Rosslare Holiday Resort

Scoil Mhuire is once again actively pursuing their next Green Flag. The theme for this flag is biodiversity.

Biodiversity is another word for nature, natural heritage, wildlife or the natural world. Biodiversity or biological diversity simply means the variety of all living things on earth, including people, plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms. Biodiversity is everywhere and all around us, from gardens to hedgerows, woodlands to wetlands, rivers to bogs. We all depend on bio-diversity to provide clean air and water, healthy soils, food, building materials and medicines.

Biodiversity is important to all of us in one way or another - growing or buying food. Walking in towns and parks, hiking in the mountains, cutting our hedges, building timber framed houses. We all have a role to play in protecting the natural heritage of Wexford.

The Green School Committee had a meeting and planned an agenda that will keep the children and teachers busy. Different classes will do surveys on various habitats around the school eg. the grove area, beach (dunes, trees, vegetable garden, flower beds, walls, hedging and shrubs, the sand pit along with other areas. They will draw up a questionnaire for each class to survey their habitat.

The school is planning on moving their vegetable plot over near "the quiet area". This will be done in conjunction with the Incredible Edible School Programme.

So there will be lots of activity among the school grounds as the children explore and observe whats going on in their yard.

The Green School Committee was established in Scoil Mhuire in September 2002 by Mrs Anne Lyons, a teacher in the school. The committee consists of 3 teachers, 3 parents and 6 children from 4th class upwards, who all have a personal interest in the environment.

Scoil Mhuire has 4 Green flags. The green flags are awarded every 2 years. The school received its 1st flag in 2004 for recycling.

The schools green code for recycling is

Scoil Mhuire is clean.

Scoil Mhuire is green.

It's a recycling machine.

The school recycles:

Green Board:

The children put up posters of what they recycle on the green board to show the younger classes what to recycle.

The school participates in a healthy lunch scheme where children are encouraged to eat healthy food.

The school has a vegetable garden.

Scoil Mhuire received its 2nd green flag in 2006 for energy. The action plan for energy was to educate the children in all areas of energy conservation and efficency. The children learned about energy, where it comes from and all its uses relating to food, health and the environment.

The Green code for energy is:

Energy is used everyday

In work, school and in play

So dont let energy fade away

Save it for a rainy day.

Scoil Mhuire was awarded its 3rd green flag in 2008 for water.

 The Green code for water is:

Water is cool

Water is good

So turn off your taps

And dont let it run

Or in the end we'll all have none!

The school was awarded its 4th green flag this year. The theme for this year is transport.

This work has included such initiatives as

• Learning about Road Safety
• Participating in a cycle Training course
• Projects on history of all forms of transport
• WOW days - walking on Wednesdays
• Park n'Stride/Car Pooling
• Taking part in many competitions such as Bling Your Boot/Bling Your Bike

These are only a mere sample of the work covered on the Transport Theme over the past 2 years.

The children, teachers and staff of Scoil Mhuire continue to work on all Green School issues including such projects as

• Keeping the school ground clean and tidy
• Planting bulbs/window boxes yearly
• Keeping our school and school grounds litter free
• Planting and caring for our vegetable garden
• Encouraging recycling in our community and looking after recycling in our school
• Carry out projects on green issues such as travel surveys, climate change
• Continuing our membership of coast Care Group and organising beach clean-up days
• Arranging field trips to environmental sites such as Wind farm / landfill sites
• Energy van coming to our school

 So as you can see we are a very, very busy green school

Many people have helped us along this green journey and I would like to thank you all but especially thanks to

Mr O'Neill from Hayes Bicycle Shop

Ray Flynn and Rosslare Development Association

Active Retirement Group

Alice Murphy and Grace Kelly

Wexford County Council

Helen Hartigan

Yvonne Kelly from An Taisce

Scoil Mhuire Parent Council

Whole Rosslare Community

Our Principal Mrs Murphy

Teachers and Staff of Scoil Mhuire

Members of Green School Committee both past and present

A big Mile buiochas to you all

Thank You