Healthy lunch policies have brought many benefits:

Reduces consumption of plastic packaging eg crisp bags

Pupils are encouraged to eat their fruit and veg first – reduces volume of uneaten fruit and veg in compost bins

In some schools all lunch waste is sent home so no need to dispose of it at school

Some schools provide water filters to encourage consumption of water in a re-usable bottle.  Improved hydration leads to greater alertness and concentration

Schools have created many interesting curricular links:

VISUAL ARTS:

Christmas Decoration Art Competition

Hold a workshop to create art from recyclable materials   and follow up with an exhibition of this work

Hold a fashion contest using recyclable materials, Coca -  -  Cola sponsor this for secondary schools but idea could be extended to primary schools

Make collages in the classroom with recyclable materials

Write/perform plays with an environmental theme

Enter 5th/6th class in the ESAT Young Scientists Exhibition

Visit the Botanic Gardens – tours are free

Celebrate National Tree Day

Investigate the processes of recycling plastic and glass

Make ponds and study pond life

Carry out a study of visiting birds

Grow shrubs that will encourage wildlife

Use bird tables and feeders

Build in a numerical aspect to a project involving counting or ratios – Moya Garvey of St Patrick’s Senior NS was able to create lots of Maths links from a project on Daffodils last Spring.

Monitor volumes of waste collected over time using tables and graphs.  Use graphs to show relative volumes of different types of waste.

Make water saving devices and calculate volumes of water saved

Make instruments out of junk

Composting

All primary schools are doing this – it is hugely successful in reducing black bin waste.

Recycling - Re-Using

All schools are using their green bin collection.

One school is re-using newspaper by shredding it and making blocks to be used as fuel and/or drainage for flower pots.  (Holmpatrick)

Both sides of paper are being used – reduces consumption of paper.  (Holmpatrick)

Battery recycling is easy – can be done at no cost to school.  Contact Trish Kennedy, Green Schools Coordinator,  Fingal Co Co 890 628666.

One school is managing to recycle all its milk cartons – 1200 per month

Aluminium can recycling is also popular.  A company will supply a can bank which can be used by the school and the local community.  They collect the contents and the proceeds go to the school.  (Milverton NS)

Stamps can be collected for charity. (St Brendans)

Suggestion:  Investigate possibility of specifying recyclable copybooks and having these on booklist.  These could be bought for the school shop.  Find out where to source recyclable stationery.

Energy Conservation

Signs can be put on lights to remind people to turn them off or to unplug electrical devices. (Holmpatrick)

Heat reflectors can be made for radiators.  (Holmpatrick)

Linking to the Community - Informing and Involving

Schools have experimented with lots of different things:

Holding an awareness day

Setting up Skerries Composting Network (Holmpatrick School)

Producing a Green Schools newsletter for parents

Involving parents in different school activities to increase awareness

Carrying out a survey on the use of home composting and following up in six months plus one year to see if any changes had occurred

Participating in the St Patrick’s Day parade using an environmental theme

Linking up with An Taisce’s National Spring Clean

Linking up with Repak’s special recycling month

Suggested project: Monitor frequency of black bin collection by class, by school etc use graphs, calculate money saved.  Make a calendar to show when the green bins go out. 

Ask people to make pledges regarding how often they will put out their black bin, not litter etc

Litter

Litter has practically been eliminated for all primary schools

Organisation/Continuity

Organisation seems to work best when all classes are represented on the Green Schools Committee. A strong committee involving mostly 6th class can result in the programme drifting when 6th class moves on to secondary.  Rotating committee members means everyone has a chance to be involved and that there is strong continuity.

Ways of increasing awareness throughout the school include using:

School noticeboards

Poster campaigns

Newsletters

Announcing targets at assembly and informing when attained

Water Conservation

Install push button taps (to overcome problem of younger children leaving taps on)

Carry out a survey of dripping taps to estimate amount of water wasted

Other News Items and Contacts

The new Green Schools Coordinator for Fingal Co Co is Trish Kennedy.  We are going to arrange for her to come out and visit all of the schools soon.  You can contact her directly on: 890 6286 or 087 050 9309 or patricia.kennedy@fingalcoco.ie.  We also want to arrange a special workshop for schools on how to fill in their Green Flag application in November.

We want to improve and extend our section on Green Schools on our own website see www.skerriesca.com/green.htm  Please email news or photos from your school to info@skerriesca.com

For up to date info on Green Schools nationally check out www.antaisce.org/projects/greenschools.html

Fingal Green Schools news can be found on www.fingalcoco.ie/EducationAndAwareness/EnvironmentalAwareness/GreenSchoolsProgramme/

The local tree planting group Crann Phádraig helped to support the two information days we have run.  The group is happy to organize tree planting or to lead tree walks for schools.  Contact Seán Rooney on 849 1461.

Our new SCA Green Schools Coordinator is Niamh Quigley contact her on nqfint@o2.ie or on 849 6748. 

A huge thank you to Liz Thompson our outgoing coordinator for all her hard work and boundless enthusiasm over the past year.