The Courier Mail: Guardians of the Planet
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How can I make a difference? This is the question that teacher Miranda Mason noticed students asking about the big environmental challenges of the day. It led her to facilitate Earth Angels at St Aidan's Girls School, Corinda.

THE Earth Angels are a group of students in years 5 to 7 who are committed to taking action to live more sustainable lives.

The Earth Angels meet at lunchtime once a week to discuss and determine the projects they will work on and carrying them out as a team with all members of the group involved.

The group is led by five keen year 7 girls and assisted by Ms Mason to carry out their ideas.

Their first project, initiated in 2007, was a successful campaign to encourage the community to read the school newsletter online.

After saving hundreds of reams of paper, the Angels completed a rubbish audit (discovering that about 700 pieces of rubbish are discarded daily).

They initiated the regular Nude Food Days, encouraging their school mates to bring lunch without any packaging.

This led to the establishment of a worm farm to deal with food scraps and the establishment of a recycling system.

A variety of other projects followed including: tree planting for Montrose Access (a community organisation assisting children with disabilities), attending an environmental club camp at Wild Mountains, participating in speaking competitions and raising awareness about other environmental issues at school by holding lunchtime movies.

The club is now working on a new vegetable garden and mural for the school.