CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME
By Catherine Holmes
Teacher and Sustainability Leader at Xavier College, Kew
Laudato Si’, the 2015 encyclical written by Pope Francis, calls us to hear and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth. At Xavier College, we have been responding to these cries through a variety of student events and programs, explicit education, and connections with other Jesuit schools. Ten years after Laudato Si’ was released, its vision continues to guide us.
Student events and programs
The Environment Club, led by the Prefect for Environment and Sustainability, discussed environmental issues, completed an audit of environmental impacts throughout the Senior School in 2024 and most importantly planned the events for Environment Week. Environment Week was held at the same time as Laudato Si’ Week and the students planned events and activities with an aim to raise awareness of environmental issues. A notable event was the students versus staff Jeopardy game show, where a panel of students successfully showed their environmental knowledge. We also hosted a Q&A discussion with Dr Monique Ryan, Member for Kooyong, about the impacts of climate change on health.
During the Sustainability Service program, dedicated students gave up their time each week to create poppies to be sold on Remembrance Day to raise money for Legacy Australia. The students made over 150 poppies from the red Early Years jumpers that could not be sold by the Uniform Shop or donated to charities. Students involved in the Sustainability Service program also hosted students and staff from other schools as part of the Interschool Sustainability Partnership. This partnership aims to connect like-minded students from schools in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to discuss sustainability initiatives in their schools. Our 2025 Prefect for Environment and Sustainability presented about our sustainability initiatives at Xavier College and then led a tour around the Kostka Building to show the sustainable features of the building.
At the Junior School, the Year 3 students were involved in the Schools for Wildlife program, working with the City of Boroondara and CERES Brunswick to design and plant a garden with flora indigenous to Boroondara. The students will continue to look after the garden as part of their Source to Sea program.
Connections with other Jesuit schools
As part of our ongoing relationship with other Jesuit schools around Australia, ten students in Year 10 participated in the JACSA Jesuit Student Ecology Conference. They learned about environmental issues, discussed the importance of caring for our common home and shared sustainability ideas with other students. This annual conference allows students to think of ideas that shape how they can best care for our common home in both their own lives and the context of the school. Students discussed ideas about increasing biodiversity on the Senior School grounds. The first half of this academic year will be spent working on a proposal that incorporates their ideas.
Laudato Si’ Education
Year 10 students focus on Laudato Si’, Integral Ecology and Stewardship in their Religious Education classes. They investigate environmental issues, study the interconnections between humans and creation and learn about the importance of caring for our common home by responding to the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth. They also work on communicating why we need to care for our common home and how people can act and care for creation. Students have already made great strides in terms of enthusiastically speaking to their teachers about podcasts and documentaries that they created to highlight these aspects of their studies. This work will continue to shape their individual and collective journeys, as well as the Xavier College ethos as 2025 unfolds.
The original version of this article was published in the latest edition of ‘Xavier News’.
Banner image: SARAYUT, Canva.