Sustainability
Sustainability at our College
The Terra Tomodachi team.
Notre Dame College takes great pride in its sustainability student group, Terra Tomodachi. ‘Terra’ means ‘Earth’ in Italian, and ‘Tomodachi’ means ‘Friends’ in Japanese. The group meets once a fortnight to plan and advance sustainability initiatives, participate in relevant field trips and develop their knowledge of best practice care for the earth. Students interested in joining Terra Tomodachi should contact the sustainability coordinator
Mr Phil Guthrie. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
As of 2020 Notre Dame College has made a commitment to be more sustainable in all management practices throughout the college. To help with this endeavor, the college became part of the ResourceSmart Schools program offered by Sustainability Victoria. The aim of which is to help schools embed sustainability across all facilities, communities, and curriculum and help save resources and money.
Through ResourceSmart the college is committed to progress through the 5 Stars Program and become a Leadership School in sustainability. Each of the 5 Stars has a specific requirement for completion and requires staff and students to undertake initiatives and activities to help achieve common goals.
The main focus of the college throughout 2020-2023 is the Waste Module, with the goal being to help educate the college (staff, students and the community) about waste and how to reduce our landfill as well as the associated costs.
Much has happened:
- 2020 saw a Bin Audit of the Emmaus campus where the bins were counted and examined for contamination. The results were promising but showed us that further education was required. To watch the video CLICK HERE.
- In 2021, the Knight St campus completed their own Bin Audit and it revealed that a complete overhaul of the practices on this campus is required. To watch the video CLICK HERE.
- 2022 we also saw some new bins arriving at the College, CLICK HERE. These have been placed strategically around the college with clear, consistent signage to encourage responsible disposal and increasing recycling.
- 2023 has been a highly active and positive year with Terra Tomodachi students attending a Youth Congress on Climate Change in Shepparton and subsequently developing a range of new sustainability project ideas for NDC, including a herb garden at Knight Street and a second hand clothing market to be held in June.
Reasources for the Community.
How to dispose of common items:
Shepparton Council Resale Shop: