MCS has an active Green-schools committee, currently headed-up by student Anna Price. The school has worked hard over the past 13 years to reduce its carbon footprint and has attained four green flag awards from An Taisce for becoming more environmentally friendly in the following areas; Litter & Waste, Water, Energy and Travel & Transport. The committee is currently working on achieving their 5th green flag for increasing awareness about Biodiversity; an increasingly important topic in today’s world.
In line with An Taisce’s recommendations, the Green-Schools committee (Green Team) comprises representation from the following groups: students, teaching staff, non-teaching staff and management. Every September, the committee re-forms and announcements are made over the school intercom requesting new members to join existing members on the committee. Invitations to students are also communicated via Schoology.
Two teachers have been coordinating the Green-Schools programme in our school for the past five years and are well supported by management and the Board of Management. Every year, new PME student teachers get involved in the committee and bring new, fresh ideas to the team. We find that the students who join the team are dedicated and usually spend more than one academic year on the committee. There is a good overlap between members of our Student Council and the Green team.
The Green-Schools programme gives pupils an opportunity to take ownership of an environmental issue and create a positive change in their local community. Taking an active role in achieving an international environmental award is a prestigious achievement and will be a notable addition to a pupil’s curriculum vitae.
Being part of a Green-Schools Committee builds pupil confidence, ability to solve problems, communication and organisation skills. Many pupils have used this experience to win membership of Student Councils and Green-Schools Committees at university level. Setting up an effective Committee will ensure the success of the programme in your school. Through good organisation and delegation, a Green-Schools Coordinator can create a Committee who are proactive, independent and effective lead the environmental campaign in their school.
