Cooranbong Public School

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie)—I'd like to congratulate the staff and students at Cooranbong Public School on their big push towards making the school environmentally friendly and sustainable. Their impressive efforts were recognised in the 2021 Lake Macquarie School Environment Awards, with the school winning the 'Natural Environment' category. Under the guidance of the school's environmental officer Pam Hosken, all the students have become budding eco-warriors. Students have transformed what was a barren patch of playground into a thriving frog pond where a proud population of amphibians and their progeny can both be found and regularly heard. Through diligently rehabilitating the land and building bug hotels, they have brought nature back to the school. Beyond that, students have taken a keen interest in recycling and are making sure that paper and cardboard are separated and going into the appropriate bins. Students also collect fruit scraps daily and use them to create compost and feed the school's worm farm population. The compost is then used to fertilize the school's gardens and crops. I also commend the students who spend each lunch time distributing mulch throughout the school's grounds and gardens. My congratulations to everyone involved.