2018 School Magazine

GRAMMAR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSERVATION ORGANISATION (GECO)

Grammar Environmental and Conservation Organisation (GECO) is a Service club for all Grammar girls passionate about the environment. This year, the club focused on making the School community more sustainable through three key projects. These included propagating jade plants to sell at Open Day 2018, the Native Bee Hive Project and the School’s ‘War on Waste’. Open Day 2018 was a huge success for GECO as many initiatives were implemented by the School. These included introducing water bottle filling stations instead of selling bottled water, substituting plastic plates and cutlery for paper alternatives, and of course, no helium balloons. The girls who attended the Grammar Goes Green event in May were delighted to see the jade plants they had potted being taken home by so many people. These plants allowed girls to take home a part of Girls Grammar and promoted GECO’s message of sustainability throughout the School community. Another initiative implemented was the introduction of a native bee hive to the School’s main campus. Dr Tobias Smith, from Bee Aware Kids, visited the School earlier in the year to share native bee-keeping guidance with students. To fundraise for the upkeep

of the hive, students also donated to watch a bee related movie in the Gehrmann Theatre. The movies and bee hive installation proved to be a fun and engaging way to introduce bees to the School and spread awareness about the decreasing population of native bees and the importance of maintaining biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. We hope the Girls Grammar community continues to support the initiatives implemented this year and we look forward to seeing other projects introduced by the School to protect and preserve the environment in the future.

SAVE THE CHILDREN CLUB Founded in 1919 by Eglantyne Jebb, pioneering teacher and sociologist, the Save the Children Foundation is the world’s leading independent organisation for children, promoting children’s rights and providing access to healthcare and education, and assisting in times of emergency.

The foundation focuses on helping exploited, neglected or abused children and assists families in 117 countries, with programs in more than 197 communities in Australia. This year’s major fundraising initiatives included the Easter raffle, Open Day 2018 ring toss stall, a Blue Day bake stall and selling Stand Down packs during Examination Block. Being involved in the Save the Children Club has developed my creativity and leadership skills, while contributing to a cause about which I am passionate. Thank you to everyone who supported the club this year and I look forward to seeing what the group achieves in 2019. Ella Ng (11L)

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2018 | SERVICE | 053