It was all systems go at Presentation Castleisland recently as Climate Action Week got underway.
This is a Green-Schools’ initiative to promote sustainability and environmental awareness in the areas of energy, water, travel, waste and biodiversity.
Each day of the week followed a specific sustainable theme and the whole school community participated in promoting this theme with great energy and enthusiasm.
‘Meatless Monday’ kick- started Climate Action Week and all students sampled a vegetarian dish, cooked by the transition years in their Home Economics class.
Park and Stride
On ‘Transport Tuesday, all students and teachers were encouraged to walk, cycle, carpool or park and stride if possible.
The transition year students set up five gym bicycles in the yard and all students rotated throughout the day to raise money for Headstrong’s ‘ Cycle Against Suicide Campaign.’
The school’s first swop shop was set up in the hall on ‘Waste Wednesday.’ A great number of students brought in books or clothes and were given the option to swap them around.
Any items left over were donated to the school library or the recently installed clothes bank which sends recycled clothes to developing countries.
€700 Household Food Waste Yearly
Information on food waste was also shared with the school community over the intercom and the students learned that the average household wastes €700 a year on food!
Tips on recycling were also shared and students also donated used batteries which will be sent to the charity ‘Barretstown for Sick Children.
The theme of biodiversity was dealt with on ‘Take Back Thursday’ where some students planted shrubs in the well-being garden with their teachers Mairead Lane and Kevin Moore.
‘The idea behind this was to attract species at risk of extinction and by planting these shrubs, we hope to attract bees, ladybirds, etc.
Supporting Life on Earth
“We want to look at biodiversity which is essential for the processes that support all life on earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat,” said Mr. Moore.
The final day of the week was celebrated with ‘Footprint Friday’ which raised awareness about reducing one’s carbon footprint in every activity throughout the day, like, turning off lights, logging off the computers, watching out for dripping taps etc.
The Second Year students visited Banna Beach for a beach clean up and removed many items of plastic pollutants from the strand.
Plastic Litter – A Killer
Plastic litter kills an estimated 100,000 marine mammals and turtles worldwide every year, including 30,000 seals and up to one million seabirds, due to entanglement or ingestion.
The final action of the week was to plant a tree in the front lawn of the school. The students were reminded that trees absorb carbon dioxide and give oxygen and a single tree is equivalent to one day’s worth of oxygen for a family of four.
The final message of the very successful, sustainable Climate Action Week was ‘to treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.’
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
