The sustainability team at St Norbert College is a powerful force for change known as the Climate Cannons.
The team began when a group of year nine students attended a sustainability and energy summit in 2019 and has grown into a thriving, student-led movement driven by passion, creativity and community spirit.
Inspired by other schools and motivated to actively tackle environmental challenges across the Queens Park campus, the Climate Cannons are a dynamic group of 40 to 60 students from years seven to 12 who meet regularly to plan initiatives.
Teacher and Climate Cannons coordinator Danielle Pisconeri supports the group with dedicated time in her schedule, working closely with leadership, organising activities and communicating with students and staff to keep momentum strong.
At energy-filled lunchtime and recess meetings, students prepare events such as awareness campaigns, quizzes, assemblies and hands-on sustainability projects.
A standout achievement is the creation and implementation of Containers for Change bag holders in collaboration with the school’s metalwork team.
The custom-made bag holders make recycling more visible and intuitive than closed-lid bins, leading to dramatically improved separation of eligible containers over the past five years.
Students roll up their sleeves every three weeks to empty and sort the Containers for Change bin bags during extended homeroom. While they jokingly groan about less-pleasant aspects, they enthusiastically share what they find with peers, hoping to shift behaviours across the school.
The Climate Cannons are also vital in promoting sustainability-themed engagement events across the college. From National Recycling Week to the ever-popular National Pollinator Week, students run activities that spark curiosity, conversation and fun, such as dressing as bees for Bee Awareness Day.
Their impact was affirmed when St Norbert College won a Quality Catholic Education Award for Sustainability in 2022.
In 2023, the college hosted the WasteSorted Schools Student Meet, an experience students described as a major highlight. With support from the WasteSorted Schools team, the event energised students and strengthened connections with other schools working on similar initiatives.
The next challenge was the college’s first clothes swap, to tackle fast fashion and reduce textile waste. The project, which took nearly a year to arrange, was a lively and impressive event.
Students and staff brought in pre-loved clothing and received coupons to ‘shop’ for new items. Additional gold-coin donations raised funds for the school’s Christmas appeal through the Student Ministry team. Leftover items were donated to Kimberley communities or local charities, with only three unusable pieces sent to H&M’s fabric recycling program.
The Climate Cannons remain committed to their vision of generating long-term behaviour change and embedding sustainable habits across the college community. More widely, their work is inspiring the wider WasteSorted Schools network and reinforcing their belief that young people can drive environmental benefits.
