Our workshops give secondary school students an opportunity to explore their own creativity, develop their design thinking and learn something about their own problem-solving skills.
Students are challenged to consider their impact on the environment and to apply creative and sustainable thinking to a variety of subject areas including:
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- Design and Technology
- Textiles and Fashion
- Creative Arts and Design
- Environmental Studies and Sustainability
- Science, Mathematics and Physics
We can customise workshops to support your unit of work, theme or focus.
“Thank you for a fantastic visit to Reverse Garbage last week. It was a great introduction to our sustainability project and the students really enjoyed it.”
Granville Boys High School , May 2019
The most popular option for secondary groups is about 2.5 hours which might include a warehouse exploration tour, a recycling challenge and a hands-on maker workshop. We can incorporate a history component or even an outdoor drawing session amongst our large sculpture works.
Our warehouse is full of interesting and eclectic materials from industrial and commercial sources that are guaranteed to inspire creativity and innovation in your students.
“Thank you for leading such an enjoyable workshop with my Year 9 Design & Technology class. I received lots of positive feedback from the students and the only negative was that they wanted to spend more time there! There was a great balance of discussion, historical information and time to explore and make.”
St Clare’s College, Waverley, March 2019
Pricing: An individual quote will be provided depending on the minimum expected numbers and length of your visit. As an indication, prices for 1.5 hour visit range from $12.50 to $18pp. Alternatively you might like us to work to your budget.
The following travel fees apply: 5-15km from Reverse Garbage (one way as determined by Google maps) $25, 16-30km = $50, 31-50km = $75, over 50km =$100
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| Enquire online | Email us | Call 02 9569 3132 |
School or Class WASTE AUDIT
Empower the waste makers to be the change makers.
Over a full day or number of weeks (negotiated with the school) Reverse Garbage will work with the school student leaders or class reps to conduct a whole school (or class) waste audit and sustainability plan.
The waste from different areas of the school will be investigated including but not limited to classrooms, canteens, administration, sports sheds, grounds and maintenance.
Students will sort, classify, count, record and report their findings and will then work with RG’s environmental scientist to explore options to eliminate or reduce waste through a waste reduction hierarchy. They will consider all options at each stage of the waste cycle from production, packaging and purchasing through to the destruction of waste.
A plan and proposal will be developed for presentation to the school leadership for consideration and possible future implementation.
Duration: 2 hours / half day / 2 days (school to collect waste for an agreed period beforehand)
Venue: your place (school hall or covered area)
Capacity: 30 students
Subjects: Mathematics, Science, Geography, Sustainability
RE-DESIGN
Make your own upcycled creation from our eclectic range of industrial and commercial discards. In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to work individually or in pairs to design and construct a re-purposed item. They will work to a design brief and a budget, and have access to hand tools. The warehouse is open to choose materials and one of our experienced artist educators facilitates students through the construction process.
Duration: 2 hours
Venue: only available on-site at Reverse Garbage
Capacity: maximum 30 students
Subjects: Technological and Applied Studies including Design and Technology, Industrial Technology, and Creative Arts including Visual Arts and Design
“Thanks for a brilliant workshop”
Callaghan College, Waratah Technology Campus
October 2019
ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP in your school
This workshop is designed for the environment leaders in your school, it might be the environment committee, school captains or the student council. We will explore all the areas of the school where we might consider implementing sustainable practices, if we have time we can conduct a waste audit and make a project plan for the areas of highest priority. We will explore what it means to be the ‘champion’ of sustainability, methods of change and keeping the momentum going.
Duration: 3 hours, half day or a full day
Venue: your place or ours
Age: Can be adapted to any age.
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
SPECTACULAR SCULPTURE
Learn sculpture secrets from our contemporary reuse artist who and turn waste into wonderful works of art. Create your own artwork through a 
process of experimentation with everyday discards.
Develop innovative low-waste construction techniques (this is a tape-free and glue-free workshop) and an understanding of material manipulation, experimentation and repetition. This workshop cultivates problem-solving skills in art, design and visual realisation.
Duration: 2 hours / half day / full day
Venue: your place or ours
Capacity: maximum 30 students
Subject: Creative Arts including Visual Arts and Design
I wanted to write to thank you for the wonderful ‘Spectacular Sculpture’ workshop we took part in recently with Fiona. I so appreciated Fiona’s thoughtful attitude to the students’ context and her energy was appreciated by all. Thanks again for having us. And thanks for all the great work you do there.
Lightning Ridge Central School
December 2019
Book a Spectacular Sculpture workshop
REUSE WEARABLES & ACCESSORIES
Turn everyday trash into fabulous items that can be worn on your body. Use your imagination to bring art and costume together, creating your very own outrageous designs. Students will develop innovative low-waste construction techniques (this is a tape-free and glue-free workshop) and an understanding of material manipulation, experimentation and repetition. This workshop cultivates problem-solving skills in art, design and visual realisation.
Duration: 2 hours
Venue: your place or ours
Capacity: maximum 30 students
Subjects: Textiles Technology and Creative Arts including Visual Arts and Design
DECONSTRUCT, REDESIGN, REBUILD (& DONATE) PALLET WORKSHOPS
Unwanted timber pallets can be re-designed into many things. Students will get hands-on de-constructing pallets and then using hand tools redesign and rebuild with them.
We could build simple boxes, insect hotels, teepees for playgrounds or planter boxes. The students can then decide whether they would like to donate these to a charity, childcare centre or take them home.
Duration: 2.5 -3 hours
Venue: Reverse Garbage Marrickville
Capacity: maximum 28
Subjects: Technology & Design.
TALK AND TOUR FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION
Introduce your students to the innovative and inexpensive possibilities of sustainable reuse materials. In this one hour session, students will be introduced to reuse materials and given tips and tricks on how to work with items that were originally designed for a different purpose. Students will be given a budget and a design challenge, and then set free in the warehouse with plenty of time to discover and collect materials. Finds are brought back to our Makerspace for a collaborative discussion with a reuse expert on how best they can be used in the context of their project.
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: maximum 5-30 students
Venue: only available on-site at Reverse Garbage
Subjects: We can tailor a session to suit the context: education, art, sculpture, jewellery, millinery, upholstery and furniture, textiles, design, technology, education, interior design, drama or photography.
REUSE MUSICAL PHYSICS
Build your own fully functioning string and/or pipe instruments out of reusable materials and understand how it works. In this workshop, students will learn about the physics behind sound waves and musical 
instruments such as harmonics, standing waves and resonance, as well learning why different lengths of pipes and strings produce different wavelengths, frequencies and notes on a chromatic scale. Students will then use this knowledge of physics, as well as their problem solving skills in order to build their own instrument, capable of at least four notes of their choice.
Duration: 2hours
Capacity: maximum 30 students
Venue: your place or ours
Book a Musical Instrument Workshop
CUSTOM WORKSHOP
Get in touch to learn more about what we can do for you! Workshops can be customised to support your current unit of work. Recent examples of customised workshops have included:
- Reuse Christmas decorations, wreaths and table centre-pieces.
- Halloween decorations, masks and costumes.
- an Inventions workshop for a Year 7 English class, inspired by the Brian Selznick novel ‘The invention of Hugo Cabret’
- a Future Creatures workshop for a Year 8 Biology class during Science Week
- a Storm Sculptures workshop.
- a Kokedamas-making workshop.
