The school, which launched its first Junior Landcare group in 2008, was officially recognised this week for its ongoing environmental efforts.

"We're thrilled ... the students have taken ownership of our projects and the feedback from them and the teachers has been overwhelmingly positive," said the school's volunteer Landcare co-ordinator Karen Brown.

"It really has been a win-win."

Thornton school offers a rare opportunity for students looking to become more aware of environmental issues.

The school sits on a sizable 3.5 hectares of land, including remnant spotted gum and ironbark forest.

"We've had experts come in and they estimate that a couple of our magnificent ironbarks are more than 900 years old," Ms Brown said.

In their 10 years working alongside Landcare - and assisted by the occasional federal grant - students have regenerated bushland, developed a viewing deck, created trails through the bush, introduced interpretive signs, recreated natural habitats including a frog pond, removed weeds and replaced them with native plants.

More recently they developed a dry creek bed and installed native rocks to channel water flow.

"All the while they've been increasing their knowledge, learning about the environment, about erosion and litter ... general knowledge of the land," Ms Brown said.

"We sometimes take whole classes out for a walk through the grounds, but the Landcare side of things is voluntary for the students.

"It depends on what they have on with their classes, but we may get 20 students at a time working on a project."

Landcare is a national not-for-profit organisation of community-based groups committed to protecting and repairing the natural environment.

There are 60,000 Landcarers in 3000 groups in NSW Landcare alone.