Plenty Parklands Primary School gets gardening with its rainwater tank

Plenty Parklands Primary School in Mill Park, Victoria has been affected by drought since it opened ten years ago. The school has had to adhere to strict water restrictions, which have prevented it from establishing gardens. Thanks to the school’s new Pioneer GALAXY® rainwater tank which was awarded in the BlueScope Steel Tank a Day Challenge, the school can now save water to grow and maintain gardens.

The school is using the rainwater harvested from the BlueScope rainwater tank to grow a native garden. The garden which was established by the year four students contains over 200 indigenous shrubs including Bottle Brush, She Oaks and Wattle Plants. Students specifically chose the plants and mulched the area so that minimal water would be needed for the plants to survive.

The BlueScope rainwater tank has complemented the school’s four smaller rainwater tanks, providing the school with a total of 77,000L in water storage capacity. The water collected in the other rainwater tanks is also used to flush toilets and water a vegetable patch.

Since receiving the BlueScope rainwater tank, Plenty Parklands Primary School has been inspired to develop a number of other water saving plans, which will further reduce its reliance on the mains water system. Staff are planning to purchase synthetic grass for the playground areas, which will eliminate the need for watering the grass. Buckets have also been placed in basins to ensure no water goes to waste and then recycled on grass areas.

To celebrate Plenty Parklands Primary School’s water saving Steve Jacobs from the Channel 9’s TODAY Show paid a special visit and presented the weather live from the school on 19 November 2008.