The Member for Davidson, Jonathan O’Dea, has praised the Forestville Montessori School for its latest move towards becoming a sustainable community, and to be carbon positive before 2010.
“The school has installed twelve solar panels, which on average, are expected generate 4 thousand kilowatts of power each year.
“The $22,000 project will reduce the school’s drain on the national grid,” Mr O’Dea said, “and has received prestigious recognition through winning the $5,000 2nd prize in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Earth Hour Competition.
Students at the Forestville Montessori School have raised around $5,000 through their “Montessori Markets”, where they sold craft works, food, seedlings and “school grown” vegetables. Warringah Council and the Commonwealth Government have also contributed to the project costs.
“The students will continue to be involved through monitoring the power generated by the solar panels and through further fund raising,” Mr O’Dea said
“It is expected the current system will save around 4 tonnes of greenhouse emissions annually. Plans are already in the pipeline to install even more panels by Christmas, saving another 2 tonnes of CO2 each year.
“I congratulate the school for its environmental emphasis,” Mr O’Dea said.
“The school already uses its own rainwater for gardens and flushing toilets and students are involved in a number of environmental garden projects,” he said.
“Each of the initiatives is aimed at creating a cleaner, more sustainable environment while at the same time, teaching the next generation about the importance of being environmentally responsible.
“The school management, teachers, parents and students should be commended for their outstanding work,” Mr O’Dea concluded.
