news-blog

PLANTING SOME POSITIVITY

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:55:09 +0100

Planting Some Positivity!

Not even the rain could dampen our Green-School’s spirits as the Green-Schools Woodland was launched in Ballinreeshig Nature Farm, Co. Cork in conjunction with Will and Away Outdoor Education Company on Thursday 17^th November, 2011. Over 100 students from local Green-Schools braved the elements to gather at the site where they celebrated the success of the Green-Schools programme in Ireland by planting over 100 oak trees. In total, 3,560 native trees will be planted to represent each school in the Green-Schools programme. The event also offered the Green-Schools programme a chance to celebrate the UN International Year of Forests 2011.

Students from pre-schools up university level attended the launch where they were congratulated for their dedication and enthusiasm by Rachel Boyle, Green-Schools Officer and Sean and Will O’ Halloran of Will and Away Outdoor Education Company. Cork County Council also supported the event and provided the woodland with a beautiful plaque.

The day was a fantastic success with a huge turnout, and an experience that the teachers and students won’t forget! The woodland hopes to serve as a symbol of the programme, representing the continuous efforts of Green-Schools to tackle environmental challenges. Congratulations to all involved!

Get in Touch

Schools around the country also took part in the day by holding planting events in their schools and local areas. If your school took part, please let us know about your event and send us in a photograph or two to greenschools@antaisce.org

WELCOME BACK TO ALL GREEN-SCHOOLS

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:10:47 +0100

Welcome back!

Green-Schools Ireland would like to welcome back all Green-Schools! The An Taisce Green-Schools programme is now entering into its 15th year in Ireland, and the programme continues to grow from strength to strength! There are currently 3,560 schools registered on the Green-Schools programme and 2,310 are flying the Green Flag! Schools are currently working hard on the seven different themes of the programme; Litter and Waster, Energy, Water, Travel, Biodiversity, Global Citizenship, and Climate Change. Over 700,000 students are involved and nearly 50,000 teachers!

Upcoming Events

This year looks set to be an exciting one with lots of events throughout the year. Schools working on the Travel theme are encouraged to partake in European Mobility Week which takes place 16th-22nd September. In September and October we will be holding Green-Schools seminars across the country to offer guidance and advice to schools taking part in the programme, as well as schools who are new to the programme or thinking of registering with the programme. These seminars will cover all themes of the Green-Schools programme. To celebrate the success of the Green-Schools programme and International Year of the Forests, a Green-Schools woodland will be planted on the 17th November at Ballinreeshig Nature Farm, Co. Cork in conjunction with Will and Away. 3,560 trees will be planted to represent each school in the Green-Schools programme! And that is all before Christmas!

Changes to the Application Process

From September 2011, there will be some changes made to the application process for the Green Flag as well as the renewal process. New application forms have been developed which will make it easier for schools to provide us with the details we require regarding your Green-Schools programme. The forms have been developed so they can be filled in easily online and emailed to our office.

If feasible, we encourage schools to fill in forms online so that we can process applications as efficiently as possible and at the same time reduce levels of paper consumption and postage costs!

Deadlines

From September 2011, there will be changes to the deadlines for applying for the Green Flag.

For schools working on the Litter and Waste theme and applying for their first Green Flag, there will now be only one deadline date throughout the year. The deadline for 2011/12 is December 1st 2011.

For schools working on other themes (Energy, Water, Travel, or Biodiversity) and applying for the renewal of the Green Flag, the deadline for 2011/12 is March 30th 2012.

New Website

Green-Schools Ireland are currently developing a new website that is due to be launched in the near future. The new website is being designed so that it will be a valuable resource where schools can find out information on the 7 steps and the different themes, read case studies from other schools, find out about upcoming events, submit application forms online, keep up-to-date with our news blog, and lots more! The website address will remain www.greenschoolsireland.org so keep an eye on the site over the next few weeks to check out the new design!

GIVE A TREE ROOTS - GREEN-SCHOOLS WOODLAND DAY

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:52 +0100

To celebrate the success of the Green-Schools programme and International Year of the Forests, a Green-Schools woodland will be planted on the 17th November at Ballinreeshig Nature Farm, Co. Cork in conjunction with Will and Away. 3,560 trees will be planted to represent each school in the Green-Schools programme!

