The Sponsor a Bee Program
The Sponsor a Bee Program is a student-driven enterprise where members of the cohort practise urban beekeeping, creating environmental education opportunities and beneficial outcomes for the wider community. The program is interlaced with our student’s Research Project assessment. Students even have access to a live stream Bee Cam to watch their bees live, work and rest. We give everyone the opportunity to support this program by sponsoring a bee for $5, $10 or $20 at Sponsor-a-Bee Program. Sponsorship grants emerging bee populations in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island support with hives and plant stock.
The Biodiversity and Garden Project
The Biodiversity and Garden Project is a welcome program for students from Reception to Year 6, to stretch their green thumb and learn about gardening, butterflies and frogs. We believe it is critical that our students engage in environmentally healthy and immersive activities to cultivate knowledge and expertise regarding the natural world. The Biodiversity and Garden Project incorporates the Butterfly Garden and Frog Pond Project, allowing students to explore biodiverse habitats, growth and actions of the selected fauna and flora.
Despite being a school located in the CBD, St Mary’s ensures our students receive environmentally sound interactions with nature. Students learn how to grow seeds, plant native botanicals, specifically Oxalis, and nurture butterfly species, including the rare Chequered Cooper Butterfly, located in the CBD. St Mary’s has built a small greenhouse using it to plant native botanicals and herbs to allow students to watch vegetation in separate stages of growth. The project has continued to help our students cultivate and refine a love and respect for nature.
Other Projects
Grow at Home Seed Project sees student mentors reaching out to local schools, teaching skills of gardening and propagation to allow seed stock to develop for our butterfly gardens.
Future Anything Entrepreneurial Programs allow our students to use design thinking principles to engage in social enterprises, gaining valuable experiences in problem-solving and development thinking.
Year 10 students also undertake immersive programs such as the $20Boss Entrepreneurship Program, where student-run businesses not only teach valuable problem-solving skills but build authentic entrepreneurial capacities.