School grows a cool future

By Callan Date
PAKENHAM Secondary College students did their bit for the environment last Friday and planted more than 200 trees around the campus for Schools Tree Day.
Members of the school’s enviroclub made up the majority of students who helped dig holes, move mulch and coordinate the planting. Several year seven and nine students also got their hands dirty and assisted in the planting and watering of the native plants.
Enviroclub coordinator Allison Jenner said the students were really taking pride in their school grounds and wanted to make the campus an enjoyable place to be.
“With all the building works that are going on at the moment the scenery of the school can become a bit depressing and we wanted to make it a bit more enjoyable for everyone,” Ms Jenner said.
Year 10 student Mat Stanfield said he was passionate about the environment and got a lot out of being a member of the school’s enviroclub.
“The club meets every Wednesday at lunchtime and we really enjoy the work we do,” Mat said.
Students from the club recently helped clean out the lily pond in Pakenham and also have plans to investigate the use of alternative energy sources.
“Some of the boys in the club are keen to look at how we can run the two buses we have at school on biodiesel,” Ms Jenner said.
Collins Nursery in Cockatoo helped the school by donating many of the natives that were planted on the day.
Environmental group Planet Ark established Schools Tree day in conjunction with last Sunday’s National Tree Day. Victorians planted 495,000 trees in 2005 and officials hope to exceed that number this year.