The An Taisce Green-Schools programme is now entering into its 15th year in Ireland, and the programme continues to grow from strength to strength! There are currently 3,560 schools registered on the Green-Schools programme and 2,310 are flying the Green Flag! Schools are currently working hard on the seven different themes of the programme; Litter and Waster, Energy, Water, Travel, Biodiversity, Global Citizenship, and Climate Change. Over 700,000 students are involved and nearly 50,000 teachers!

An Taisce are encouraging all Green-Schools to get involved and plant a tree in their school or local area and be part of the big day! If you have a planting event organised for the same day please tell us about it in advance or alternatively send us a short 200 word report plus a good quality photograph of the event.

For further details of the “Give a Tree Roots” Green-Schools Woodland Day or to find out how to get involved in the Green-Schools programme, please contact the Green-Schools office on 01-4002202 or at greenschools@antaisce.org

Find out more here!

GREEN-SCHOOLS SEMINARS 2011

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:00:14 +0100

Every year the Green-Schools programme, in conjunction with Local Authorities, hold seminars around Ireland in late September/early October. The aim of these seminars is both to introduce new schools to the programme as well as to offer schools who are working on achieving their first or subsequent flags guidance and advice on the different themes of the programme.

The seminars comprise of a presentation by an An Taisce Education Officer followed by discussion time where schools can preset any queries they have to the An Taisce staff or their local Environmental Awareness Officer. Seminars run from 45 minutes to an hour.

If you have any queries regarding seminars, please contact the Green-Schools Office on 01-4002202 or your local Environmental Awareness Officer.

GREEN-SCHOOLS IRELAND ATTENDS THE NASA/ECO-SCHOOLS USA CLIMATE CHANGE CONNECTIONS INSTITUTE

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:14:01 +0100

Green-Schools Ireland was lucky enough to be invited to the NASA/Eco-Schools USA Climate Change Connections Professional Development Institute event which ran July 27-29, 2011 in Washington DC and was attended by representatives of the Eco-Schools Programme in Ireland and Puerto Rico as well as educators from Fairbanks and Wasilla, Alaska, tribal schools from the Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona), and Atlanta, Georgia.

“The Eco-Schools USA Climate Change Connections is designed to build upon and utilize the many NASA mission resources, programs, and associated interfaces to enhance educator and student authentic learning experiences, and develop an integrated systems thinking approach to understanding and acting upon the issue of climate change. In collaboration with mission education specialists from ICESat, LandSat, Terra, AQUA, and AURA, a cross-programmatic curriculum was developed to provide a unified or systems thinking approach to addressing real-world Earth systems problems.

The goals of the program are to:
1. Improve teacher competency for global climate education
2. Utilize NASA Earth system data, models and resources to strengthen teaching and learning about global climate change
3. Help educators understand the connection to STEM standards and application”

On Day 1, participants were treated to a fantastic presentation from Brian Campbell of NASA Goddard/Wallops who discussed NASA’s important role in Earth Science. Brian also brought a mini globe with him that displayed climate data sets (ocean water temperature, cloud cover, sea level rise, plate tectonics and more!)

On Day 2, the excellent presentations continued as Anita Davis and Jeanne Allen, educators from the LANDSAT Mission,explained how images taken of Earth from NASA satellites can be interpreted and how we can use these images to track changes in landscapesand the surrounding environment and how we can link these changes to urban development, extreme weather events, deforestation etc.

In the afternoon, participants took part in two workshops. The first was led by Dr. Amanda Staudt, NWF’s Climate and Energy Scientist, who discussed Albedo and Surface Ice Reflectance, and how this plays an important role in climate change. The second workshop was led by Sarah Silverberg from the University of New Hampshire who discussed trees and their important role in managing carbon levels on Earth. Sarah demonstrated DBH (diameter-at-breast-height) as an effective method to measure the size of trees, and therefore allow the estimation of the carbon storage ability of individual trees.

Participants were also introduced to Project Budburst, a national field campaign designed to engage the public in the collection of important ecological data based on the timing of leafing, flowering, and fruiting of plants.

