Tooreen National School are proud to be part of the Green-Schools programme which aims to promote long term, whole school action for the environment. Green-Schools’ mission is to protect planet Earth – our shared home to which we all belong – and we want everyone involved!

The school has currently completed the themes of Litter and Waste, Energy and Water and have been awarded 3 Green-School flags to date. We are currently working on the theme of ‘Travel’ and are working towards our 4th Green-Schools flag. The ultimate aim of the ‘Travel’ theme is to increase the number of students walking, cycling, scooting, using public transport or carpooling on the way to school. It also promotes good health and a more active lifestyle, benefiting not just our environment but our bodies too!

This year a new committee was set up with 2 representatives from each class group (Senior Infants to 6th Class). The school also works alongside our Green-schools coordinator Lukasz who is a great help to our school. The first job for the committee was to set up an environmental review. This involved completing a travel survey with all the pupils in the school to find out how they come to school. The committee then completed a speed survey. They used a speed gun to measure the speed of the traffic through the village. The final part of the review was to do a walkability survey around the village to see if there were any safe walking routes to the school.

Once the environmental review was complete the committee got working on their action plan which is still ongoing. The first big project the committee got working on was ‘The Big Travel Challenge’. The whole school got involved in the challenge for the month of March. The children travelled to school using sustainable transport and this was recorded on a tally chart. The results were submitted to the Green-Schools National competition. Tooreen National School was delighted to be chosen as County winners for Mayo and Northwest Regional Winners 2024. Representatives from the committee attending an awards ceremony in Dublin Zoo where they were presented with their awards.

The whole school also took part in Climate Change workshops ran by our travel coordinator Lukasz. Lukasz shared a PowerPoint with our senior classes explaining what Climate Change is and how we can make changes in our everyday life’s to reduce the effects of Climate Change on our planet. Lukasz read a story about Climate Change with our junior classes and they shared some excellent understanding and ideas on how they can help reduce Climate Change.

The committee are off to a great start this year. Keep an eye on our website for lots more exciting projects and activities throughout the year. Well done to the team!