Acting locally: new solar panels for Toona!

Stuart Galbraith, Head of Advancement

Our climate is changing, and it is everyone’s responsibility to have an impact, small or big, and take every opportunity to impart the importance of protecting our environment on the students in our care. Acting locally is the first step to making a positive difference.

Through our recent community-wide inquiry, we know that the Carey community values environmental sustainability and sees the need to drive practical actions embedded within student learning. Demonstrating to our students that we can all create real change that matters is at the forefront of our priorities for the School’s future.

It comes as no surprise then that this community-wide understanding combined with the immense generosity of our people, through our Community Giving appeal this year, has enabled the funding of new solar panels to be installed at Camp Toonallook.

This is a hugely important step towards becoming a more environmentally responsible school and preserving our precious natural resources, like Camp Toonallook, for students to enjoy for many, many years to come.

Tom Ziebell, Acting Head of Outdoor Education: One of the key focusses of the Outdoor Education program across all year levels is sustainability. The addition of solar panels will allow us to engage students in monitoring energy consumption of their everyday lives and the impact that simple actions can have.

Since the generous donation of Camp Toonallook to Carey back in 1967, ‘Toona’ has become one of Carey’s greatest assets. It is at the core of our Outdoor Education experience for the Junior and Middle School students and the venue for several leadership camps and retreats for older students.

‘One of the key focusses of the Outdoor Education program across all year levels is sustainability. The addition of solar panels will allow us to engage students in monitoring energy consumption of their everyday lives and the impact that simple actions can have,’ says Tom Ziebell, Acting Head of Outdoor Education.

‘This will also allow us to put into practice the message we are teaching all students who come away on their Outdoor Education journey,’ he says.

Over the last decade or so, solar power has become one of the fastest-growing renewable energies in the world, known for its reliability, efficiency and ability to be tailored to usage patterns with surprising flexibility.

The solar panels have the added benefit of reducing the School’s electricity bills, with the savings being directly fed back into important educational programs. This project also builds on the comprehensive range of environmental initiatives delivered in our new Middle School building, including water tanks, solar panels and sustainable building design.

Just as our generous Carey community played a key role in establishing Toona in its early days, with our community’s support, we can make this important sustainability project a reality. For more information on how you can support Carey’s students, please contact Stuart Galbraith, Head of Advancement, at +61 3 9816 1522 oradvancement@carey.com.au

Your Will for Carey’s Future

Our years at school have a significant role in shaping who we are, and in our rapidly changing world, it is more important than ever that Carey continues its commitment to developing wise, independent and compassionate young people.

Your philanthropic support, in the form of a gift in your will, is an enduring way of empowering current and future Carey students and strengthening the School’s future. To learn more about becoming a Carey Torchbearer and how you can leave a gift to Carey in your will, please contact Petrina Burrill-Haslam at +61 3 9816 1250 or advancement@carey.com.au