🌍🎉 A Remarkable Year for Our Green School – Double Awards and a National Win! 🎉🌍
This school year has marked an incredible chapter in our Green School journey at St. Joseph’s, filled with sustainability, action, and a strong sense of community spirit. As we worked towards achieving our 4th Green Flag – the Travel Flag, our efforts were nationally recognised with two major awards in the Big Travel Challenge: the Clare County Award and the North-Western Regional Award. A central highlight of this campaign was the 10-day Walk County Clare Challenge, during which students collectively recorded over 3.2 million steps, covered 2,673 kilometres, and prevented an estimated 320,811.6 grams of CO₂ emissions — the equivalent of walking all the way to Budapest!
Our Green Schools programme was vibrant and wide-ranging. Initiatives included the #SheCycle bike workshops encouraging cycling among girls, creative poster design competitions, informative classroom lessons on climate change, and plant-based cooking in Home Economics to promote sustainable dietary choices. A standout achievement was our 1st Place Win at the National Young Environmentalist Competition for the TY Environmental Class and the SJT Green Committee’s powerful eco-community campaign, “This Is Our Plea – Go Plastic Free.” This project made a lasting impact by encouraging the use of reusable bottles and lunchboxes, compostable cutlery, and greener choices in local businesses. It also contributed to enhancing the Hot School Meals Programme, advocating for locally-sourced, nutritious meals that reduce packaging waste and carbon miles.
In addition to these achievements, our students showcased their passion and innovation at events such as BT Young Scientist, SciFest, eGlobe, and the Young Environmentalist Awards. We welcomed guest speakers who inspired deeper environmental awareness, collaborated with Irish Seed Savers to explore biodiversity and native seeds, and even featured in a special recording with Pat Flynn from Clare FM for their upcoming “Ours to Protect” series.
💚 None of this would have been possible without the incredible dedication, creativity, and teamwork of our students, staff, and wider community. As we reflect on a truly inspiring year of growth and environmental leadership, we now set our sights on the next exciting chapter — Biodiversity 🐝🌾 — as we continue working together to create a greener, more sustainable future for all.