Catholic schools across WA have been answering Pope Francis’ call ‘to care for our common home’ with a range of great projects inspired by CEWA’s Laudato Si’ Sustainability Strategy.
23 May 2025
Catholic schools embrace Laudato Si’
At Good Shepherd in Lockridge, Kindergarten students spent time leading up to Mother’s Day reflecting on how caring for the earth also means caring for the people the school community shares it with. From this reflection bloomed a heartfelt idea: crafting unique, handmade gifts using repurposed materials.
Each student created a mini ‘garden’ from ReMida items. Materials that were once destined for landfill, now transformed into treasures.
The bases were made from repurposed single-use medical plastics, while the flowers blossomed from recycled paper, pipe cleaners, and colourful scraps. Alongside each creation was a notecard, where students shared personal messages of love and appreciation for their mums.
“My mum likes purple and so I put purple on there,” said Raphaella.
“I’m making her flowers because she loves me,” shared Ava.
“I got these four colours for my family,” explained Jack, pointing out a colour chosen for each family member.
Meanwhile at Hammond Park Catholic Primary School a commitment to having a spirit of service has been combined with caring for the environment through its Eco Warriors! volunteer group. The group participate in sustainable duties across the school, including bin duties, composting, worm farming and gardening.
Emily, Year 5 Leading Eco Warrior said, “I like coming to Eco Warriors because I like helping the environment and spending time with my friend, Rose. I get to learn how to take care of worms and how to compost.”
“I go to Eco Warriors on Friday because I like to rip up the paper and put it in the tumblers. It’s good because it’s good for the environment and its fun!” added Sean, Year 2 Eco Warrior.
And with cooler weather approaching, the Eco Warriors will be harvesting worm castings and compost to enrich the garden beds for growing herbs and vegetables.
Liwara Catholic Primary School in Greenwood also embraced Pope Francis’ call in Term 1, participating in Clean Up Australia Day in March. Students from Pre-Primary to Year 6 rolled up their sleeves alongside staff to clean the school and parish grounds. The initiative fostered a hands-on approach to environmental care, with students not only collecting rubbish but also engaged in an educational ‘rubbish relay race’ – a fun and practical way to learn about waste sorting and sustainability.
Year 6 Sustainability Team students Lucy, Max and Jazmine said, “If you drop a piece of rubbish, it brings bad energy, but if you pick it up you can see how clean the world can be.”
Across town, Mother Teresa Catholic College students have been testing water quality in aquaponics tanks, caring for fish and chickens, rejuvenating bush tucker gardens, and taking part in Clean Up Schools Day.
Charlie in Year 4 shared, “I like to learn about the chickens, silver perch fish and tiger worms, as well as helping out doing jobs at lunchtime.”
Year 3 student Lili added, “It’s fun to learn about different species of plants too.”
The Green Team, made up of Years 4 to 6 students, supports the Sustainability Centre during lunch breaks. They run regular market stalls selling fresh produce, beeswax wraps, and more, with profits reinvested into the centre. These initiatives help students develop environmental and social skills that last a lifetime.
At St Gerard’s Catholic Primary School, the joy of growing, harvesting, and sharing food has become a valued part of school life. The school’s thriving garden, affectionately named the Little Green Patch, continues to flourish under the dedicated care of staff member and horticulture enthusiast Christine Wooldridge, along with a team of keen student gardeners.
Every Thursday morning, the school community gathers for Breakfast Club, a much-loved tradition hosted by staff and generously supported by Woolworths. When the Little Green Patch Garden is ready for harvest, the menu is enriched with fresh, student-grown produce, adding a seasonal and sustainable touch to the shared meal.
“We need to protect the world; we only get one!”
“I love helping out in our garden,” said Naaol, in Year One. “And I love how we get to eat them afterwards. It makes Breakfast Club even better!”
St Brigid College students have also been focused on the garden with the primary campus’ Gardening Club seeing students actively participate in the entire cycle of gardening – from seeding to harvesting. Through this hands-on experience, children learn the value of growing their own food and the importance of local, sustainable produce.
And on the opposite side of the food cycle students from St Helena’s Catholic Primary School are learning to look after the planet by composting their food scraps, growing fruits and vegetables, and planting native trees and plants.
Meanwhile, at St Norbert College the Climate Canons are driving real change through education and action. On 8 April, the group participated in a comprehensive waste audit in partnership with WasteSorted Schools, aiming to better understand and address waste habits within the College community.
Year 9 student Alcie Intan expressed her surprise at the number of recyclable containers found in the general waste bins. “We have to do better,” she said.
Fellow Year 9 student Reanna Nguyen was equally struck by the amount of edible food found in the bins.
“There was so much unopened whole food thrown away. We need to have conversations at home about what goes in our lunchboxes. Swapping food with our peers or thinking about all those in need before we waste food are small but important actions we can take.”
A Year 7 student added, “The waste audit was an eye-opener. We saw a lot of different types of waste. We need to protect the world; we only get one!”
Looking to the future Servite College is planning for a Recycling Hub designed to improve waste sorting on campus and an Upcycling Fashion Show where students will transform old garments into creative new pieces, promoting alternatives to fast fashion planned and an expansion of the College’s paper recycling program on the cards.
