This article is from page 59 of the 2009-04-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
IT’S been busy these past few months at Scropul National School.
Having secured their first Green Flag in June 2007, on the theme of litter and waste, the 14-pupil school in west Clare has set its sights on a second flag, this time on the theme ONE As
This past week the pupils and teachers were out in force on Seafield Beach for their third Spring Clean. The now annual event goes to show how applicable the Green Schools programme is, not only in the school
environment, but also in the commu- nity in general.
“It was a great achievement for us to get the first flag,” explains teacher Dolores Montgomerie. “We had a number of initiatives, such as a con- centrated waste management plan. We now have a three-bin system in place in every classroom with dry waste, wet waste and a bin for recy- cling.
“We also make sure that no paper is wasted. We photocopy on both sides of each page and use leftover paper for rough work. We came up with the motto ‘Don’t drop it, pop it in’.
And on top of that, we formulated a school rap, which is sung at every green school assembly. It gives a great sense of pride in the school.” The energy flag is something that they are working hard to achieve. Not only has the benefits of the ini- tiative been seen in the school — with an electricity bill reduced by 10 per cent – but also in local businesses. “The pupils devised a question- naire which we gave to the bank and the library in Miltown, with their consent. We looked at where they could make savings in terms of en- ergy, then typed out some aims and
guidelines for each, which will help in their overall reduction of energy consumption.”
According to Dolores, the benefits form the programme are far reach- ing.
“The kids have become incred- ibly environmentally aware since we started out. We’re a small school so every pupil is fully engaged in the programme and they’re totally pro- AYOUB Aes
“Each day, every pupil is involved. For example they monitor the tem- perature in each classroom, or they ensure that lights or appliances are
not switched on when they’re not in use.
“Tt goes to show how simple actions can have a big impact and the hope is that the pupils will carry these habits with them into adulthood.