The Adventure Begins............
We walked down to Dun Laoghaire in an 'orderly fashion' some quicker than others. Some people thought we would struggle for time but I was certain that it was alright. My group and I devised a genius meal. Ham baguette with apples ... I know creative.
We got to the building but everyone was a bit puzzled, we were expecting to be greeted or to see loads of people .All there was , was an reception. One of us finally gathered the confidence to ask. The woman at the desk told us to wait.... a few minutes a man showed us the way up the stairs. We had to put our names into a roll book and pair off into 8 groups of 2. Upon arriving into the room 2 minutes late .... fashionably late if you ask me, we saw five rows of chairs looking at a stage and 3 big tables either side.
We joined our assigned groups and introduced ourselves. Our task was to put together a meal we would eat and a meal our parents would eat. The idea behind it was to see how many miles our favourite food travelled. We then watched a slideshow about the environment.
Later we played a very interesting game , we were all given a country and a position in government. I was given Kenya and Foreign Advisor. We were put into our countries , most teams had 7. The aim of the game was to use the resources given to you to make money out of shapes of paper. The game was hard fought some mad some weird trading.
We were split into teams with the other schools which included Loreto Dalkey and St. Joseph of Cluny. Our first task was to come up with a meal for both adults and children using the cards provided on the table. The cards had the food type and the air miles which it would need to travel to get to Ireland. Our objective was to use as little air miles as possible. Next we discussed how an Eco friendly lunch can help the environment. We each brought an Eco friendly lunch however ours turned out not so Eco friendly!
After lunch break we were brought into the Councillors' chamber where we were shown a PowerPoint presentation which explained to us about An Taisces green flag awards, the environmental awards and also facts and figures about the world around us.
We were split into teams again and were assigned the task of trying to cut out as many equal shapes as possible in half an hour. The circles, rectangles and triangles each had a certain value. The shapes were to be grouped in fives and cashed to the banker who added the totals. The group who generated the most money and least waste won the game.
The final talk was about how we can be more Eco friendly In the school environment. There were lots of suggestions which included the following:
1. Creating a Green Schools committee
2. Not using lights in a classroom where there are windows
3. Getting water butts which are happily provided for free by the dlrcoco
We were then addressed by three main speakers. The first speaker represented the organisation Change.ie and explained to us that we can reduce our carbon footprint without making any dramatic changes to our
everyday lives. The key message was that small contributions from a large number of people can make a big difference to the environment.
The second speaker spoke about the importance of hedgerows in Ireland. She talked about how this unique part of our landscape is probably taken for granted by too many people. Hedgerows provide an incredible resource for a huge variety of wildlife and every effort needs to be made to preserve these habitats. She also explained that people can contribute to this by planting native species of trees and hedgerow plants.
The final speaker addressed us on the issue of Fair Trade. The main point of his presentation was the benefit Fair Trade has had on the Developing World.
Students were also given the opportunity to ask the speakers questions and give their own personal opinion on the issues under debate. After lunch, we finished the day by participating in another workshop whereby
we were all assigned a different country and had to try and make as many shapes as possible in half an hour, using the resources given to us.
Most students agreed that this was a very fun and interesting day and one which has urged us to get involved in Green Schools Ireland.
Text: L.K-G., C.H. & A.B.
Photos: D. O'R. & J.R.