About 18 youth students from Noble Park AMES went on an excursion on the final day of classes last year visiting a ‘follow your waste’ tour conducted by the City of Greater Dandenong.

The group aged between 18 and 25, visited the Polytrade recycling centre and learned about the importance of placing the right items into the recycling bin.

“Also, we sorted the materials into its right bin; this was a great activity for non-English speakers to visually see the materials. The group asked about what to do with pots and China, which cannot be recycled. We then got the opportunity to visually see the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in action,” said AMES youth teacher Lyn Rebello.

Next, the group went to the Sita Landfill site on Hallam Road and watched a presentation on the construction of a landfill cell as well as seeing the gas extraction process in operation.

The third stop was at the green waste processing facility and Natural Recovery Systems (NRS); where the group enjoyed educational session on the in-vessel composting procedure and how the rubbish gets turned into quality compost for gardens.

The last destination was the Alex Wilkie Nature Reserve where, after a delicious BBQ lunch, the group enjoyed a walking tour.

Dandenong council’s Environmental Programs and Bushland team, Andrew and Dan, spoke about the indigenous flora that grows within the reserve and they were able to point out native species for the AMES group to see.

“The group loved the natural environment and really appreciated learning about the different flora and how it relates to local fauna in a suburban environment,” Lyn said.

“Class members said they appreciated our environment and respected it more now that they know what they need to preserve to better our lives here in Australia,” she said.

“I am hoping to organise more of these tours for other classes at Noble Park AMES this year. Thanks to Samantha from the City of Greater Dandenong,” Lyn said.

For more information on this story, contact Lyn Rebello on: 8558 8800.