Adorate Dominum In Atrio Sancto Eius - AD 1777

Green Schools & Sustainability

Green Schools & Sustainability

2023 Update

Our students embarked on a project that monitored the rainfall in our school with a view to become more water sustainable. This project has won National and soon (hopefully) International acclaim. Through this project our school has won 'Regional WATER School of the year 2023' from Green Schools AND, last Friday we became the National Winners of the GLOBE Program which is a NASA supported organization that focuses on communities collecting data that can be used to benefit the environment. Following from this award, our students will represent Ireland next week in Prague.

Our school's project was to make our school more flood resistant by reusing, redirecting and reclaiming rainfall. Their data gathering has led them to diverting water to creating a micro pond and bird bath on our school grounds that will generally support a diverse and specialized plant community, and important insect & bird communities. They are currently engineering a rainfall planter that will grow wild herbs and flowers and will be sustained by the rainfall.
Our students will represent Ireland at the International Globe Program Awards held in St Charles University of Science, Prague in May 2023. Best of luck girls!!!!
Green Schools History

We established our Green Schools Committee in 2018. Since then we have been awarded our first flag for litter and waste (2020). We have also achieved the following in the past year:
⦁ A water audit in the whole school.
⦁ Measured the volume of water in a toilet flush.
⦁ Toilet usage survey.
⦁ Water meter readings.
⦁ Created a video highlighting the importance of pulling up taps to turn them off.
⦁ Created an Instagram account highlighting the importance of water.
⦁ Ran a ‘Think before you flush’ campaign.
⦁ Ran WWW – Water Wise Week.
⦁ Reopened the water fountains in our school.
⦁ Collected plastic bottles and put bottles in the cistern to reduce flush.
⦁ Installed a water butt system on the school grounds.

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When we set up our committee our intention was to promote long-term, whole-school action for the environment. The Green Schools Programme is a wonderful opportunity for students to become effective leaders in Rockford Manor and to educate the whole school about the merits of sustainable living.
There are eight themes within the programme
⦁ Litter and Waste
⦁ Energy
⦁ Water
⦁ Travel.
⦁ Biodiversity
⦁ Global Citizenship-Litter and Waste
⦁ Global Citizenship-Energy
⦁ Global Citizenship- Marine Environment.
The Committee started with Litter and Waste. The goal was to reduce the amount of waste going to land-fill and to create environmentally conscious pupils. To date the committee has achieved the following
⦁ Created a Green School Notice Board
⦁ Introduced Recycling bins into all classrooms.
⦁ Carried out a waste audit in the school to look at the contents of our bins.
⦁ Presented a power point to the entire school about recycling and what plastic symbols to look out for.
⦁ Ran a recycling competition in which the ‘Golden Bin’ was a prize.
⦁ Ran a non-uniform day to raise funds for Green Schools.
⦁ Established a composting system in the school for organic waste and set up a wormery to compost that waste.

March 2023: SWAP SHOP Swap Shop to highlight over consumption of fast fashion and the water use and textile waste it causes.

To highlight our overconsumption of fast fashion our Green School's committee held a SWAP SHOP today, 24th March. We concentrated on the water waste in the production of clothes - for example 10,000 liters of water for ONE pair of jeans! Our students brought in items to donate and received a ticket for each item of clothing donated. They had great fun exchanging their tickets for a new pre-used piece of clothing to take home. Well done Ms O'Moore, Ms Kelly and Ms Wilson for helping with this project.

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Oct 23
2024
Rhythm of Rockford
Oct 26
2024
Mid Term Break - School Closed
Nov 04
2024
School reopens
Nov 12
2024
2nd Year PTM
Stradbrook Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
RCN 20013073
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