As part of the Institute, participants were provided with many lessons for implementation into their curriculum. These lessons are designed, not only to increase awareness of climate change and its impacts, but also to pave the way for pupils, students and teachers to create real solutions.

We will be working hard next academic year to make these curriculum lessons available to Green Schools across Ireland and make use of this fantastic resource!

Start to learn about NASAs role in Earth Science at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/KnowYourEarth.html

I LOVE CYCLING by Saoirse Moore, 6 years old

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:21:46 +0100

My name is Saoirse Moore and I am 6 years old. I live in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway. I am in senior infants in Scoil Mhuire. My teacher is Mrs. Murphy. I love school and I love Maths. I cycle to school almost every day with my mommy or my daddy. Sometimes I walk to school with my dog Cookie. I love cycling and I love walking. It helps to keep me healthy. We had fun on the An Taisce cycle to the swimming pool. They gave me a hi-vis jacket to keep me safe. I always wear my helmet. I always stop, look and listen before I cross the road and I pull into the side of the road and when I hear a car coming. I always look in driveways to see if there is a car coming out. Mrs Kilroy told us that driving is bad for the environment so I like cycling whenever I can. I am lucky to live near the village. - Saoirse's cycling career started at a few months old on the back of her Mum's bike. She got her first trike for her first birthday. Her Nana gave her a lovely bike with stabilisers for her third birthday and Santa gave her a big girls bike last Christmas. Saoirse refuses to go to school in the car - no matter what the weatherand we are always on time because we avoid the traffic jam at the school. We are both wide awake and ready to start the day after our morning cycle. - Daddy

PRIMARY SCHOOL IN CABRA WINS ESB ELECTRIC IRELAND

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:33:15 +0100

The winning schools of An Taisce Green Schools Energy Project sponsored by ESB Electric Ireland were announced at an event in Tailors Hall, Dublin today attended by Minister of State for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Fergus O’Dowd. The overall winner was St. Catherine’s Senior Girls’ School in Cabra, who partnered with their catering company, Glanmore Foods to consider how the business could improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. The young students, aged between 7 and 12, from St. Catherine’s Senior Girls’ School conducted a site visit and energy efficiency audit at Glanmore Foods and proposed a range energy-efficient suggestions including: turning appliances off standby, changing to CFL light bulbs where possible, turning machines off when not in use in the factory and encouraging staff to walk and cycle to work.

Furthermore, the girls calculated that the school used 15,170 plastic water bottles each year, which they felt was wasteful, so together with Glanmore Foods they considered some energy efficient alternatives and are now fitting water filters in each classroom. This has resulted in a reduction of bottle usage to 189 per year, leading to a massive energy saving as the bottles no longer need to be produced or recycled. In recognition of their creative solutions, the school was awarded the top prize of €4,000 by Susan Kinane, Business Markets Manager, ESB Electric Ireland. An Taisce Green-Schools Energy Project sponsored by ESB Electric Ireland is a schools initiative that educates young people about the benefits of energy efficiency. The project is targeted at national schools that are already in the An Taisce’s “Green Flag” programme and brings local businesses and schools together to demonstrate the practical application of energy efficiency. This year saw schools from all over the country partnering with local business, such as Colgate Palmolive and the Nenagh Guardian, to develop projects illustrating the practical application of energy efficiency. Speaking at the prize giving ceremony Susan Kinane of ESB Electric Ireland said: “ESB Electric Ireland is committed to working with businesses and households to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. The ease with which the companies were able to adapt to the children’s energy conservation suggestions demonstrates how simple improving a business’s energy usage can be. Each year we see that young people have the creativity and determination to seek solutions that will enhance how we consume electricity. I would like to congratulate all of the students that submitted projects this year; the standard was very high and choosing an overall winner was a difficult task. Minister of State, Fergus O’Dowd said: “Energy awareness is critically important in today’s world, and giving young people an understanding of energy efficiency and conservation is an important aspect of their education. I would like to congratulate the work done by An Taisce through the Green Flag programme in making learning about energy and environmental protection both interesting and relevant. I would also like to commend ESB Electric Ireland as without the support of big-business, projects like this do not happen. I would like to congratulate all of the schools who submitted projects and indeed the businesses that worked with them – in these times energy efficiency also means reduced cost for business and so it is something that is relevant to everyone.” Speaking at the event, Patricia Oliver, Director, An Taisce said: ““Yet again the innovative ideas of our Green-Schools students have resulted in positive actions that make a real difference to our environment. The ESB Electric Ireland Green-Schools Energy Project gives the students an opportunity to affect change in their wider community. Our research shows that the 2040 schools working on the Energy theme have reduced their energy costs by on average 22% - resulting in cost savings of €2,400 per school per year. This suggests savings of over €5million in energy costs made by schools with Green Flags in Ireland. The hard work, support and dedication of our schools and our sponsors make the huge success of the programme possible” Sheila Ryan, a teacher at St. Catherine’s Senior Girls’ School said of the project: “Saint Catherine’s Senior School is a DEIS Band 1 School and it was great to see the children taking part in such a valuable learning experience. The response by Glanmore Foods was so positive and really boosted the children’s self esteem. We are planning on re-visiting the factory to see the changes in real life over the next couple of weeks.” Runners-up and winners of a €2000 Sustainability Fund, were St. Thomas’ S.N.S., Jobstown, Tallaght, Dublin 24 who partnered Colgate-Palmolive The Monastery School, Tipperary Town who partnered with Tipperary Co-Op CBS Primary School, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary who partnered with Nenagh Guardian

