Broadford Secondary College, BSC, once again teamed up with Broadford Primary School for this year’s Clean Up Australia Day event.
Organised as part of a project for BSC’s Vocational Major, VM, students, senior grades from both schools met at Harley Hammond Reserve for a cooperative effort to clean up rubbish in different areas around Broadford.
VM teacher Kerry Reardon said the day was a good event for the college’s students and showed a strong relationship between the two schools.
“They take it so seriously, they’re so good about interacting with the primary school kids,” she said.
“They just love the fact that we can do this as applied learning, so we’re taking all that stuff that we sit in the classroom talking about and we’re getting out here and actually doing something. Having that recognition is just fantastic for the kids.”
Walking around Broadford for around an hour last Friday gave students a chance to collect as much rubbish as possible, with the top collectors awarded with prizes donated by various local businesses.
Broadford Primary School students were separated into multiple groups and led by BSC’s VM students to focus on different areas of the town, while also strengthening the bond between the year six students and the year 11s and 12s.
“It’s great for the kids to actually have that opportunity to go out and help clean up and take some pride in the community,” Ms Reardon said.
“The fact that they’re doing this with the older kids and they’re seeing it as a role modelling thing as well is another fantastic example of what we can do in our communities.”
VM student Brooke Mazzarella said while the day was valuable to help clean up Broadford, it was also a learning opportunity for the primary school students.
“It’s a way to show the year sixes how to clean up and make sure you’re picking up all your rubbish and everything like that,” she said.
“It’s honestly a really good experience for us. I saw year 12 do it last year and it was fun being able to just see what they got up to.
“Being in year 12 VM, it gives us a chance to be able to meet people, go out and discuss things, and the organisation of the event to make sure it all goes well is a good change.”
