Cooling their school for health and to support native wildlife
St Mary’s College students explored ways of cooling their school for health and as a way to support native wildlife. They used the Adelaide urban heat mapping tool to investigate the hottest areas of their school grounds. After identifying a school building roof as one of the hottest areas in the school, which was also an unused space, they began designing a green roof and misting system.
The students designed a calm area with benches to sit on, a space for students to do meditation and native bird attracting plants. Having learnt about decreased rainfall as a local climate impact, the students proposed the installation of misters fed by water tanks and powered by solar panels. For the sides of the building, the students incorporated hanging plants like sugar pearls and ivy, as well as native species into the design to cover and cool the sides of the building area and attract native bees.
Following the development of their solution, the students wrote a letter to their Principal about their idea and the benefits it would have for their health and that of local animal species.
