Sustainability at our College
Notre Dame College takes great pride in its sustainability student group, Terra Tomodachi. ‘Terra’ means ‘Earth’ in Italian, and ‘Tomodachi’ means ‘Friends’ in Japanese. The group meets once a fortnight to plan and advance sustainability initiatives, participate in relevant field trips and develop their knowledge of best practice care for the earth.
The college has appointed a Sustainability Coordinator and Sustainability Student Leaders to guide this group. If you have a passion for sustainability and would like to be more involved in this part of college life, please contact one of our sustainability leaders.
Mr Phil Guthrie - Sustainability Coordinator
phil.guthrie@notredame.vic.edu.au
Mia Dainton
Sustainability Leader 2024
Piper Canning
Sustainability Leader 2024
Sustainability Coordinator Phil Guthrie has been doing the rounds at house assemblies promoting our dream for a 'litter free' College through responsible waste disposal.
Click to watchSustainability Leaders
Our Sustainability Coordinator is supported by our 2024 Sustainability Leaders, Mia Dainton and Piper Canning.
The Sustainability Leaders promote and give students a voice to sustainability within and beyond the College community. They will also be active members of Terra Tomadarchi.
Responsibilities include:
- having the ability to enthuse the College community in the area of sustainability and to take a leading role in this area within the College.
- demonstrating creativity and energy in the area of student involvement in sustainability projects and events.
- keeping the school body informed about sustainability initiatives within the College via assemblies, the College Newsletter and social media, and the daily bulletins.
- coordinating and/or assisting in various sustainability initiatives/projects within the College.
As of 2020 Notre Dame College has made a commitment to be more sustainable in all management practices throughout the college. To help with this endeavor, the college became part of the ResourceSmart Schools program offered by Sustainability Victoria. The aim of which is to help schools embed sustainability across all facilities, communities, and curriculum and help save resources and money.
Through ResourceSmart the college is committed to progress through the 5 Stars Program and become a Leadership School in sustainability. Each of the 5 Stars has a specific requirement for completion and requires staff and students to undertake initiatives and activities to help achieve common goals.
The main focus of the college throughout 2020-2023 is the Waste Module, with the goal being to help educate the college (staff, students and the community) about waste and how to reduce our landfill as well as the associated costs.
Much has happened:
- 2020 saw a Bin Audit of the Emmaus campus where the bins were counted and examined for contamination. The results were promising but showed us that further education was required. To watch the video CLICK HERE.
- In 2021, the Knight St campus completed their own Bin Audit and it revealed that a complete overhaul of the practices on this campus is required. To watch the video CLICK HERE.
- 2022 we also saw some new bins arriving at the College, CLICK HERE. These have been placed strategically around the college with clear, consistent signage to encourage responsible disposal and increasing recycling.
- 2023 has been a highly active and positive year with Terra Tomodachi students attending a Youth Congress on Climate Change in Shepparton and subsequently developing a range of new sustainability project ideas for NDC, including a herb garden at Knight Street and a second hand clothing market.
The Terra Tomodachi Sustainability Garden
Our Terra Tomodachi students in conjunction with our gardening team have created a new sustainability garden at the front of the hospitality complex on Knight Street campus, south side.
Resources for the Community
 | How to dispose of common items: Shepparton Council Resale Shop: |