Local schools get Climate Clever

Neerigen Brook Primary School is the first local school to take part in the innovative ClimateClever initiative. Students and staff will be actively engaged in reducing the carbon footprint of the school through a new data-driven app and program.

“Sustainability is a new focus for our school and taking advantage of a local program underpinned by local research, just made sense. We’re keen to reduce our carbon footprint and participation in ClimateClever will guide the process and provide concrete data on the savings made” said Anne Papaluca, Sustainability Coordinator at Neerigen Brook Primary.

The ClimateClever program is based on a two year Low Carbon Schools pilot program which commenced in 2016 and involved 15 schools in Western Australia. In addition to the environmental benefits, early results have also shown significant financial savings on utility bills.

Curtin Research Fellow and the Program’s Managing Director Dr Vanessa Rauland said “The ClimateClever Initiative is an ideal way for schools and their students to provide community leadership by demonstrating how we can all work together to create a low carbon future.”

Switch your thinking is providing a 50 per cent subsidy for local schools in the City of Armadale, City of Gosnells and Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, to participate in ClimateClever in an effort to reduce local emissions.

City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM, JP said it is important we start education and action on sustainability with our younger generations.

“This is a great, thought provoking campaign that allows students to get a better understanding of their carbon footprint and what this means for our environment.

“The City has been working with Switch Your Thinking for a number of years now and this is another example of how the program is working with our local community to understand and take action to reduce emissions,” he said.

Utilising a simple, online approach, students and staff will collate information from utility bills to measure their carbon footprint. An online Building Audit Tool will make it easy for students to record and understand how their school buildings and facilities consume resources and impact their overall carbon footprint. All of this information will feed into a Climate Action Plan that will detail how to reduce the school’s carbon footprint and track their progress.

For more information on ClimateClever or to get your school involved, visit climateclever.org.