Congratulations to our 2 Transition Year Eco UNESCO Teams, ‘Forces of Nature’ and ‘Tree Huggers’, who reached the National Final of the Young Environmentalist Awards 2021, following on from their Regional Finals success. Normally, the National Finals would take place in the Mansion House, but, due to Covid, this year’s event was held online. Students were addressed by two of our inspirational Presidents, current President Michael D. Higgins and former President Mary Robinson. President Higgins highlighted that "Climate Change is the greatest existential crisis we face as a Global Community." He stated that we should be proud of the fact that in 2019, 'Ireland became the 2nd country in the world to declare a Climate & Biodiversity Emergency.' He urged the youth in attendance to use their skills and voices to take action.
All Transition Year students did trojan work on their projects during the year and it was a great achievement for two of the six teams to reach the national final. The ‘Tree Huggers’ were placed in the Highly Commended category for their planting of over 200 trees on the school grounds, work that we hope to continue next year. This work was undertaken following the loss of habitat due to recent construction works in the school grounds. Well done to all involved and especial thanks to Environmental Studies teachers Ms Connie Burke and Ms Sarah Keane.
The Awards Ceremony is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl_mbmfOWpI