Mount Lilydale Mercy College was announced as the winner of two categories at the 2024 ResourceSmart Schools Awards, taking out the titles of Community Leadership School of the Year (Secondary) and Teacher of the Year (Secondary).
The occasion marks the third consecutive finalist nomination for the college in the Community Leadership category, while teacher Andrew Feher has taken out the Teacher of the Year (Secondary) award after being nominated as a finalist in 2023.
MLMC has cemented itself as a hub and a leader for community sustainability education and events. The college currently invites surrounding primary schools to participate in learning about First Nations perspectives on land care and management, and shares learning spaces with the local community.
Secondary teacher Andrew Feher was praised by the judging panel for his commitment to weaving sustainability into the fabric of the school.
“Andrew has clearly shown that he is a sustainability leader and has built exceptional relationships with the students, teachers and leadership team at the school, embedding sustainability in the school activities and curriculum for quality succession planning.”
In a surprise announcement at the Awards ceremony, Mount Lilydale Mercy College was awarded its fifth sustainability star by the Minister for Environment.
There were 22 schools vying for an award in Victoria’s largest celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers and school volunteers taking sustainability action, with 11 schools taking out awards at the event.
Sustainability Victoria’s chief executive officer Matt Genever said the winners had shown exemplary leadership and commitment to sustainability and were outstanding role models.
“This year, Sustainability Victoria marked 15 years of the ResourceSmart Schools Awards with the theme, ‘Legendary Legacies – what will you leave behind?’ Mount Lilydale Mercy College is leaving a wonderful legacy for future generations and I congratulate them on their success,” he said.
ResourceSmart Schools is a free Victorian Government program delivering sustainability education to help Victorian schools minimise waste, save energy and water, promote biodiversity and act on climate change.
Since 2008, ResourceSmart Schools has reached over 1,600 Victorian schools. Participating schools have planted more than five million trees, saved over $60 million through energy, waste and water savings and avoided over 74,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.
The winners were announced at a prestigious awards ceremony at the MCG attended by the Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulos.
For information about this year’s winners, visit sustainability.vic.gov.au/rss-awards 2024-winners
