Parap Primary School is calling on the Top End community to get on board to help make Darwin a more environmentally friendly place to live!
The school’s ‘Eco Committee’, made up of students, parents and teachers, has been busy making reusable shopping bags (based on the Boomerang Bags initiative) to distribute at markets and local shops to replace single use plastic bags.
Chelsea Collins, Parap Primary School teacher said the bags are the brain child of the school’s ‘Eco Warriors’ who identified the bags as a way to create more awareness of the need to reduce, reuse and recycle.
“Our ‘Eco Warriors’, a group of students from all year levels, meet once a week to discuss environmental issues and identify ways to make the school and community more sustainable and eco-friendly,” Ms Collins said.
“Over the years, the ‘Eco Warriors’ have driven a whole school focus towards litter and waste and students have established a successful recycling depot at the school. They’ve also arranged successful events such as ‘plant a tree day’ and have established an eco-garden.
“The idea of the reusable bags stemmed from our students talking about the need to create partnerships with local community networks, particularly the markets as we see the overuse of plastics all the time.”
“The process of creating the bags is one which involves the school community.
“Our ‘eco-mums’ meet each Wednesday to sew the bags and our students have been busy screen printing for the labels.
“We would like the Darwin community to get on board and support our dream of making the community more environmentally friendly.”
The bags will be available in the coming weeks from Parap Fine Foods, Paraphernalia Gift Shop in Parap and Greenies Real Food in Rapid Creek. All money raised goes back into Parap Primary School’s eco-fund, so they can use it for other sustainable initiatives in the school.
The school is calling for the wider community to be involved by donating materials or volunteering their time to help sew or stitch the bags. Any businesses that have a space available to share and promote the bags are also encouraged to get in touch.
If you want to donate or be involved, please email Parap Primary School: parappsoffice@ntschools.net.
Media contact: Joss Wyer 0401 119 215