Bitty effort goes a long way at school

It started as a letter from two school students hoping to make a difference at Cowra Public School. Now, some two years later, the Littie Committee at Cowra Public School, has launched the "Re-use Your Shoes" campaign and it is proving a winner with schools everywhere across the district. When Cowra Public students Evie Johnstone and Ava Gee, wrote a letter to school principal, Jenny Lewis, in a bid to address the growing rubbish issue at the school, little did all three know it would lead to a group and a legacy that may outlive all of them. From that initial contact, a committee was formed to address ways that the school could better assist students and the community and make a genuine difference. "They are an extraordinary bunch of girls we have here on the Littie Committee,' said Jenny Lewis, Principal of Cowra Public School. "They are motivated and happy to volunteer time for any cause - especially those designed to help the community and environment. "It was that can-do attitude (amid a finalist placing) that saw them develop this concept from their project at the NSW Sustainability Awards (Mini Youth Climate Champion Award section) last year. "It has all grown from there to the point where we have CINC (Community Information Neighbourhood Centre), St. Raphael's, Mulyan Public and Cowra High all involved with shoe donation bins," Ms Lewis said. "They are a special group and are now also published as well!" Currently, $22 billion in shoes goes into landfill globally each year with a breakdown time of 25-40 years per pair. For committee member Jessica Chase, it is great to give back to the school and community and make a real difference. "Our aim is to make the world cleaner and positive," she said. "We have taken initiative to do something about it after getting so much feedback from industry leaders last year at the awards," said Jessica. "We came up with the idea for shows as they are practical but not everyone can afford them in the current climate. "It's already making a big impact!" Bins are emptied at each school weekly and shoes are tied together and put in size bags into the bins. On September 6 and 7 at CINC, residents looking for shoes will be able to attend and select a pair from the bins to wear and keep. "It's the first of it's kind we are aware of as we haven't seen anyone do anything like this before," said student Zoe Morrison. "So if you have unused shoes someone else can get a wear out of please donate to the Re-use Your Shoes campaign today!"