Name of Group:

Project Title:

Summary:

The GAP Youth Environmental Network (YEN) carried out research and engaged in discussions regarding the local environment and potential environmental issues in Ballymun. YEN decided that they wanted to address the lack of wildlife habitats in Ballymun. YEN have been working in the Virgin Mary Community Garden in Ballymun since June 2012 and they decided this was the perfect space to create and support wildlife habitats and to share the work they have carried out in the garden with their peers and the local community. YEN built a wildlife pond and planted native water and marsh plants, installed bird boxes, built a bird feeder in the shape of a mobile home (and added additional feeders using a mixture of suet and seeds), built a willow fence and willow plant supports, planted fruit trees and sowed wildflower seeds. YEN plans to raise awareness about the importance of native wildlife habitats through contacting local media and providing garden tours to local youth groups and schools.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The project aimed to facilitate a community rejuvenation project in a residential estate in Arbour Hill, known as Bricin’s Park. The area contains residential housing for elderly people but also council houses for families. The group felt the area was quite sterile and in need a makeover. They wanted to renew and grow relationships within the community and with the wider community. The group wanted to work with the members of the community to enhance the beauty of the area. Simple changes and additions that improved the biodiversity were implemented and an outdoor space to be enjoyed by the whole community was created. Through the project the group helped foster closer relations between various community members and helped provide a foundation for a better future. The group have highlighted environmental as well as social issues throughout their project.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

While working on a landscaping project within their youth club, this group approached a variety of local community groups to see if there were any areas they could improve in the area.Representatives from Clara Tidy Towns and Clara Community and Family Resource Centre requested that they help create a sculpture to highlight the importance of water, and also help promote the history of the community of Clara. Their piece would be then displayed at the entrance to the town. The group researched aspects of Clara’s history and heritage for the project and after a lot of research and consultation with local residents, they designed and costed a plan for the area which included a water feature that will use rainwater collected from the roof of the adjacent building. They also included a solar powered pump which will circulate the water and power night lighting for the feature. The feature they decided on was a water mill wheel set in bog land and decorated by seasonal flowers and plants with a cart of Goodbody’s jute sacks close by. They created a model of the waterwheel and handcart and visited schools and community groups to create awareness of the heritage and history of Clara as well as the importance of the sustainable nature of the venture, the value of the water and the importance of a sustainable lifestyle using the water wheel as an example of using natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This project is in year two of a five year commitment to two communities in Lesotho. The project works with a hospital community called St. Joseph’s Roma and a school community in Hlalele. The project is grounded on a mutual contract of understanding, where sustainability and building capacities are key to its desired outcomes. The project engaged young men and women in the area of global responsibility in an effort to inspire them and make them role models for others in the community and to help them understand how actions and behaviours of people in Ireland, or any developed country, have a cause and effect that can impact on lives the other side of the world. The project is currently emphasising food production, water harvesting and building learning power and appreciating culture and identity. Building learning power is key to this project because education and skills allow for self determination which is important for the dignity of the individual and the wider community. The project identified music, culture and dance as some of the aspects intrinsic to the concept of sustainability.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group toured Kilkenny gathering information and taking pictures of wildlife and the living in the environs of Kilkenny. Once the group had gathered their information, they set off on making a website to store and publicise all their information. They made a website: www.ecoploring.com. The group’s website aims to teach primary school students more about the native wildlife that surrounds them. They have successfully achieved this as they have visited three primary schools in their area and are now booked to visit even more schools. The teachers of the local school loved the idea of the website and have begun to incorporate it into their curriculum. Along with this, the group are creating an app which shows the information from the website and GPS driving instructions to the Castle Park and the Eco Park which are on the ‘places of interest’ page on their website. The app will go on sale for through the Android and Apple market for 0.79 cent.

