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Polar bears are beautiful animals that have roamed their native areas for thousands of years. However, ice in the polar region is melting at an alarming rate and warnings issued by the U.S. Geological Survey inform that two thirds of polar bears will disappear by 2050. This project set out to establish an enterprise which would yield much needed funding to support the hard work of “Polar Bear International”. They achieved their objectives through publicity campaigns in their school and community on the danger of global warming and its effects on the polar bear community using flyers and posters, a specially composed song and by contacting key agencies. To raise funds they created and sold unique snowflake Christmas decorations using recycled aluminium cans and by  painting old roof slates with polar scenes. Their sale slogan; ‘Buy a flake, so the bears won’t bake’!.

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This group wanted to stomp out the bad habits which harm the environment. They chose to do this project because they felt that there was a certain age bracket of children that weren’t very interested in what goes on around them everyday, so they decided to educate pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th class by making a fun, short film. The whole point of the project was to raise environmental awareness among children and to encourage them to participate in taking action and making a positive difference in their local environment. The group achieved this by targeting the younger classes through media e.g. movies and music. The environmental themes chosen were; energy saving, littering, water saving and pollution.

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This group knew they wanted to tackle the issue of animal conservation. When researching their subject, they discovered that there are only 35 Amur Leopards in the wild today. Due to the deforestation of their habitat and illegal poaching, this beautiful animal is nearly extinct. They wanted to raise awareness about this issue. They made a Power Point presentation about the Amur Leopard and presented it to all the CSPE classes in their school. They also developed a video game about the Amur Leopard being hunted by poachers and made it available to the students in their school to further raise awareness about the near extinction of this species. Finally, the group held a cake sale to raise funds for WWF, who campaign for the protection of the Amur Leopards and other endangered species. 

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A biodiversity workshop and a fun day to teach local 6th class students about biodiversity in their local area and why it’s important was the main focus of #LFN’s project. The group researched and created workshop activities such as the nature name game, wildlife bowl, web of life, showed a video on biodiversity, made a shoe garden and even developed a park quiz!The group also planned and held a biodiversity fun day in their local park. In the morning, various groups cleared rubbish and debris from a section of the park and filled three trolleys full of rubbish. When the 6th class group arrived, they participated in activities such as the rabbit and fox race, giant Jenga, face painting, flower graffiti and creating bird feeders from recycled materials.

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This group set up wildlife havens around their school grounds for squirrels, birds and insects. For the birds they produced recycled feeders out of milk cartoons and used their TY mini-company profits to buy food. They used shallow plant pots for bird baths and these up, along with the feeders in a secluded part of the school so that their haven wouldn’t be disturbed. A survey was carried out on what types of bird visited their feeders and baths and they discovered goldfinches, coal tits, robins, wood pigeons and dunnocks, to name just a few! Spotting some dead wood that was about to be thrown out, the group involved some first years in their project and helped them set up insect piles. In the process they discovered beetles, woodlice, worms, snails and spiders all nesting/living in the wood piles! They also planted a variety of wild flowers to attract bees and butterflies in summertime. Finally, they planted some of the birdfeed so that the seeds could grow and produce more food in the future! 

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This group decided to create four ‘bug boxes’ and ran a class competition to create the best one! Each group worked as part of a team and then the whole class took part in creating something new from something old! They researched projects on the website www.wastematchers.com to discover the kind of goods people generally try to get rid of and then came up with the idea of making ‘Bug Boxes’ and ‘Insect Inns’ out of these materials.                                                                                                                                                                                         Items that they used to create their hotels included old carpet, roof tiles, wood leftovers from the woodwork classroom, old paint from the art cupboard, pine cones, leaves, twigs, clothes from ‘lost and found’, and used Christmas trees. 

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‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left.’ This group discovered that bees are disappearing globally and scientists and beekeepers world-wide continue to seek the cause. The group focused their research on the varroa mite and discovered that the parasite is one the largest threats to the honeybee populations. In the past and present, these mites have been controlled by hard and soft chemical or natural treatments. Increasing attention is being given to identify honeybee behavioural traits that can control the varroa mite. The aim of this project was to look at one of these traits in the Irish dark honeybee or ‘black bee’. The group wanted to identify the causes of declining population with the aim of taking action against these causes. The group have submitted reports to the Irish Federation of Beekeepers and have been invited to report in their national newsletter.

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The Loreto group decided to base their project on Genetically Modified (GM) crops and potatoes. This is a topic on which a lot of research is being conducted, but the group felt the majority of people do not have enough information about it. The group carried out 500 surveys and following analysis of their results, it became clear that very few people knew about GM foods and their possible affects. They interviewed Darina Allen, a TV personality and renowned chef who is strongly against GM and was very opinionated. They also interviewed John O’Mahony who has seen GM crops growing in America and is a strong supporter of them. The groups also increased students’ knowledge of GMOs delivering an easy to understand Power Point presentation on the issue to first, second and third years. The main goal for the project was to get the public perceptions and opinions on Genetically Modified crops, the next step is to use this information to plug gaps in public awareness of this issue.

