Nareena Hills Public School was faced with a dilemma: how could they find extra storage space that would stand up against stormy weather?
The school's parents and citizens association (P&C) was awarded a grant for their creative solution to upcycle a shipping container.
Nareena Hills Public School P&C President Angela Howes came up with the sustainable idea after seeing shipping containers repurposed as swimming pools and tiny homes.
"I think there's so many uses for us to be able to recycle and repurpose things these days and why should a school be any different?" Ms Howes said.
One of the main motivations was to find more storage space for the growing school of about 230 students that can handle wet weather.
"We're on quite a slope, that has led to some of the areas that we've had for storage not necessarily being as watertight as we would like," Ms Howes said.
"So, we'll get more and more resources for the children, and then we had nowhere to store them in a safe protected environment,
"Like much of the Illawarra, our grounds have also had challenging storms and flooding in recent years, so having this waterproof container to store school resources will be a real lifesaver."
The container will be used to store sporting equipment, musical instruments and library books.
The shipping container was purchased at a discounted rate from Wollongong business Murrell Freight Lines through a $5000 grant awarded by NSW Ports.
Before arriving at the school the container delivered imports and exports across the country.
NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas said they loved seeing schools and grassroots groups repurposing shipping containers in creative ways.
"It's heartening to know this steel box that performs such a crucial role in our supply chain will now support a local school community," Ms Calfas said.
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Marlene Even
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