Name of Group:

Project Title:

Summary:

The group wanted to make something to give back to their community. After some discussion and brainstorming they decided to make a table and bench and present it to the community. They hope that this will encourage people to sit and chat with each other. The group was offered an opportunity to work within a wood workers’ workshop and use traditional sustainable tools to make their bench and table. This proved to be a brilliant opportunity for this group to use waste wood and sustainable methods to create something for their local community. The project was successfully completed and the group are now going to present a beautiful oak table and bench to the local community. They will have a launch with local people and the local papers to print their story. Through this project the group has gained a much better understand of environmental issues as well as becoming more included in their local community. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The aim of this project was to increase the awareness of the developing Midlands Amenity Park and its impact on the environment and the community. The park contains a natural wildlife sanctuary supporting many endangered plant species such as the petty white flowered bag bean. The group carried out surveys to analyse people’s awareness of the park and its importance to the environment.They designed a vibrant and attractive poster display which showed how the Turlough wetlands area of the park provides unique features and supports a broad variety of plants and animals. It also has potential for supporting future species and highlights the importance of protecting our wildlife for future generations. The group displayed the posters in the library in Moate, they also ran an environmental quiz week with questions each day on environmental issues.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

‘Adopt a Tree’ aims to encourage the growth, planting and preservation of Ireland’s native trees. Trees play a very important role in nature. The group noticed a lack of trees in their community and hoped that through their project they could promote the importance of trees in the town.They raised awareness about the issue in their school and tried to reach the wider world by use of social networks. They carried out research concerning trees and came up with the idea of ‘adopting’ a tree, i.e. sponsoring a sapling which the group would plant, and in return the sponsor receives an information pack including a thank you letter, bracelet and certificate of adoption. By carrying this out, the group advocated the planting of trees, calling attention to Ireland’s need for more and giving everyone a chance to do their bit to help the environment.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This project concerns encouraging people to become more self-sufficient with their food. Through this project the group have learned how important buying and producing food locally is to the economy of the local area. It brings employment, reduces carbon footprint and gives a better overall quality of food in the end. ‘It is cheaper to buy your own seeds and grow your own vegetables and fruit in a patch of your garden than it is to go to the supermarket and buy fruit and vegetables that will only last you 3 or 4 days.’ The group learned that every meal they eat has a certain number of food miles and the less the food has to travel the more nutritious it will be. The group promoted and raised awareness around the areas of self-sufficient growing and food miles. They now have a much better knowledge of food sustainability and food miles and they have passed this knowledge on to their peers. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group were interested in local allotments in Skerries. They discovered that 200 plots are now in use out of a total of 250. This shows that allotments are coming back into fashion and are becoming more and more popular. They group know that among the greatest benefits of maintaining an allotment is exercise, healthy lifestyle from outdoor activities, healthy eating gained from the fresh fruit and veg, the reduction of one’s carbon footprint and food miles. Through their project, the group highlighted the benefits of having an allotment and the importance of instilling in young people a joy and knowledge of how to grow and produce their own food. They learned that young people who grow their own food are more likely to eat it and try new things, helping to maintain a healthly, balanced diet. The group met with the Allotment Association in Skerries and have organised to bring a work party of 30-40 Transition Year students to the allotments to help work in the communal areas and help to develop it further; by planting willow along the riverbank, and sowing and propagating seedlings and plants in the communal polytunnel. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group decided to tackle the issue of biodiversity with an emphasis on creating a roof top garden, as they are a city centre school with no grounds. They wanted to highlight the value of biodiversity and raise awareness on the issue of cancer. They felt they had an obligation to find a way to give back to their community and make both a financial and nonfinancial contribution to the Irish Cancer Society. They spent time researching the causes and effects of biodiversity and its importance for cancer research.They organised a campaign ‘Buy a Bulb, Grow in a Smile’ which entailed getting a local business on board to contribute daffodil bulbs, which the group would selll to both students and staff in their school. They then planted, cultivated and harvested the daffodils on behalf of the purchases and donated both the flowers and money raised to the Irish Cancer Society for resale on Daffodil Day 2013.The group hope that their acts of planting, harvesting, donating and awareness rising will bring as much pleasure to their community as the whole process has brought to them.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group focused on water, and in particular on the amount of water that is wasted unnecessarily within the home. They researched and designed an affordable waste water monitoring alarm system called ‘The Water Sentinel’ which is designed to detect if a tap has been accidentally left on. It aims to: 

• Protect householder revenue from unnecessary water charges

• Reduce costs for County Councils in preparing treated water for domestic consumption 

• Benefit the environment by reducing the amount of water taken from rivers, lakes and underground sources. 

