Primary students at Red Rock Christian College in Sunbury have really embraced their school’s new CDS Vic collections, and they’re motivated by community care, environmental action, and a healthy dose of competition.
“We wanted to get the kids creating, engaged with the world and off their phones,” says head of primary Victoria Smith. “We wanted to show them that they can make a difference in the world.”
Red Rock took part in our incursion program, delivered by CERES, in October last year. Within weeks, they’d collected hundreds of containers, and they’re just getting started. The primary school has created a green team, with two students in each class who lead collections, eligibility checks, and weekly counts. At the end of last year, the class that had returned the most containers won a pizza lunch.
Victoria said the incursion was fantastic: “I’ve been in education for more than 20 years, and it was great. So engaging and practical.”
And the impact on the school community has gone beyond fundraising. By participating in the school’s container recycling program, students are taking real action to protect their environment.
“They have access to information that we never did,” Victoria says. “My parents were protective of us even watching the news. Now the primary kids see everything. If we can give them a voice and show them that their actions matter and can make a difference, that’s positive.”
The primary school doesn’t have a canteen, so the containers collected are either brought from home or collected from students at Red Rock’s secondary school. Collecting in classrooms has been straightforward, Victoria says.
“We got some bins and big bags from Bunnings and the maintenance guys take them to the depot. We keep a running total.”
As of the end of the 2025 school year, the school had raised more than $300, with more to come as this term gets going. So far, funds are being set aside for play equipment for the school, but in the future, there are plans to support charities aligned with the school’s values.
“That’s really important to us,” Victoria said. “Advocacy and activism.”
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Primary students at Red Rock Christian College in Sunbury have really embraced their school’s new CDS Vic collections, and they’re motivated by community care, environmental action, and a healthy dose of competition.
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