The War on Waste

Many of you will have recently seen the ABC's three-part series titled, War on Waste. For those that did not, the series focused on various recycling programmes and some of the issues generated from the increasing amount of waste in Australia. It was pleasing to hear that many recycling programmes were pioneered in Australia and that the 'Keep Australia Beautiful' is largely seen as a success. Unfortunately, food is a major source of waste and in 2016 the value of this was put at $5.2 billion. This is particularly disappointing when we know that agencies who provide food for those in need overwhelmingly report that they do not have sufficient food to meet demand.

The College has just begun a new group which hopes to contribute to the war on waste, as well as ensuring we are assisting those that are hungry receive the food they need. The College is now working with Food Rescue, a UnitingCare West programme that is committed to rescuing fresh, nutritious food and distributing it safely to people in need. They collect fruit and vegetables from 50 supermarkets and also collect ready-made meals from cafes and food vans. Last year the group collected food that equated to 115,738 meals.

On Thursday afternoons, the group meets in the Senior School kitchen to make meals using the fruit and vegetables delivered by Food Rescue. Food Rescue will then pick up the meals on a Friday morning and deliver it to the agencies in need. From next Thursday, we will be cooking and packaging food that has been delivered to the College.

What can you do? There are three things which can be done to assist.

1. Sign up to join the group by emailing Mrs Bloodworth or Mr Kyle. The group will meet between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on a Thursday afternoon. All boys are welcome.
2. Donate food to supplement that delivered by Food Rescue. The types of food required include; canned vegetables and legumes, pasta, including lasagne sheets, other non-perishables such as muesli bars. Meat is an area of great need so if you know any opportunities to source discarded meat, please get in touch.
3. Donate reusable containers, ideally large yoghurt buckets or similar, and large tin foil containers.

Any donations can be left outside the Senior School Commercial Kitchen located near the Claremont Crescent slipway. If you have perishable items, which would be greatly appreciated, please email Jane Toovey, jane.toovey@scotch.wa.edu.au, Marie Bloodworth, marie.bloodworth@scotch.wa.edu.au, or Karen Bridle, Karen.bridle@scotch.wa.edu.au.

Below is a picture with Food Rescue Manager, Julie Broad who came in and outlined the process for staff and boys.

Karen Bridle, Julie Broad, Max Locke (Year 11, Ferguson), Marie Bloodworth, Jane Toovey

Callum Moffat (Year 10, Keys), Harry Sugars (Year 10, Alexander), Grayson Downes (Year 9, Brisbane), Daniel Falkiner (Year 9, Brisbane)

Serving in the Junior School

On Friday, the Junior School held its Captains and Class Representatives Commissioning Service. Mr Stewart spoke to the boys and families about service at the College and some of the areas in which boys in the Middle School and Senior School serve. Mr Stewart explained to the boys the importance of their positions and the honour in being in a position to serve their peers and the College. The boys then took an oath focused on the traditions and values of the College.

Congratulations to all the Junior School Captains for Semester 2, 2017.

Mr David Kyle
Director of Community and Service