Woolsthorpe Primary School captain Tyra Toki, 11, said the focus for their project was to create a Waste Free Woolsthorpe, and remove waste and rubbish from the school and the wider community.

"Our whole school went around Woolsthorpe and picked up as much rubbish as we could find," Tyra said.

"I was surprised by the amount of rubbish that we picked up.

"It's good to do something to help the community.

"We are having nude-food days (lunches without wrappers) every Wednesday at school, and we bought reusable snack packs for everyone in the school to put their food in."

The students also made bees-wax wraps to reduce the amount of plastic wrap being used around lunches.

Woolsthorpe school captain Sam Robinson, 11, said it takes a lot of leadership, patience and resilience to run a big project at school.

"We are aiming for a waste community, we are focusing on recycling and reducing food scraps going to landfill," Sam said.

"At school we want left-over lunches and fruit snacks to go to the chickens."

Student Leaders Congress co-organiser and Woolsthorpe Primary School principal Simon Perry said the project had now extended to Corangamite Shire schools, in addition to the Warrnambool and Moyne participants.

"It was a great success with all of the Corangamite school presenting (at their own night)," Mr Perry said.

"It's good to see it expanding out into the south-west, it was great to see the excitement from the kids.

"The whole idea is leadership-by-doing, it's about the students coming back into the community and learning leadership by doing leadership.

"They are getting their hands dirty and learning what it takes to make a difference in their communities."

Warrnambool's Lighthouse Theatre will host the 6^th Student Leaders Congress Night of Celebration on Monday September 9 starting at 6.30pm.

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