Green Schools

GREEN SCHOOLS

The Green Schools Initiative is a Europe wide project devoted to the promotion and acknowledgment of environmental action within schools. In 2012/2013, we achieved our first Green Schools Flag for litter and waste. In order to achieve this goal, we adopted a number of environmental initiatives as part of our litter review and action plan. These
included increasing the number of recycling points within the school, the creation of litter and waste information posters, a waste audit, litter picking, and litter and waste questionnaires. We have also completed a number of days of action such as beach cleaning and tree planting. Our green schools programme is also linked to the curriculum via Community Awareness and the Environment (transition year module), C.S.P.E, Geography and Science.
Since then our green schools program has gone from strength to strength having been awarded our second green flag for energy and third for Water. 
 

When collecting our third Green Flag we were announced as Water School of the Year 2017 - National Winner for our work on the water theme.

Water School of the Year 2017
Calvin Buckley, James McCarthy and Ross Cahill at the Water School of the Year awards Ceremony.


The whole school has become involved in this project through the Surveys, poster completions, greens schools module, CSPE, SPHE, Woodwork and Geography classes have also become involved by creating items for our water wall and looking at how water affects us locally and further afield. Some science classes also looked at the water treatment process following the announcement of a boil water notice in the area – this was at the suggestion of the green school’s committee.
Outside of the school we have worked with the Tidy Towns committee doing clean ups and this year we will be planting the towns hanging baskets and looking after them with water collected in the school’s massive rainwater tank.

Rain water harvesting tank installed during extension works on the school

 

Our Projects
• Polytunnel
• Poster campaigns
• Leak tests
• Rain water harvest tank built into new school extension
• Beach clean – clean coast
• National spring clean
• Brother Rice Avenue clean up with Blarney Street Primary
• Water Butt used to water polytunnel plants
• Earth Hour/Day

Since starting work on our water flag we have reduced mains water consumption by 26% even with an increase in student population and a 225% increase in floor area.
 

Mr. Chris Melnyk, Calvin Buckley, Mr. Michael John O Mahoney (An Taisce), James McCarthy, Mr. Eamon Gallen (Irish Water), Ross Cahill and Mr. Brendan Wall

Committee Members:


1st years: Evan Lordan Bailey, John Spellman, Bradley O Brien, Diarmuid Clifford, Colm Ridgeway. 2nd years: Joe Ahern, Jack Pink, Jude Ramsell, Scott McCarthy, Barnabis Bisi, 3rd years: Matthew Kelly O Regan, Daniel Ojuolope. Transition years: Ross Cahill (Student Coordinator) Adam Lowry, James McCarthy, Matthew Kelleher, Cathal Morrissey, Calvin Buckley. 5th Years: Mark McCarthy, Evan O'Meara, Mike McGrath, Kyle O Shea, Conor O Leary, Alex Aherna, Denis Clancy, Daniel Roberts, Conor Linehan. 6th Years: Jacques Kinane, Ronan Cotter 

Staff: Brendan Wall, Christopher Melnyk (Joint-coordinators) Sorcha Ní Riaín, Reba Murphy, Paul Kelly, Ellen Barrett, Joe Power, Mick O Riordan,Tim Collins, Joy Higgins, Barry Speight, Dermot Kavanagh, Mark O Brien.

 

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