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This group worked with a local primary school to raise awareness of biodiversity. They presented the issues of biodiversity to the class and facilitated the younger group in setting up insect hotels in the local primary school grounds. The hotel is designed to create a habitat for many different insects and bugs to live in. It is made out of refuse and natural materials found around the local area. Made of building refuse as well as other rubbish, the project also helped to clean up the surrounding environment. The group’s aim is that the new habitat will provide a safe place for insects to thrive and provide a place for local children to learn more about the importance of insects as well as raising awareness about the environment. The hotel is placed in the school garden which should bring many beneficial creatures to it. 

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This group’s aim is to promote, protect and preserve endangered butterflies in Ireland.They began by carrying out a skills survey within the group in order to identify suitability for roles. They then set up social networking pages and also researched their topic in detail. Their first action was to raise money and create awareness within their school by selling Christmas decorations. They were original, hand-crafted, butterfly shaped decorations which they sold and raised €131.50.They also held a bake sale making butterfly themed cupcakes and raise even more money.  To date, Flutterby Butterfly has raised over €400 in aid of butterfly charities and farms around Ireland. They have also raised awareness of biodiversity and the role of butterflies within the environment.

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This group became aware of how important biodiversity is and discovered that without it; the human race would be extinct.  Through an environmental action workshop they researched biodiversity and its role. They also examined how biodiversity is a necessity, the serious effects of having low biodiversity levels and how to enhance biodiversity. The group contacted their local county biodiversity officer, Cathy Fisher. They took a biodiversity survey in their school and other local schools. They looked at flowers, grass, plants, worms, insects, soils, trees, ponds, gardens etc. The group also created a website (www.naturehoodwatch.com) and a Facebook page (Naturehood Watch). They are currently in the process of sending emails to all the schools in Tralee to inform them how to improve the biodiversity levels in their schools. 

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The aims of this project are to research techniques in order to successfully re-plant and re-grow fruit and vegetables. The group began by testing various methods to remove seeds from fruits and vegetables, to discover the optimum growing method. The aim of the project is to successfully germinate the seeds (melons, peppers, tomatoes and corn kernels) following the seed saving. The group began this project in order to help farmers in developing countries. Their hope is that the farmers could use the techniques in order to save money. The group is interested in training/educating local small farmers to be able to save seeds and replant them, rather than having to use money to buy seeds. The project achieved its goals which were; successful extraction of a variety of seeds and the re-growth of the tomato, pepper and melon seeds and pop-corn kernels. They hope that farmers in developing countries will be able to use these methods for financial benefit in the years to come.  

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Turloughs are very common in the Burren. This group discovered that there was a turlough near Bellharbour which is believed to be affected by the sea which is in close proximity to it. The group decided to research three turloughs, two in Bellharbour and one in Kilfenora. Kilfenora was used as a control as it was decided that it should be far enough from the sea not to be influenced by it. The group wanted to make people aware that turloughs can be affected by tides. If sea level rises as predicted due to global warming, then turloughs would be affected and thus their flora and fauna would also be affected. The group discovered that the sea did have an effect on the turloughs close to it. They also found that the height of the tide affected the height of the water in the turloughs. This could mean that if sea level continues to rise, turloughs will be more and more affected.

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This group wanted to tackle the issue of climate change as they feel that this is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the world. Through research, the group found the severity of the problem had become clouded due to the current economic downturn. They wanted to raise awareness of the issue amongst their local community, in particular amongst the farming community. They found that the contribution of the agricultural sector to greenhouse gas emissions, (particularly methane) is profound, and a reduction in this sector alone would benefit Ireland’s environmental status greatly.  Their objective was to find a foodstuff that effectively reduces methane emissions from livestock. From their results they concluded; a combination of hay and silage is best as it reduces methane by 22% compared to the cow’s normal diet. Application of their result to Ireland’s agricultural sector could reduce a cow’s yearly methane level by over 40,000 litres. Using these figures could reduce Irish cattle’s total emissions by over two hundred thirty-six billion litres yearly. The group spread awareness of their project and results through a blog, their school open night and contact with their local community. They now hope to highlight their results to the local government. 

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The ‘Tenacious Trees’ created a short animation to raise awareness of the importance of trees worldwide, the impact of deforestation and how this impacts on global warming. The group planned their project over a number of months, compiling all of the information they wished to convey in their film. They explored the environmental, social and economic causes and effects of deforestation – focussing not only on the impact deforestation has on people, but also how it is key to the extinction of many plants and animals due to loss of habitats. The group explored many film medium options before settling on stop motion animation and taking part in a one day film training to build up their technical skills. The group, with the assistance of an editor, blended photographs with their own voices and sound effects to create the final product! The animation was then launched to a group of 30 young people. The launch had a red carpet feel was a huge success with all involved being engaged in discussion on the importance of trees and what they can do in their own lives to protect this vital natural resource.

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This group’s aim was to promote the conservation of water and energy in their local community and showing people how to succeed in doing this.  The group travelled to Brussels to attend an event known as ‘Qatari-Brussels’. The event was based around the climate change talks being held in Doha, Qatar. The group organised a ‘Water and Energy Saving’ exhibition in their school which coincided with their open evening. The exhibition included a fashion show, a launch of their book, some games, stands for businesses like Supervalu, LEAF, METAC, MEG and stands showing ionised water, weaving baskets and information on Communergy’s trip to Brussels. One of the biggest parts of their campaign was running several workshops in primary and secondary schools, including a third level college in Dublin.