The water sentinel consists of two probes, which are inserted into the S-Bend of a sink unit’s soil pipe. The probes are wired to an alarm box, which is affixed to an adjacent wall by either an adhesive pad or fixing screws. The control box uses an analogue electronic timer circuit to operate an audible alarm should the sensor probes detect water flow after a three minute period. The control box is powered by a safe 9-volt alkaline battery. The group have raised awareness throughout their school and within their community by displaying their project. They plan on developing the project further throughout the year.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The group ‘From Mould to Gold’ (well not quite gold!) project was designed to show that there are many natural resources available free of charge that communities and individuals can use to their advantage. They researched ideas and decided that their beautiful school grounds would provide them with the perfect raw materials e.g. leaves.

They decided to produce Leaf Mould and try to sell it as a fertiliser/compost. In order for the project to be successful they had to

•Research how leaf mould was made

•Construct bins and harvest leaves

•Form links with the local community in order to sell product

•Spread the word about how easy it is to use local environment to your advantage

•Market our product e.g. come with packaging and an accompanying information leaflet

Most significantly the group had to learn that if they were going to be successful they had to recognise their individual strengths, use them well and work together as a team. They successfully produced high quality compost, marketed their product and sold some of it within their school, local community and in particular, in garden centres. They have also highlighted how easy it is to interact with the environment.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

Following a class discussion, the members of Monaghan Youthreach decided to construct a number of nesting boxes for Monaghan town to attract wildlife to the area and to enhance the appearance of some well known landmarks in the town. By doing so, it gave the group a greater sense of involvement in their community and helped to promote a positive image for Monaghan Youthreach within the local community. Three different styles of nesting boxes were researched, designed and constructed for this project. They were decorated and modified to suit the particular area in which they were located. The project took place over a period of 4 weeks, under the supervision and guidance of the woodwork tutor. After meeting with Monaghan County Council they secured permission to erect the nesting boxes in the designated areas. This project had a very successful outcome, all the students felt a great sense of accomplishment on competition. From an environmental point of view the boxes add beauty to the natural environment and make a cosy home for our feathered friends.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group began their project by determining their message, audience and method of action. The aim of the project was to raise awareness on how to use energy more efficiently. The group discovered a high amount of energy being used unnecessarily and thus, money being wasted. They wrote a song to help get the saving energy message across to other children. The group also began an awareness raising campaign throughout the school including posters to illustrate when and where not to turn on lights and why everybody should be concerned with reducing energy consumption. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group’s aim was to raise awareness about energy conservation, and also to research the energy issues in their school. They interviewed their principal and discovered that their school is not very well insulated. They addressed this issue by planning to use reflective radiator foil. The group came up with a creative way of fundraising for this foil: ‘The Coin Race’; where each class was asked in bring in coins to create an energy related image from them. 

The next major part of the project was to raise awareness. They decided to do this in two ways;

1.Form an energy squad in the school

2.Design an energy saving app

A student from each class was elected to join the ‘Energy saving squad’.

The group recognised that they would need to make energy conservation interesting and cool for people to encourage them to conserve energy. With that in mind, they decided to make an app which includes games about recycling, energy saving and top tips on energy saving. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group carried out case studies of businesses using alternative energies and promoted the savings to local business hoping to inspire them to change. They also secured an electric vehicle for people to test drive at their energy awareness night. The group took part in an ad promoting e-cars highlighting the savings to be made to your pocket and the environment. The whole school ran an 8km and had a great fun day. The group also held a ‘reduce energy day’ and encouraged the school community to save energy. The project inspired others to save energy in a fun way. Their project got the whole school exercising outdoors and saving electricity in the gym. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The primary goal of this group’s project was to raise awareness of the constant untapped energy potential available to Ireland in the form of wave based hydro-electricity. Their aim was to raise awareness on a local level so that people would have knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of off shore oil wells versus hydroelectricity.The group hope raising awareness of this issue by highlighting Ireland’s exposure to the potential of hydroelectricity due to its unique and certainly profitable geographical position.The group aims to highlight that harnessing hydroelectricity would have tremendously successful consequences for Ireland both in the form of financial advancement and the protection of the environment. 

Name of Group:

Project Title:

Summary:

The New Waves planned and held a festival style environmental awareness day in Father Collins Park, Ireland’s only wholly sustainable park. The aim was to raise awareness and engage young people on the issue of transport and energy in their own lives. The parks wind power turbines powered the performer’s PA equipment– highlighting that being environmentally conscious is cool! The day included a number of activities including running a home made peddle powered smoothie bike allowing participants to make their own organic fruit smoothies! The day coincided with International Nelson Mandela Day, so the group incorporated the youth theme of “taking action and inspiring change” and created a Nelson Mandela statue from recycled materials. The day was a great success and attended by the South African Ambassador, his Excellency Ndou, staff from the embassy and 140 people from all over Dublin. 

