Awaba Public School eco-friendly

The school was granted funds last year to install a $50,000 solar-panel system.

This system has generated about 11,000 kilowatt hours of energy since July 2012 and stopped a substantial amount of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, according to a school statement.

The school has no bins in its playground, but uses a three-bucket system to encourage children to sort their waste into compost, recycling and rubbish.

Waste paper is recycled into new paper.

Food scraps are reused and turned into compost, which is used to fertilise the school's vegetable patch.

The students take turns looking after the vegie patch - growing herbs and vegetables which are used in cooking classes.

Teacher Libby Walters said many students had grown up with the school's environmental mindset.

"Hopefully they're taking these skills home with them," Mrs Walters said.

Bird boxes, which students handcrafted in woodwork classes, were placed in trees around the school.

Bird baths and seed holders attract native birds.

The school pond provides a natural habitat for frogs and water dragons.

Mrs Walters said the school's next big project was a fruit forest.

"We want to plant a lot of citrus trees, lemons, oranges, mandarins, and grow our own fruit," she said.