The Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre is a Victorian facility funded by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) to educate students from Prep to Year 12, teachers and the community about the environment and sustainability. Opened in 2005, the Bacchus Marsh based centre has a number of educational programs in place, teaching visitors about sustainable water practices, including “How real is climate change?”, the “Sustainability Trail”, “Visible and invisible pollutants”, “Plant propagation”, “Wetland energy transfer”, and “Environmental indicators”. These programs have now been incorporated as part of the curriculum for many schools in Victoria. Ecolinc also communicate water saving activities on an ongoing basis through their online newsletter Newslinc, as well as via their extensive website.

The centre currently sees over 8,000 students, as well as approximately 1,400 teachers and visitors each year. The centre has an enthusiastic team of teaching and non-teaching staff who are committed to sustainable principles. Regular professional development, as well as all staff having a personal interest in continuing to learn about the latest developments and practices in the environment arena ensure that the centre is at the forefront of curriculum development and recognised as leaders in this area.

Ecolinc lead by example when it comes to saving water, with ecologically sustainable design principles used during the design and construction of the centre. The site includes two 22,500 litre tanks for flushing indoor toilets and watering within the horticultural area, as well as two outdoor waterless composting toilets. Additional features of the facility include a 654,000 litre habitat wetland that has its water supplied through recycled urban stormwater. Furthermore, the facility also includes an online building management system that allows for simple monitoring of water and energy use.

The Ecolinc Science and Technology Innovations Centre has impressively saved over 1.5 ML through its sustainable design and water management practices. Countless litres of water have additionally been saved as a flow on effect of students using their Ecolinc experience to begin water saving initiatives within their own schools and homes.

The Glen Waverley campus of Wesley College has been working in partnership with Yarra Valley Water for over 10 years in pursuit of water efficiency improvements. They have undertaken a range of strategies to ensure that water is being used wisely, as well as investigating and developing alternative water supplies.

Recently the campus has invested in a major water recycling initiative, which involves the pumping of ground water from an existing bore and treating it at an onsite desalination plant. The project has practically eliminated the need to use drinking water outdoors, with the system removing salt from the ground water, making it suitable for reuse on the campus’ sportsgrounds. Furthermore, the water from the plant has been connected to all pipes throughout the campus allowing it to be used in the flushing of toilets and the topping up of the pool. The operation of the desalination system has resulted in an impressive saving of 6 ML of potable water in a year.

In addition, the Glen Waverley campus has converted their spray irrigation to drip irrigation in the garden beds, increased the use of soil wetting agents and drought tolerant plants, and changed to warm season grasses. Installation of water tanks has also helped in reducing dependency on potable water.

Bentleigh West Primary School has a commitment to water conservation and sustainability, which is embedded within the culture of their school community, and extends beyond the school grounds. They aim to harvest, reuse and recycle every drop of water, as well as educate and empower their students to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future.

“Water saving at Bentleigh West Primary School is not hard work, it is a way of life,” says 12-year old Harriet, Bentleigh West Primary School’s Environment Captain.

In the past 12 months, significant water savings have occurred as a result of fitting tank-to-toilet systems in two buildings, installing coil heating and cooling mechanisms in two new buildings, replacing an existing grassed soccer field with artificial turf and further use of indigenous and drought tolerant plants in the school’s gardens. The school has recently been awarded a Federal Government grant, which will be used for the harvesting and storing of 200,000 litres of rainwater to irrigate the school oval.

The primary school also runs a number of programs and communications, which allow them to influence, contribute to and provide innovative directions for changes in education on the environment and sustainability.