Marita Ryan is a local school teacher in Brimbank. Last year she took home the sustainability teacher of the year award (primary) at the 2025 ResourceSmart Schools awards ceremony. She spoke to Sam Porter about her work and her passion for the environment.
What’s your connection to Brimbank?
I have been working within the Brimbank council area for the past 17 and a half years at Albion Primary School (PS) as a part-time physical education teacher.
What do you like about where you work?
I love the feel of Albion PS. The day I set foot in the school for my job interview, I felt like it was a country school, very similar to where I did my primary schooling in the small Mallee country town of Ouyen in the north-west of the state. The layout of the school was so similar with the main buildings at one end of the school yard and the oval at the other end. Back then there were sugar gums on either side of the oval just like my old primary school. The staff at the school are just wonderful. Many of them have been there for over 30 years and have provided stability for the school, with a few living locally in and around Albion PS.
The students are fabulous, they are very respectful, willing to learn and give their all to every lesson that they participate in, whether it be physical education (PE), perceptual motor program (PMP), sport or sustainability lessons. The families are so supportive of the school and what we are striving to achieve. This makes our job so much easier. The parent’s group within the school is approachable and willing to support us in all of our ventures. Our principal Adrienne Williamson is so supportive of the PE, PMP, sport and sustainability programs, which gives you lots of belief and energy to run the best programs for the students of Albion.
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
People are surprised to hear that I went to boarding school for three years in Ballarat. I loved my three years at boarding school. I played a lot of sport, representing the school in netball, tennis, athletics, cross country, cricket and basketball. Boarding school made me very independent.
What sparked your passion for sustainability and the environment?
Growing up in a small country town in the 70s and 80s, we lived in the outdoors. I loved going to Tickle Belly hill, Walpeup lake, the Murray River and playing in the scrub. We didn’t have a lot of shops, so we lived in hand-me-downs, reused things, recycled. It was how I grew up, where my roots are! As a PE teacher I have always seen the school yard as my classroom so at Albion PS sustainability began with keeping the yard clean, picking up rubbish with a bucket and tongs, not playing in a rubbish tip. From there it just dominoed – waste, biodiversity, water, energy. I tell the students that much of what we are doing is what I did when I was at primary school. It just comes natural to me!
