8,023 students across 19 Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Western Adelaide were ‘Kept in the Dark’ on Friday 13th May as part of Catholic Education Week and the schools’ commitment to environmental sustainability.
The 19 school sites who participated were:
Nazareth Catholic College (Primary and Secondary), Immaculate Heart of Mary School, St Michaels College (Primary and Secondary), St John Bosco School, St Joseph’s School (Hindmarsh), Tenison Woods Catholic Primary School, St Francis School, Star of the Sea School, Whitefriars School, Our Lady of the Visitation School, Dominican School, Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish School, Mount Carmel College, St Margaret Marys School, St Patricks School, St Joseph’s School (Ottoway), and Our Lady Queen of Peace School.
The 19 schools joined in a collaborative effort to support a common cause - participating in “Kept in the Dark day”. Students and staff switched off all non-essential and unnecessary power and lighting for the entire day across the 19 sites.
“Our calculations show that we will be able to save 1 Tonne of Carbon Dioxide Gas emissions (CO2) for every 1000 students in a day, so for 8,023 that’s over 8 tonnes in just one day” said Mr Michael Honey, Campus Principal at Nazareth Catholic College (Primary). "Our staff prepared for an entirely different learning experience, highlighting the importance of environmental sustainability and awareness with students, and the difference an individual can make", Michael said.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to work in solidarity with our Catholic school colleagues in the Western suburbs. While reducing power consumption today is both practical and awareness raising in nature, it is also a timely reminder to re-evaluate our everyday approach to the use of electricity. It is hoped that by limiting the use of non-essential appliances such as lights, projectors and air conditioners, we show that behaviours can be modified to meet a need” said St Michael’s College Principal, Mr John Foley.
Year 7 Nazareth student Lauren said “We use technology every day at school, and it will be nice to see how much nature will benefit from just one day without using it. It feels good to know that it’s not impossible to make a change, and that we are helping to make sure that the environment can stay healthy for everyone in the future”.
Year 8 St Michael’s student Oscar believes that “this is an important initiative that can demonstrate how we can better care for our Earth”.
Isla, Year 1 at Dominican School said:
"We learnt about earth hour in science, then when we had school we actually did earth hour - so, no lights or computers on or anything that gets plugged in. You know, when we save on power we're actually helping to save animals by helping the earth, so that's pretty cool isn't it?"
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