BEFORE
TY Community Care
Ursula, Ms. King, Ms. Horgan and Mr. Carlos kept staff and students busy by helping us to better community in a fun and enjoyable way. Check out the pictures above taken by Ms. King of the various activities that took place during the academic year 2011/2012.
AFTER
Home composting
While we were at the Water Treatment Plant we were shown different types of compost bins by Donal O’ Leary.
He told us what to put in the compost bins and how to maintain them.
The different types of compost bins were:
· ‘the big pig’,
· ‘the wormery,’
· ‘compost tumber,’
· ‘wood and wire composting bin.’
· ‘plastic composting bin’
· ‘the green cone’
The Wormery
The wormery consisted of tiger-worms that eat waste food and excrete compost that people can use to plant flowers etc. Tiger-worms are hermaphrodites (like Lady GaGa!). This was very interesting. We learned that they are both male and female and simply swap fluid with another worm to reproduce.
The Big Pig.
The big pig is a composting bin that turns to make it easier to maintain, as the air can be easily circulated to help break down the food waste. This assists the bacteria in doing their job. The big pig looks like a giant lotto drum.
For more information on the other composters please follow the link provided below. www.stopfoodwaste.ie
Dirty Old Towns
Top Picture: community members getting ready for action
Bottom: Colm Hayes and Ursula enjoying the day
Don't forget to tune into the Colm Hayes show on 2FM for updates on what's happening in your area.
Early Saturday morning, the 5 students representing the school and Green-Schools Committee arrived at the starting place and the challenge commeneced!
Around 40 other people showed up and the painting started. The base of the Titanic Mural was given a fresh coat. This year Cobh is busy commemorating the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago. Everyone painted the base black and the artist Jack added in the finishing touches.
After lunch, the students went to the promenade to plant trees, flowers and shrubs. White ribbons were later put on the trees to remember the passengers that died 100 years ago. Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic.
We were thrilled with the day and the town looks great. Everyone was tired but it was well worth it and great to see all those involved enjoyed the day as well.
It wasn’t all hard work. We got to mingle with some celebrities, such as Colm Hayes and Ruth Scott (2FM DJs).
We’re looking forward to taking part in future events to maintain our pride in our town.
Head to the press release section of our site for links to additional pictures and of course the show itself!
New bins in Coláiste Muire
As part of our efforts to maintain the Waste & Recycling Flag the Green Schools Committee have recently purchased a number of bins. Although they have only been in place for a short period of time, the Committee have already seen a great improvement in the condition of the yards.
Special thanks to Mrs Sweeney for supplying the funding.
Also, our work with the Students Council proved very successful and we would like to wish them the best with all future endeavours.
Community Care Project
A huge well done to all those students and staff that took part!
These are photos of the cleanup that the Transition Year students took part in on the 23rd of February. It is clear that there is a significant improvement. The photographs are of the area outside, by the ro-fabs where the 4th years did a before, during & after photo set.
The Clean Up
Coláiste Muire took part in a clean up. Planning was important. The Green School Committee identified the following objectives:
Students should -
- participate in a school wide clean up
- engage in a classroom discussion focused on community based environmental issues
- reflect on school wide clean-up activity through the use of group discussions
Preparation - ask some key questions
Is your school considering taking part in a clean up? Below are some of the questions that were raised prior to the clean up as part of group discussions.
- Have you decided where the clean up will take place?
- What is the state of the clean up area?
- How will the clean up be publicised?
- How will the material be collected?
- How will the rubbish collected be disposed of after
Above - students cleaning up areas around the school.
Below - 4th years & Green Committee members tidying up the 5ft Way while a liner is in
Litter Facts
At the Green Schools Committee, we recognise the importance of raising awareness regarding litter. Below are some interesting facts that can be used to raise in class discussion.
According to national littering studies commissioned by the Beverage Industry Environment Council and conducted by Community Change:
- Cigarettes are the most littered item - constituting 58% of all litter.
- The most common reasons for littering are "too lazy" (24%), "no ashtray" (23%) and "no bin" (21%).
- There is no such thing as a stereotypical litterer. Young people, for example, litter no more than people in older demographics when not they are not in groups.
- Men litter more than women - and women use bins more than men.
- Country people are more likely to litter than city people.
- Students are more likely to litter than other people.
- Older people litter more when alone. For every other age group, researchers found people litter less when alone.
- Less than one third of older people who were observed littering admitted their behaviour when questioned
Preserving our Litter & Recycling Flag
As part of The Green-Schools Programme, when applying for a new flag the previous flag(s) must be maintained. The Committee undertook a review of the amount of bins in the school. Upon further investigation we discovered that there was a severe lack of bins, with very little recycling bins in the school.
The committee liaised with Noel, the school caretaker to find out about the process of waste and recycling in our school. He informed us about how the Waste and Recycling is done in the school as well as telling us how many bins are located around the school. We then purchased more bins for inside the school. After we done this the committee decided that it would be best to place two bins in each designated areas; one landfill and one recycling bin side by side so that students would throw their rubbish in the correct bin.
The committee wrote information leaflets and posters to put on the bins. These posters explained what can be put in recycling bins and what cannot be recycled
Regular checks of the bins were carried out. The committee was assisted by the teaching staff of the school who supervised at break time. They oversaw what rubbish was placed in the bins; this made sure that Recycling and Landfill were kept separated
Transition Year students completed a project in their Rainbow Teams. These projects not only talked about waste in our school but the local town. These projects were displayed in Supervalu and on Open Night (This tied in with Step 6 in the 7 Steps which is “Informing and involving”. This step states that both the school and wider community need to be informed of the goings on of The Green Schools Committee.)
The same transition year group and each Transition Year group to date have carried out clean-ups of the school grounds, with the Green Schools Committee taking part on National Spring Clean Day.
As part of our constant maintaining of the Waste and Recycling flag The Green Schools Committee are currently researching permanent wall attachable outdoor bins for the 6th year yard.
Resource for Teachers
We all know the benefit of incorporating media into lessons. Videos appeal to visual and aural learners.
Youtube has some great clips to encourage all members of your school community to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Use these in your classroom during lesson to initiate class discussion or why not play in your canteen?
Encourage students to create their own videos, raps, songs or poems.
Check back again for more Green School tips!
Cobh, Tidy Towns, 2011
Congratulations Cobh!
On Friday 02nd December 2011, Coláiste Muire was honored to have the Tidy Towns Award brought to the school by Ursula. Representatives of the Green Schools Committee met with Ursula to congratulate the Tidy Towns Committee.
The arrival of the award to the school highlighted the continuing efforts of the Cobh Community to maintain high standards.
Well done to all involved!
The Green Schools Committee
