This young cohort is serving practical community-based solutions straight to the big decision-makers and experts on a global wicked problem.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
St James Parish pupil Lily M said the experience of pitching to adults and being taken seriously felt great.
"It's like when you imagine when you're six becoming a unicorn, only this time your idea could become real," Lily said.
Their vision starts with what Ballarat children, just like them, can do to make this city a more sustainable place to live.
St James Parish grade five and six pupils pitched ideas to an expert panel featuring City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson, councillor Belinda Coates, Wendouree state MP Juliana Addison, Sustainability Victoria's Matt Genever and VicHealth's Claire Taylor.
And they held centre stage in the Eureka Centre theatre.
"It was good getting to practice with everyone on stage and everyone helping each other out on stage," pupil Ayden said.
"They liked the bee project and they liked when we made good eye contact."
The bee project was one of the pitches put to experts in which students propose to partner with Ballarat nurseries to teach people about bee friendly plants and raise awareness about what impact the loss of bees would have on the environment.
They suggest part of this could be grouping together and labelling bee-friendly plants to make it clear for people buying plants.
This comes after two terms of in-depth focus tailoring the curriculum to key sustainability topics.
City of Ballarat has awarded the school $2000 to turn top projects into a reality.
The bee-friendly bid was not the only project to capture attention.
Other highlights have included: a board game to be distributed to all Ballarat Primary Schools to teach peers about how they can conserve water and reduce water waste; a school battery recycling model to roll out to other schools; and a professionally recorded song to promote nude food in the playground.
Nate said there "definitely" needed to be less waste in schools.
As part of the study, pupils also took to town planning their ideal town of the future, identifying there needed to be more people in the Bridge Mall and this could be done with recreation opportunities, in-fill or as a location for a health hub.
They have also recognised the need for in-fill, rather than urban sprawl, to keep people close to important health and community services.
Pupils who spoke to The Courier said the mayor was definitely listening.
IN OTHER NEWS
City of Ballarat education and public program officer Sarah Van de Wouw worked alongside students in a series of sustainability workshops.
Ms Van de Wouw said pupils had worked hard on taking their big ideas and looking more closely at what they could do to make a difference.
"They are starting to notice things now, like what we are putting into waste," Ms Wouw said.
"That thinking is what we hope will continue to create change into the future."
St James grade five-six teacher Mel Young said pupils had enjoyed linking in to sustainability experts in Ballarat and helping each other to make sense of their community by looking to actions, not just words.
Reading this on mobile web? Download our app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you breaking news alerts. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.