Templeogue College’s green school’s committee has been working very hard, since September, to implement the school’s Action plan for our first Green flag for Litter and Waste. We were excited to have been awarded our Green Flag by An Taisce in April 2020 having appeared on RTE News 2Day in January 2020.
Below are some highlights of the actions that the students have carried out to date:
- A rota for bin stewarding has been implemented for the canteen and Junior yard, for lunchtimes. All first years get an opportunity to steward the bins in the junior yard. Green schools committee members steward the bins in the canteen. Uncontaminated recycling waste is being collected from four bins, in these areas, every lunchtime.
- The Development Education class in 4th year are managing and monitoring the “Canteen goes Green” project. This will involve 75 students in 4th year over the course of the year. The canteen are reducing waste by replacing disposable cardboard chip boxes with ceramic bowls or serving food to student’s in their own lunchboxes. Each 4th year student is involved at lunchtime, in rotation, stewarding the trolley for bowls and the new compost waste bins. Due to the increase in organic waste being collected, the school will now start a regular brown bin collection with our waste disposal company.
- A tally survey of student’s waste disposal in the canteen and junior yard took place in November, by green school committee members. The results of this survey will be compared with a similar tally that took place last March. A comparison analysis of the results will take place in January by some 2nd year Maths students for their Maths CBA.
- New coloured pictorial signs were designed and erected for all corridor recycling and general waste bins. These signs inform students of which rubbish type can be put in the corresponding bins.
A big thank you to all the green school committee members for their hard work. (new members always welcome: meeting every Thursday @ 12.55 in room 14).
Take a look at the News Report prepared by our Green School Committee members who continued their work for the environment during our school closure.
2023/24 Updates:
A big thank you to all the students, including Classes 1B, 1D, and 4th years (North and West classes) who helped complete litter cleanup's of the school grounds and on Templeville Road and to all 2nd year students who took part in a cleaning rota of the canteen and benches in senior yard. This joint effort by many students to keep our school environs clean, makes it a more enjoyable place to spend our days.
TY student, Kye O'Brien, came up with a simple, novel way to raise money for the homeless, by organising a recycling drive of Re-turn bottles and cans. He raised €56 for the homeless, by asking students to bring in re-turn bottles and cans to class, which he then brought to the shop and the Re-turn money went to this very good cause.
Cohen Heenan and Evin Herraghty, from the Green School's Committee, produced an excellent video for all students and staff, to inform them on how the cycle crossing and cycle lane should be used. It was shown to all students during class time and can also be accessed on our school website. Next year, the committee hopes to continue working on achieving the travel flag, by increasing more active travel to school.
Two TY classes, North and West, were involved in renewing our school's circular flowerbed, inside the school's entrance in February and May. They did a fantastic job weeding the bed, and on May 1st, sowing flowers (Tulips, Astrantias, a few Sedums, Linaria, and some Virginia Stock). All the above flowers are fantastic for butterflies, bees, moths, ladybirds and hoverflies. A perfect start to a pollinator friendly flower bed for the school. A big thank you goes to Angela Donohue, from Ballyboden Tidy Towns, who showed the students how to plant the flowers and generously donated all the seeds, bulbs, and plants for free!. Ms. Murray's 5th year Biology students also planted their sunflower seedlings in the bed. Hopefully, next year's TY's will be as good at maintaining and renewing the flowerbed!