can be more important when applying for a tertiary institute than how much knowledge we have. It was an extraordinary day and has really helped my peers and I understand the applications of our environmental science education.
- Nicholas McEniry, Captain, BSC Green Team