What is the Green-Schools Programme?
Green-Schools is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools. It promotes long-term, whole-school action for the environment. Green-Schools is a student-led programme with involvement from the wider community. The programme is operated and coordinated by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce (FEE member for Ireland).
Who are the Green Schools Committee?
The Green Schools Programme involves the Whole School. Every student and staff member engages in it on a regular basis. By using the correct bin, choosing to walk or cycle to school, turning off the lights when not in use everyone is playing their part on the programme.
We also have a dedicated Green Schools Committee who meet regularly and elect executive members that are responsible for specific jobs.
Our 2021/2022 Executive members and Whole Committee are:
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Green-Schools Pupil Roles
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Job description
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Students
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Head of Green-Schools Skills: Leadership, organisation and people management.
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- Oversee Committee actions and coordinate activities.
- Liaise with the Principal and Green-Schools Coordinator to keep her/him updated.
- Run Green-Schools meetings with the coordinator (lead teacher)
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Orlaith
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Deputy Head of Green-
Schools
Skills: Organisation, administration and people management.
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- Work closely with the Head of Green-Schools.
- Create an agenda for meetings.
- Record and circulate minutes of the Committee meetings. – use Teams
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Sam
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Notice Board
Communication Officer
Skills: Art, creative skills, advertising, design and marketing.
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- Design a creative theme for the notice board.
- Display Committee names and photos.
- Update the notice board regularly to display survey results, recent events, and news.
- Use a ‘fact or image of the week’ system to get other pupils thinking about the environment.
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Jack
Jenna
Leah
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Digital and Social Media
Communication Officer
Skills: Computer skills, digital marketing, journalism and blogging.
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- Add links to short videos about the environment, travel and greenhouse gases e.g. ‘Dear Future Generations: Sorry’.
- Add tweets and posts about the Committee’s progress on the schools’ sites.
- Follow and share with other Green-Schools and the Green-School Team in An Taisce, Dublin
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Oscar
Archie
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Green Code Officer
Skills: Creative skills, music, video direction and production, language skills and event organisation.
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- Create a song, rap, poem or slogan for the flag you are trying to achieve. - A competition could be held within the school.
- Create a video / digital poster / poster of the Green-School Code.
- Display this code on the notice board or elsewhere.
- Ask the principal to include the new code in school journals.
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Euan
Jamie
Ceadaí
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Recycling Officer Skills: Leadership, organisation, research and independent initiative.
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- Evaluate the recycling system.
- Ask the caretaker to monitor the amount of waste produced. Record this data and give it to the Green-Schools Coordinator.
- Create a small action to promote recycling and reduce waste e.g. clothes recycling bin / junk-kouture fashion show.
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Matthew
Ernest
Sean
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All Green-Schools Committee
members
Skills: Environmental activism, communication and creativity.
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- Committee members participate in promotion tasks.
- Attend workshops, seminars and meetings.
- Promote environmental quality.
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13 members in total in 2021/2022
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What flag are Gorey ETSS working towards?
We are very excited to be working on our first ever green flag for “Litter and Waste”. We are teaming up with Neat Streets this year to help our Green-Schools Committee run a successful anti-litter and waste campaign in our school.
Our plan for the year is to work hard on implementing the 7 steps of the Green-Schools programme to the best of our ability.
What 7 steps to becoming a “Green School”?
- Set Up a Green Schools Committee
- Carry out an environmental review
- Develop and carry out an action plan
- Monitor and evaluate the process
- Identify curriculum links within the subjects in our school
- Inform and involve the whole school and wider community
- Create a green code