26 May 2022
Kathryn Carling, General Manager of Little National Hotel Canberra, (left) has partnered with Marc Warwick,
Acting Principal of Bonython Primary School, (right) to bring real world sustainability to students.
A partnership between a primary school and a local hotel is not a typical collaboration - but for Bonython Primary School and Canberra’s Little National Hotel it’s a union that continues to give back.
Together Marc Warwick, Acting Principal of Bonython Primary School, and Kathryn Carling, General Manager of Little National Hotel Canberra, have collaborated to provide sustainability masterclasses to students from Bonython Primary School.
Kathryn hosts a group of up to twelve students at the hotel and walks them through all of the work that has Little National Hotel recognised locally and internationally for its sustainability.
“We usually start in the hotel’s lounge where I can give a presentation on the hotel and what we do as a business that makes us sustainable and the children are encouraged to give their feedback and ask questions, which are usually very insightful,” Kathryn said.
The presentation introduces students to some sustainability initiatives at Little National, including an in-room tablet which reduces the need for paper, compostable single-use slippers and sensor lights that turn off when a room is empty. The students then get a tour and an opportunity to play ‘housekeeper’, going into a hotel room that has been used to play their part in making the hotel sustainable.
The students get an additional tour of back-of-house at the hotel, before finishing with a ‘debrief’ where they get to ask Kathryn questions about the hotel and sustainability.
“It’s great that our students can come here and see the environmental initiatives we talk about in the classroom in action at a fully-operational hotel,” Marc said.
“It proves to the students that we’re not on our own when it comes to environmental change and the hotel masterclass has also allowed us to teach the sustainability in our curriculum in a real way.”
Bonython Primary School students are excited to go to their next masterclass, proving that learning about sustainability practices can be a hit with younger students.
“We can learn so much from the community around us, and real context leads to real learning,” Marc said.
“I’m proud that we reached out as a school to partner up and try this initiative, and this opportunity brings real interest and excitement to our young learners.”
Bonython Primary School students on previous visits to Little National Hotel.