Cobden Technical School, in southwest Victoria, joined the Achievement Program in 2015 to enhance the health and wellbeing initiatives available to students, staff and families.
Cassandra Crévola, wellbeing leader at Cobden Technical School, says the school has focused on the Safe Environments and Mental Health and Wellbeing health areas.
“Cobden Technical School is a passionate school community and through the Achievement Program has made evidence-based change to create a safer learning environment and to nurture students’ mental health and wellbeing.
For example, last year the school developed a Gratitude Tree to help students focus on the positive aspects of their lives, which saw it win the state-wide Healthy Schools Competition,” Ms Crévola said.
Climate and Health
Cobden Technical School is delighted with the launch of the new Climate and Health pathway, with the school already doing outstanding work in this space.
Environmental sustainability is embedded in the school curriculum with a range of hands-on learning programs available to students.
Cobden Technical School is eager to connect its current climate actions to healthy outcomes and build upon current initiatives. To name a few, activities include:
- Weekly vegetable garden sessions for Food Technology students such as growing, harvesting and cooking healthy produce. This initiative links with the Climate and Health actions of ‘eating more plants’ and ‘connecting with nature’.
- Delivering a Great Outdoors subject for middle years students. This involves students participating in off-site projects to research and analyse the impact that project will have on the environment.
- Offering science, sustainability and health projects in nearby natural environments such as the school orchard and Port Campbell beach.
Ms Crévola says the school is excited to educate and empower young people to take climate actions and make a real difference.
“The free resources such as the Climate and Health toolkit provides a great starting point for incorporating climate action into the curriculum. For our staff, the toolkit helps us quickly find ideas, it’s like using an index,” Ms Crévola said.