Green School

Green-Schools

 

Working together for a sustainable future

We have 26 children on our Melview Green-Schools Committee

6th Class Sarah Connolly, Sarah O’Donnell, Martin McDonagh, TJ Flynn
5th Class Deiman Gura, David Brady, Edward McGlynn, Ryan Wenman
4th Class Candice Stokes, Grace Masterson
3rd Class Grace Flaherty, Jack O’Rourke
2nd Class Farah Devlin, Conor Savage
1st Class Grace Walshe, James Bunjaj, Luca Shanley, Rebecca Leacy
Senior Infants Sarah Walsh, Patrick Hanlon, Donnacha McArdle, Isabelle Madden
Junior Infants Sophia Igoe, Daniel Walshe, Louis Fitzpatrick, Andrew Colligan
Staff Audrey Hunt (Green-Schools Coordinator), Bryan Kennedy (Principal), Lorna Higham (Secretary)

 

We are working on our Travel Theme and hope to get our Travel Flag soon.

 

We already have three flags for:
Litter and Waste Energy Water

 

The aim of the Travel theme is: to increase the number of students walking, cycling, scooting, using the bus or carpooling on the way to school and reduce the dependence on single car journeys.

 

The travel theme is focused on changing our relationship with our cars, so that they are used less often and more efficiently.

 

Did you know?

·      Pollutants from unsustainable transport contribute to global warming and climate change?

·      Carbon dioxide is a pollutant that comes mainly from:

–       burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil, gas, diesel, petrol

–       deforestation and

–       urbanisation

 

·      In 2019 scientists recorded the highest level of CO2 emissions on Earth since records began. This increase in greenhouse gases traps more of the Sun’s heat, increasing the average global surface temperature and thus changing our climate.

·      Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions per person are amongst the highest in the world.

·      Climate change in Ireland is causing warmer summers, wetter winters and more extreme weather events like storms and flooding.

·      Globally other impacts include: river and coastal flooding, water shortages, effects on fisheries and food production.

 

 

Green-Schools promotes:

Ø  Active Travel – cycling, walking, scooting

AND

Ø  Sustainable Travel – school bus, car pooling

We hope to help students, teachers, parents and the wider community understand the benefits of Active and Sustainable Travel, how it can help us and our planet so that we can all make better choices about how we travel now and in the future.

So maybe when you are an adult and you are in college or working, you will choose a more Active and Sustainable way to travel and not rely on your car all the time.

 

 There are many benefits related to the Travel Theme

·      Health benefits

·       Safety benefits

·       Environmental benefits

·      Community benefits

 

HEALTH BENEFITS

Active travel like walking, cycling and scooting has many benefits for our health.

·       It helps children learn better – exercise can improve our concentration.

·       It supports our emotional development – we feel better when we exercise.

·       Active travel helps to build stronger bodies – muscles and bone!

·       It supports fitter bodies – we get more cardio-vascular exercise.

·       It helps children to feel free and independent!

 

 

SAFETY BENEFITS

·       Reducing the number of cars travelling to our school can reduce congestion at the school making it safer for children as they are walking in the school environment.

·       Learning about Road Safety is also an important part of the Travel Theme.

 

 

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

The travel theme can help our community by

·       Reducing traffic.

·       Creating opportunities for social interaction – like chatting to your friends on the bus or as you walk to school.

·       Better infrastructure like footpaths, pedestrian crossings, bicycle and scooter stands.

·       Creating stronger communities where we all work together towards a shared goal.

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Reducing the number of cars in our school community:

·       Improves air quality around the school

·       Reduces noise pollution

·       Reduces our school’s carbon footprint

·       Supports biodiversity around the school

·       Helps children to connect with nature

 

 

 

There are seven steps to getting a Green Flag for Travel

STEP 1 – Green-Schools Committee

The first step was to set up a committee. We have children from all classes on our committee.

 

STEP 2 – Environmental Review

The next step was to do an Environmental Review to find out the current situation as regards travel around our school.

 

–       We did a Hands-up Travel Survey with the school community to see how people travel to school.

–       We did a Walkability and Cycleability Audit with our Travel Officers to see how pedestrian and bike friendly it is to travel to school.

–       We did Traffic Surveys to count the traffic and check the speed (16% of motorists surveyed were speeding; 78% of cars observed had only one occupant)

–       We did a No Idling Audit to check how many engines are left running at Infant Home Time (43% were idling for 20 seconds or more).

 

STEP 3 – Action Plan

The third step was to make our Action Plan. We identified targets and goals to meet in order to promote sustainable travel to and from school.

They included:

–       Getting our scooter and bicycle stand at the front of the school

–       We had a day of action where children could bring in their bikes and do cycle training with our Travel Officer Lorraine.

–       5th class have been doing Cycle Right Training this year.

–       We asked Longford County Council to repair the barrier and the crossing point at the school.

–       We have contacted our local TD, Joe Flaherty to inform him of our work and to seek his help in making Melview a safer place for our school community.

