Green Schools - Working together for a sustainable future

Green School committee 2021/22

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6th class:        Wolfie Tyndale              Lucy Langford

5th class:         Ryan Nixon                     Harry Chambers

4th class:        Luca Dombegyhazi      Matas Valiukevicius

3rd class:         Maya Pullin                  Kaela Clarke

2nd class:        Sara Csoti                        Simon O'Donovan

1st class:        Max Roycroft                   Ana-May Piontcovschi     

Teacher        Ms. Giles

Parent:         Antonia Conlon

Autumn 2021

In the summer term, the committee met to discuss our application for our Biodiversity flag. The committee assessed the work being done in class on the new theme as well as ongoing work on the earlier themes. It was agreed to delay our application until April 2022 to allow more time to work on the theme. Any additional class time is currently being used to keep up with literacy and numeracy, as a consequence of the large amount of time out of the classroom due to Covid-19 lockdowns.

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On the return to school in September 2021, 3 new committee members were elected to replace children who have left the school. The children who were part of the committee for the last 2 years explained the work of the committee to date, focussing on ideas which had been put forward but had yet to be worked on.

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The committee decided that it was important to proceed with improving the biodiversity in the school grounds through planting: possible vegetable patch, native fruit trees, flowers to attract bees etc.

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A parent in the school who is a tree surgeon, Danny Pullin, removed some dead elm trees from the front on the school. They could have blown down in a storm and caused injuries or damage to the fence.

The school received a donation of €200 to fund trees balls under the Bugs, Bees and Native Trees initiative. A parent in the school, Anna Roycroft, met with Ms. Giles to identify areas of the school grounds to use for planting. She will visit a sustainable nursery to source good quality trees to suit the soil, aspect and space available. It was decided to replace some of the trees along the stone wall to the rear of the school. Some of these were vandalised some years ago and it would be good to complete the line of trees. Having removed dead trees from the boundary at the front of the school, it would be good to plant some new trees there: rowan or ash would be good.

It was thought that planting an oak tree on the unused grass area at the front of the school, surrounded by a fairy ring of wildflowers would be a legacy tree for the school. The committee suggested 6th class take responsibility for this area as their legacy to the school.

The Parent Association will take responsibility for co-ordinating this initiative. Trees to be planted early in the new year.

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The committee suggested a spring flower growing competition. The children would learn about different spring flowers which attract bees and other pollinators. They learned about what a plant needs to grow. Each classroom used a slideshow to learn about their bulbs, with older classes encouraged to research more information. Classrooms planted the bulbs provided and kept records of the planting and growth.

Classes blogged about their planting and the progress of their flowers to share with the wider community.

Spring 2021

6th class were learning about Invasive Plant Species and their effect on the biodiversity in Ireland. You can click on the links to see some of their work. Maybe it will help you when you are chosing new plants for your gardens and to identify the species which damage our native landscape and impact on native flora and fauna.