One of the latest initiatives the school has become involved with is a worm recycling project.

Local worm farmer David Carter from Woolooma Worms donated about 2000 worms to the school in September and has continued to visit the students each week to teach them how to use the worm farm, how to look after the worms and what to feed them.

“I’ve been helping them with basic worm farm technique, how much to feed them and the types of food,” Mr Carter said.

Belltrees Public School principal Kate Jones said the children have been very enthusiastic about the worm farm and have been putting their left over lunch in the worm farm along with shredded paper.

“Even in the holidays, the kids were asking their parents to come down and check on the worms,” Mrs Jones said.

The older children have done research projects on worms and the different types of worms and the different jobs they do and the different foods they eat.

The school has three different types of compost worm in their worm farm as they all eat different things meaning everything that is put into the worm farm is composted.

Mr Carter had two daughters go to school at Belltrees and was once a students there himself.

Mr Carter said he has tried to set up a worm farm with high school students previously, but they were not as interested as the primary school children are.

“It has been great to have him come back and set it all up for us,” Mrs Jones said.

“We appreciated David’s involvement,” she said

The school also recycles its paper and envelopes.

“We don’t throw out any paper that has got a clear side,” Mrs Jones said.

Other environmental projects that the school is doing include, being a pilot school for Water Watch and Veg Watch.

Veg Watch involves studying an area of bushland and monitoring the vegetation that grows there. Water Watch is about testing water and taking samples from rivers.

“The children are very understanding out here where there is almost no water,” Mrs Jones said.

The school will use the worm compost and liquid on their gardens which are gradually being replaced with native plants.

A federal grant has also enabled the school to put in a recycled waste water system and the school is working towards getting solar energy.