–       We put information about our work on our Green-Schools notice boards and the school Facebook page and website and we did a presentation at Junior and Senior School Assemblies to inform the whole school about our work.

–       We have had competitions – one for our Green Code and an Art competition.

–       We had Green Day or Lá Glas on Thursday 16th March, in conjuction with Seachtain na Gaeilge to inform everyone about our work. Everyone looked great in green!

–       We are running a No Idling and Love 30 Campaign.

–       On Tuesday the 28th March, our Travel Officer, Ciarán will be visiting to do a scooter workshop with 1st class for Scoot to School Week.

–       To help maintain the work we did for our other three green flags, we remind everyone to close doors to keep in the heat, switch off lights and whiteboards when not in the room, make sure taps are not left running and to we do litter picking. Each room has two bins and we encourage everyone to reduce waste, reuse or recycle where possible!

–       In June we will have our school walk and would love to organise a Cycle Bus to School

STEP 4 – Monitoring and Evaluation

This step involves checking progress towards targets and making changes where necessary. It also involves celebrating and rewarding achievements.

Established Committee

Completed environmental review

Devised Action Plan

Use Green-Schools Notice Board, website, Facebook page and school assemblies to inform, promote active and sustainable travel, raise awareness about climate change

Cycle training with Lorrain Flanagan our previous Travel Officer (June 2019) & Cycle Right Training for 5th class (2023)

Contacted Longford CoCo re damaged barrier at front and repair of lights

Contacted Joe Flaherty TD and Longford CoCo re. Walkability Audit

Applied and received funding for bike and scooter stands

Use carpooling for matches/school events

Launch No Idling Campaign

Promoted Love 30 Campaign

Scooter workshops for 1st class

Art Competition

Green Code Competition

Green Day/Lá Glas – Days of Action to inform and involve

11% Reduction in numbers of children travelling by car, 11% increase in number travelling by bus

 

STEP 5 – Curriculum Work

The aim of this step is to link the Travel Theme with the curriculum.

Class teachers were given links to suggested activities they could participate in connected to our Travel Theme like learning about Road Safety, quizzes, debates, scavenger and treasure hunts.

The whole school participated in an Art/Colouring Competition with the theme of Active/Sustainable Travel.

STEP 6 – Informing and Involving

The aim of this step is to make sure the whole school and wider community are aware of the Green-Schools work being carried out in the school. We use our Green-Schools notice boards, School Facebook page and website, Aladdin and School Text Messaging service, Newsletter, Class Dojo and Seesaw to inform our school community of our actions and events. Our local newspaper Longford Leader sometimes features our Green-Schools endeavours.

STEP 7 – Green Code

We held a competition to come up with a Green Code for Travel. It could be a one-liner, a slogan, a song, a statement of intent etc.

We will use it to highlight the theme in a fun and catchy way.

Here are the winning Green Codes:

 Melview N.S.

Senior Green Code for Travel

Try to carpool with friends

Really! Or walk to school and have a laugh!

Along the way make a friend or two! Just so you know…

Vans, cars and buses all harm

Earth, so get out your bike or go for a stroll!

Let’s get active together once and for all!

By Sarah Connolly & Sarah O’Donnell, 6th Class (2023)

 Melview N.S.

Junior Green Code for Travel

The world is our home, help to keep it alive.

Reduce the car levels and get more exercise by walking and cycling to school.

Animals are a bit like people but a little bit different. That does not mean we do not treat them like how we want to be treated ourselves.

Vehicles are a way to make the world hotter. So let’s reduce those car levels.

Eventually we will get this green flag!

Love 30!

 

By Luca Shanley and James Bunjaj, 1st class (2023)

 

 

We submitted our application for our green flag for Travel on Friday the 24th of March. Before that, on the 23rd of March, our new Travel Officer Ciaran Hussey, visited the school to meet the Green-Schools Committee and hear about the work we are doing and our future plans, hear our Green Codes for Travel and see our Art Work.

We also want to say a special word of thanks to all our past pupils and staff who had worked hard on our committee for the travel theme before the Pandemic when we were so close to applying in March 2020.

 

Thank you for reading!

Green-Schools-Logo

BE WATER SMART – DON’T LET IT GO TO WASTE!

Melview N.S. is working on Year 2 of the Green-Schools Water theme.

To implement this theme and apply for our third Green Flag in March, we are working through 7 steps to help us reduce our water consumption and to raise awareness around water conservation and related topics such as pollution and water treatment.

These steps are:

  • Forming a Greens-Schools Committee
  • Conducting an Environmental Review
  • Developing an Action Plan
  • Monitoring and Evaluating the programme
  • Linking the water theme to Curriculum Work
  • Informing and Involving the school and wider community of progress
  • Developing a Green Code which is a statement demonstrating our commitment to environmentally friendly action.

Green School Melview National School

Conor and Chioma collected our first Green Flag

We have already been awarded two Green Flags – for Litter and Waste (2013) and Energy (2015) and have received huge support in doing so from Gary Brady our local Environmental Awareness Officer.

