Long-serving Beaconhills College teacher Clare Tuohy has won Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart Schools Teacher of the Year (Secondary) Award for her hard work promoting social and environmental justice.
Mrs Tuohy received her award Thursday 2 June at an MCG event hosted by radio personality Sammy J.
She was honoured for her outstanding work developing the Beacon of Hope Community Garden at the Pakenham campus, which grows fresh produce for people in the local region experiencing food insecurity.
She worked in collaboration with Sustain: The Australian Food Network, Flourish and the Cardinia Food Movement.
Mrs Tuohy also established Beaconhills’ involvement with SolarBuddy, where college students help assemble solar-powered lights for students living without power in East Timor and Bangladesh.
In her acceptance speech, she humbly paid tribute to the college and its commitment to the environment.
“Our community garden has been incredibly successful,” she said.
She reiterated her mantra that Beaconhills, “doesn’t want to be the best school in the world, but the best school for the world.”
Mrs Tuohy retired at the end of 2021 as the college’s Head of Citizenship and Service, having helped build the Beacon of Hope program which spans numerous local, national and international initiatives.
The ResourceSmart School Awards are Victoria’s largest sustainability celebration for primary and secondary school students, teachers and school volunteers taking remarkable sustainability action.