WATCH THIS BIKESPACE

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:44:32 +0100

Scoil Mhathair na Trocaire, Doon, Co.Limerick launched their Walk to School week last week with a flurry of excitement and creativity that brought a new meaning to the term ‘ best foot forward’. As a means of celebrating the success of their WOWs to date and Launch National Walk to School Week, they decided to hold a ‘wacky’ shoe competition where all 118 students in attendance designed their own ‘wacky’ shoe with findings from the art box. These were then used to create a giant ‘Walk’ Sign in the school yard.

Walking wasn’t the only item on the agenda for their action day, with WOWs firmly underway, it was decided that this would be a good opportunity to introduce the idea of cycling to school as a viable travel option. Several key events were held throughout the day with Bike Maintenance/Safety Talks from An Taisce, Tandem Bike Exhibits from a local enthusiast and Slow Cycling and Walking Races after lunch in the school yard. According to Nora Ryan (GS Coordinator) ‘Over 94% (111 pupils) travelled sustainably and 28% (33) actually cycled! This is an amazing figure overall but especially so for cycling when you consider that none of them cycled in September 2010. Walking has been a great success in our school and we hope that cycling will have a similar success’.

It must be said that another element of the success of the day lies with the enthusiasm of the principal, Eibhlin Bn De Bhlacuil, who cycles to school every day and is proving an effective role model for her students. This school has applied for cycle parking and really could be one to watch next year. With 33 cyclists on their first attempt, it could very well be a case of ‘Watch This Bikespace!’

COLAISTE CHIARAIN, SCOIL GHLAS GAN DABT!

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:46:15 +0100

Colaiste Chiarain are really shaking things up down in Croom, Co.Limerick in the lead up to National Walk to School Week. As part of their preparations for one of the most important weeks in the Green-Schools Calendar, the Green-Schools committee have organised an entire week of WOW days where raffle tickets will be given out daily to those that walk, cycle or park & stride to school. To further participation by all students, any student that travels sustainably in excess of 3 times next week will be rewarded with a Green-Schools slap wrap (as well as being entered into a major raffle at the end of the week). They hope to finish the week with a ‘Funky Feet Friday’ on May 20th which is also coincides with the awarding of their Fourth Green-Flag for Travel. Well done Colaiste Chiarain! A leading example for Green-Schools Travel in Secondary Schools!

MULLAHORAN NS HOLD THEIR 1ST WOW DAY!

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:52:14 +0100

Mullahoran NS, Kilcogy, Co Cavan had their first WOW (Walk on Wednesday) day on Wednesday 11th May, 2011 with their Green-Schools Co-ordinator Deirdre Shaughnessy. The school are currently working hard on their Green-Schools Travel theme with An Taisce Green-Schools Officer Susan Doorley. They used the opportunity to have a WOW day on their walk to their local church for practicing before their confirmations this Friday! Just another take on the WOW day..do what you can, when you can!!