We started our work in earnest in January 2016 when Grace, Sean, Harry and Seyi attended a Green-Schools Water Forum with Ms Hunt in the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon. We participated in different activities to familiarise us with the seven steps and got some good tips for developing our Action Plan. We especially enjoyed designing our Perfect Water School.

In February 2016, children entered a Green-Schools Irish Water ‘Be Water Smart’ Poster Competition. We were delighted when Rachel Walsh from Senior Infants was announced as the winner in the Eastern/Midlands region in the Junior category. On Wednesday, 4th May, Rachel, along with her friend Daisy, principal, Mrs O’Boyle and Green-Schools Coordinator, Audrey Hunt, attended a ceremony in the Radisson Blu, Golden Lane, Dublin. Rachel was presented with her prizes – an iPad and a mounted and framed copy of her poster. There was a video booth where Rachel and Daisy were recorded describing ways water can be saved at home and in school. There were cameras from RTE and Rachel and her poster featured in the News2Dayprogramme. The slogan on Rachel’s poster was – BE WATER SMART – DON’T LET IT GO TO WASTE! We’ve decided to use it as our Green Code for Water.

On 28th of May 2016, the Longford Leader featured an article on Rachel’s big win and also published photos of other children in our school who were presented with prizes by Gary Brady in recognition of their entries which were highly commended: Daisy Barry (Senior Infants); Ciara Brady, Andrew Walsh, Hope Quigley, Lucy Barry (1st Class); Nelly Gijmadeva, Sophie Warnock, Kayla Weir, Aisling Masters, Senan McWeeney (2nd); Faryl Delaney, Grace O’Donnell, Maggie Maguire, Shay Coliier-Hindley (3rd); Rachel Penrose (4th); Ciara Smith, Laura Corcoran (5th); Abigail Rhatigan, Artur Hawrylo, Jill Glennon (6th).

The level of awareness of the importance of water and the need to conserve it was well developed but in September 2016 we got down to the business of reviewing our use of water in schools and developing and action plan to help us achieve two important goals:

  • To raise awareness of the issue of water conservation
  • To reduce rate of water consumption by 10% through “low cost” and “no cost” methods (behaviour, leaks & drips, hippo bags) within 12 months of programme implementation

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DOWNLOAD MELVIEW ACTION PLAN :

download Melview Ns

DOWNLOAD GREEN SCHOOL  7 STEPS PLAN :

download Melview Ns

As part of our Environmental Review, senior students had responsibility for carrying out various tasks:

Grace and Oisin (6th) read the water meter daily and recorded the readings.

Millie and Kate (5th) conducted a Water Audit to establish all the ways we use water in Melview and investigate if there were any leaks. With the help of Gary Brady a leak was detected in a staff toilet that was losing a huge amount of water per minute and costing us a substantial amount of money.

Harry, Faryl and Olan (4th) distributed a Water Use at Home Questionnaire/Survey for families to carry out to help us learn more about how water is used in our students’ homes and to explore attitudes towards water conservation.

Children from 5th class continue to help us maintain our Litter and Waste Flag by collecting and monitoring waste from junior classes and the staffroom.

Maggie, Leah and Daisy checked to make sure there was general waste, recycling and compost bins in each classroom and that they were properly labelled.

Our two 3rd classes had an effective litter picking rota last term which will now be passed onto 2nd class to ensure our yard stays litter free.

 

Green School litter

Melview Green School Committee

 

 

Children on the Green-Schools Committee take responsibility for a number of jobs:

Litter & Waste Watchers – look out for & pick up litter in school, corridors and yard. Monitor bins to make sure waste is being put in correct bins

Energy Wardens – check that lights are switched off in classrooms and corridors and that classroom & external doors are closed during breaks

Water Squad – make sure taps are turned off and watch out for any leaky taps/toilets

In October, 6th class participated in a Water Quiz. They also enthusiastically created an ‘Alien Drama’ in small groups, working as TV producers to make a drama of a TV advert aimed at encouraging aliens to visit Planet Earth. However, in the drama, our planet has run out of water so they had to think of novel ways.

 

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OUR RESULTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comparison of  water usage over two periods in school (January – March 2016 & October – December 2016)

 

Jan – Mar 2016

  • No of School Days: 49
  • Consumption in litres: 301,000
  • Cost: €401.25
  • 23 litres per person per day
  • 3c per person per day
  • €1.40 per person for 3 month period

Oct – Dec 2016

  • No of School Days: 54
  • Consumption in litres: 208,200
  • Cost: €285.25
  • 14 litres per person per day
  • 2c per person per day
  • €0.99 per person for 3 month period

 

 

 

drinking-water

After raising awareness and fixing a major leak there has been a 39% reduction in our water consumption per person per day. When we fit hippo bags and continue to raise awareness this will reduce even more hopefully!

World Water Day 22nd March – Melview Blue Day – Day of Action – assessment visit

Application needs to be submitted by 24th March

Retaining our flags for Litter & Waste and Energy

 

Send on photos…

Put up Action Plan

https://greenschoolsireland.org/themes/travel/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=931drXJDqT4&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
https://greenschoolsireland.org/greenschools-quizzes/