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The project is based on the concept of healthy eating and getting your fingers green by growing your own vegetable garden. In their project, the group included research and information on growing your own garden, the advantages and disadvantages of growing your own garden, the benefits of growing your own organic garden and of course the action project. The group gained many skills and in turn, were able to pass these skills on to other groups. Their project encourages people to increase vegetables in their diet and grow their own garden, reducing food miles and producing more nutritious food.

Name of Group:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group created a docudrama and forum with the aim of increasing young people’s awareness on the risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting, to the individual and the community. The docudrama entitled: ‘It’s Your Choice, it’s Your Life,’ depicts the impacts that smoking or not smoking has on a young person. Using a split screen, it follows the life of a young person who decides they will smoke and the same person who decided not to – showing the impact this decision has on their life. The group used a sustainable development lens to show not only the health impacts but the broader environmental, social and economic implications of these decisions. The group then ran a day long forum with over 50 young people and invited representatives from the Irish Cancer Society, a local HSE Health Promotion Officer on Tobacco, and students from various local schools. The group ran a number of exciting interactive displays, demonstrations, simulations and workshops throughout the day exploring the issue with the participants further.  Each participant had the opportunity to create their own anti smoking video and poster – encouraging them to take their own smoke free action for their community and peers!

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

This group decided that food waste and healthy eating were both important issues and they wanted to do a project that would tie both issues together. They researched food waste and ways to lessen the amount that goes in our bins. The aim of their project was how to eat healthily and help the environment at the same time. They researched food waste and were astonished how much food is wasted in the developed world daily, when so many struggle with starvation in developing countries. The group produced a recipe book that contains recipes that reduce food and packaging waste at home while being healthy at the same time. They wanted to promote healthy eating in their local area. They decided that all the ingredients in the book were going to be produced locally as it meant less packaging and energy being wasted. Buying produce in season was also highlighted as very important as it is more readily available and the product is at its best. The group set up a restaurant in their school, using recipes from their own cookbook. They also visited businesses in their area to ask for permission to stock their book. By stocking the book in local shops, they hope to raise awareness not only in their school but also in their local community.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The aim of this project was to enhance the school grounds by creating a garden with many elements: a space in the grounds where students could go for quiet time, where they could hold a prayer service or memorial service for deceased relatives and friends, a vegetable garden where they could grow plants for experiments and an area to plant a small amount of cereals.As the garden was partly enclosed by the original Victorian wall, the group used that as a theme in their plan. The group began with no tools and little resources.  They asked the PTA for money to buy wellies, tools and gloves.  Over the next few months they prepared the ground and planted trees and bushes. To protect the garden from the outside world they included a hedge of beech trees.  The group also reused old corporation compost bins. The group went on to create 4 planting beds, developed  paths made from waste gravel left by contractors and benches and seat from old waste wood.The group continued their environmental by making insect nests from old guttering and old bamboo blinds. They purchased a bought a water butt, and now have free water. The group also included artist elements, using recycled metal tubing to make a tree water fountain using energy from their wind generator to power the pump, this project is still in process.

Name of School:

Project Title:

Summary:

The Eco Revolution’s aim was to encourage the school community to learn how to grow their own food and provide an environment where biodiversity could flourish and the school could enjoy the great outdoors. They grew herbs and vegetables in their raised beds and planted potatoes in their drills. The group researched how to plant, grow, harvest their own food. They began by customising the growing area for the whole school and local community to enjoy. They also set up a system to compost food leftovers and started a wormery. They planted a variety of plants to attract biodiversity into the area. They cleared their school pond and introduced pond plants. Members also built a ‘bug hotel’ to increase biodiversity levels. To raise awareness, they carried out an eco-friendly Christmas decoration competition and involved the whole school. Following the success of the Christmas decoration competition, the group designed and created edible eco friendly decorations for the wildlife in the garden. The team has worked extremely hard in transforming their new school into an eco friendly environment. They have customised their eco-garden into an amazing space for all to enjoy and have raised awareness of their great work through the school magazine.