Environmental Awareness Week – 18th-22nd September
Environmental Awareness Week
Monday 18th – Friday 22nd September 2017
Nature Walks, Environmental Displays, Bee Hotels, Tree Planting and the Green Ninja!
The week focused on the four Green Flags that the College has been awarded as part of the An Taisce Green Schools Programme. These flags are for recycling, energy, water and most recently biodiversity. The biodiversity flag was particularly noteworthy as it was part of a Green Campus initiative with Willow Park First Year and Junior School. As a school community we need to be vigilant and proactive in protecting our environment. We are custodians of the natural world and need to take our responsibilities seriously. Astronauts provide us with a profound perspective on our planet.
‘This planet is not terra firma. It is a delicate flower and it must be cared for. It’s lonely. It’s small. It’s isolated, and there is no resupply. And we are mistreating it ……This is our home, and this is all we’ve got.’
Scott Carpenter, Mercury 7
The week was a busy one with 42 Biology setting up the environmental poster displays throughout the school. The second year students were taken on guided nature walks by fifth year Green School committee members Conor O’Neill, Andrew Ryan, Michael McDonald, Dylan Hutchinson and Adam O’Sullivan. These walks were kindly facilitated by the Religion Department and each group finished their walk in the outdoor classroom where an extract from Laudato Si’ On Care for Our Common Home was read. On Thursday and Friday there were four workshops with Dale Treadwell (Naturally Wild). Second Year Science and TY Biology classes participated in these workshops which combined indoor presentations with outdoor activities and covered a variety of themes including pollination, tree recognition, tree planting and bee hotels. Thursday Tunes also supported the week with a song linked to the environment.
On Friday the Green Schools Programme was enthusiastically supported by a new environmental superhero ‘The Green Ninja’. Many thanks to the BCTV group who managed to capture some rare video footage of this superhero in action! The final activity of the EAW programme was a flag raising ceremony with the house captains of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Year. As the four Green Flags were raised they were reminded of their leadership role in protecting our environment.
We wish the Green Schools Committee the best of luck as they embark upon their next Green Flag Global Citizenship-Marine Environment.
Many thanks to Dale Treadwell (Naturally Wild) for his fascinating workshops and to the Green Schools Committee, Mr Cathal Copeland, Ms Marie Kelly, Mr Terry O’Reilly, Mr James Fiztsimons and BCTV, 42 Biology and Thursday Tunes for helping to organise the environmental awareness activities. A special thank you to Dean Eaton and DLRCC for his support.
