May 24th to 27th 2016 saw all the Year 3 students at St Aloysius College Milson’s Point undergo training to be EarthKeepers. It was an amazing experience for all the boys who know have the keys of knowledge and experience but will be undertaking further work at home to become fully fledged EarthKeepers.
The 2016 North Sydney EarthKeepers program has been developed by Virginia Cobb (Year 6 teacher at St Aloysius) and Alex Moors (parent member of St Aloysius Sustainability Committee) with a lot of assistance from Helen Eggelton Girl Guides and North Sydney Council. The journey started in 2013 when it was suggested that Aloysius students should undertake the training program to become Earthkeepers. 
The Earthkeepers program was developed by the Institute for Earth Education in West Virginia USA. The program was written around 20 years ago for children aged 10 to 12. Numerous studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of the program and it has been found to create long lasting change to environmental behaviours and attitudes. Aloysius was keen to find a way to run the program with their students. But it has been difficult, with some hurdles to jump and partners to find. In 2016 the program ran at the Coal Loader Sustainability Centre, Waverton. Through the support of the school Sustainability committee school is now licensed to run the program annually. 
The journey it took to get EarthKeepers happening in North Sydney is a story of persistence and collaboration, and could be seen as a metaphor for the journey that is needed to become a sustainable school!
For more information contact:
Sue Martin, Sustainability Centre Coordinator St Ignatius’ College Riverview NSW, smmartin@riverview.nsw.edu.au
Alex Moors, member Environment Committee St Aloysius College Milson’s Point alexmoors@optusnet.com.au
Virginia Cobb, grade teacher St Aloysius College Primary School, Milson’s Point, Virginia.Cobb@staloysius.nsw.edu.au
