In accordance with the Strategic Directions, Damascus College participates in the ResourceSmart Schools program, a Victorian Government initiative that helps schools benefit from embedding sustainability in everything they do. Schools take action to minimise waste, save energy and water, promote biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ResourceSmart Schools helps schools reduce costs while giving students the opportunity to learn about sustainability in a tangible and realistic environment.
Find our more about what it means to be a Resource Smart School here: Resource Smart School
The Murnong Trail
The Damascus College Murnong Trail is an 800 metre looped walking trail located in the bushland of our 50 acre bush setting. It was created in 2015 as part of our conservation and interpretation of the biodiverse bushland at the back of the school.
The trail was named in recognition of the Murnong plant, as the presence of this humble indigenous plant, but not its cultural significance was noted at Damascus in a plant survey in 1962. Fifty years later, Science teacher, Mr David Neate, having just returned from a professional development session on indigenous agriculture, was surprised to discover a sizeable patch of murnong in flower on a casual walk through the College bushland.
Throughout the trail there are numerous interpretative signs highlighting the cultural and scientific significance of the flora and fauna of the College's precious patch of urban bushland.
In 2016, the College was recognised as Victorian ResourceSmart Biodiversity School of the Year for the creation of the Trail.
Download a copy of the Murnong Trail Brochure here: Murnong Trail