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 pla...

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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 Citizen...

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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 school...

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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 ...

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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 up...

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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, ...
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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, a...
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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 â...
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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...
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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!!...
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Tallanstown National School, Dundalk, Co. Louth registered with the Green-Schools Programme in 1999 and to date have already been awarded Green Flags for the Litter and Waste, Energy and Water Themes.
    
 They are currently working hard towards achieving their fourth Green Flag, for the Travel Theme. As part of the Travel Programme, Tallanstown National School held a WOW (Walk on Wednesday) Day on Wednesday 4th May, 2011. The day was a brilliant success and the school even organised a human ...
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Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Alan Kelly TD took the opportunity to praise the success of the Green-Schools Travel programme at the annual Travel Competition Awards ceremony held at Tailors’ Hall on the 14th April. At a special prize-giving ceremony, attended by Mr. Kelly, pupils from ten schools across the country were awarded for creating a mascot or slogan for the Green-Schools Travel Programme. The prize-winners were chosen from over two thousand e...
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So far, 2011 has been a very busy and successful year for the Green-Schools Programme. There are now 3553 schools registered with the Programme and 2151 schools have been awarded at least one Green Flag! 
 
This year we have 1402 schools working on the Litter and Waste Theme, 788 on the Energy Theme, 605 on the Water Theme, 430 on the Travel Theme, 274 on the Biodiversity Theme, 15 on the Global Citizenship Theme and 22 on the Climate Change Theme!

Co-ordinators and committees have been working ...
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Sacred Heart Roscrea are well on their way to creating one of the most impressive walking bus schemes in Tipperary if not the country. Taking each step with absolute dedication through parent talks, posters, researching and auditing routes the green-Schools committee launched their walking bus pilot scheme to great effect. On March 31st 2011, students donned their fluorescent tabards, organised themselves into groups and stepped into line with the volunteer bus drivers and conductors. Parent...
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The whole Green Flag experience has been so wonderful for our school. The new people we met, the local groups, agencies etc we became involved with and the great ceremony on March 10th were for different children on different days "the best day of my life so far". On the day of the award ceremony one child said "I never thought we would be thanked so much for helping the environment and doing things we had so much fun doing". Ours is a two teacher, 38 pupil rural school and our whole communi...
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Laurel Hill FJC, South Circular Road, Limerick 
Laurel Hill FJC were awarded their Fourth Green-Flag for Green-Schools Travel in 2010 but that hasn’t stopped their efforts to promote Green-Travel in their School. They made several efforts in the past to promote cycling but to no avail so in early March they took it up a notch and piloted the Beauty and the Bike Workshop. Using a traffic light system they identified reasons as to why girls don’t cycle and tried to come up with their own sol...
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St. Patricks Day Parades in Ireland were turned even Greener this year through the brilliant floats, costumes, banners and balloons on show from the huge amount of Green-Schools that took part in their local parades around the country! 

Check out the pictures here!

If your school was in a parade, let us know more>>

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The Green-Schools success story continues this year as the coveted Green Flag Award was presented to 312 schools from across the country, at awards ceremonies in Kilkenny, Galway, Cork, Athlone and Dublin this week. 110 schools were awarded Green Flags for the first time and a further 202 schools successfully renewed their Flags. The programme, now in its fourteenth year, is operated by An Taisce, in partnership with Local Authorities.  

The Green Flag is a recognised international symbol of ...
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As part of Bike Week 2011 and in conjunction with the An Taisce Green-Schools Travel programme secondary schools are being asked to saddle up and get cycling to school! The secondary schools cycle challenge will run between 7th – 11th March 2011 as a lead up event to Bike Week 2011. Secondary schools are being asked to run a cycling event at their school during the week. The ultimate aim is to encourage as many students, staff and parents to cycle to school on their chosen day. Some ideas ...
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Scoil Éinne is a 5 teacher, 83 students school located in Cloughanover, Headford Co. Galway. The Green Schools committee comprises of 1 teacher (Miss Walsh) and 14 pupils, with roughly 2 pupils from each class from 1st to 6th class. Pupils interested in being on the Green Schools committee were randomly selected from each class. The committee meet on a weekly basis. The environmental coordinator sets the agendas for the meetings, and a 6th class pupil writes the minutes of the meetings. Aris...
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Check out your area’s Green-Schools Newsletter to find out what Green-Schools in your area have been up to including: 
 
 - A message from your Environmental Awareness Officer 
 - Information about Green-Schools in Ireland 
 - Information about all our competitions, news and events and An Taisce’s other environmental programmes and projects 

 Click here to read the Green-Schools Newsletter!
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Welcome back to all of our Green-Schools! The Green-Schools programme has now entered into its 14th year in Ireland! There are currently 3502 schools registered on the Green-Schools programme and this number is always increasing. Since September 2010 an additional 86 schools have joined the programme. Schools are working hard on the themes of Litter and Waste, Energy, Water, Travel, Biodiversity, Global Citizenship and Climate Change. October was a busy month for Green-Schools Ireland with te...
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1st October 2010: Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, TD today joined pupils from St. Mary’s Boys National School, Rathfarnham and staff from RTE to launch this year’s An Taisce Green-Schools ESB Independent Energy Project The An Taisce Green-Schools Energy Project supported by ESB Independent Energy encourages primary school students and businesses to partner up in order to exchange expertise and devise creative ways to conserve energy and reduce carbon...
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