St. Attracta’s N.S. has been part of the Green Schools programme for 10 years. We have already received 4 flags to date signalling the work being done in the school in relation to litter & waste, energy, water and travel.

All pupils are familiar with using a recycling, waste and compost bin in the classroom. We also try and save paper where possible by reusing old paper. Children are often seen closing doors and turning off computers, lights etc. in an effort to reduce energy consumption. Likewise with water, all pupils try not to waste this valuable resource. Children are also encouraged to walk or car pool to school to reduce congestion outside the school gates.

While continuing with these topics we also have been looking closely at the theme of ‘biodiversity ’ over the last 2 years. There was a lot of confusion about this area at the start but we now have a school population who have become something of an ‘expert’ in the area. Our present Committee consists of Sophia Klofac, Grace Hunt, Julia Gawalkawiez, Gavin Honeyman, Ola Potulska, Sarah McEntire, Holly McHale, Wiktoria Lurka, Pawel Fijak, Erica O’Connor and Jack Gannon.

An environmental audit was carried out of the school grounds. We decided to could make better use of our ample school grounds to encourage more biodiversity in the school environment. A special designated area was created where we put tyres, logs, tree trunks a rockery, flowers and bird feeders. The children then monitor these habitats on a regular basis and do surveys to check for birds and mini-beasts.

Our pupils now seem to appreciate that we share our environment with many different species and that we must respect them. Our Green Code (motto) which is readily recited by all our pupils is:

Help our species
Help our flowers
Don’t destroy them
They’re all ours!

We hope all our hard work will pay off and that we will be awarded our fifth Green Flag in the coming weeks.