CONSCIENTIOUS kids at Garden Suburb Public School have taken out an environmental award for a raft of sustainable initiatives.
The school won the Overall Primary School category for its five-bin waste system, vegetable garden, energy-saving LED lights, water audits and waste-free lunches at the Lake Macquarie School Environment Awards.
The students get excited about contributing to sustainable initiatives, school learning support officer Julieann Brewer said.
"Our waste initiative is probably our biggest - we have five collection points for Return and Earn, green waste, recycling, soft plastics and general waste," she said.
Among them is 11-year-old Edie Hall, who helps harvest vegetables and pick up rubbish.
"I love seeing all the kids getting involved with harvesting, like some of the spinach and mandarins," she said.
"The kids go and pick up rubbish - it's really nice to see."
GSPS was one of eight winning schools, including St Mary's Catholic College with Overall High School for its efforts planting 1000 trees, shrubs and grasses.
Macquarie College took out the Innovation Award for designing products to save water and creating a secondhand store to up-cycle items and conducting waste audits.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said she was proud to see schools adopting green thumbs.
"It's so important children learn environmentally sustainable habits so they can implement them for decades to come," she said.
More than 20 schools entered the awards this year.
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