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Green Schools

Green-Schools is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools run by An Taisce.

It promotes long-term, whole-school action for the environment. From recycling to cutting down on our energy use, here at NKETNS we have developed lots of environmentally-friendly habits which we have brought home to our own homes too!

The great thing about Green-Schools is, it is a student-led programme with involvement from the wider community.

There are 9 key themes, which schools work towards to achieving a Green Flag in each. 

  1. Litter and Waste
  2. Energy
  3. Water
  4. Travel
  5. Biodiversity
  6. Global Citizenship – Litter & Waste
  7. Global Citizenship – Energy
  8. Global Citizenship – Marine Environment
  9. Global Citizenship – Travel

We received our first Green Flag in 2004 for Litter and Waste, the focus is on litter and waste issues, encouraging a sense of responsibility. This is followed by Energy, which looks at the steps which can be taken at school to reduce energy consumption and raise awareness of climate change. The Water theme develops awareness around water conservation and how to effectively manage this important resource in schools. The Travel theme aims to increase the number of students walking, cycling, scooting, using public transport or carpooling to school. Biodiversity looks at increasing awareness in schools of the importance of native plants, animals and habitats. The Green Home flag was a collaboration between school and home on green issues. The Global Citizenship – Litter and Waste theme enables schools to discover how work on Green-Schools has positively influenced our global community. Global Citizenship – Energy theme gives schools the chance to revise Energy and look at issues surrounding energy use globally. This year we were awarded our 9th Green Flag.

We were chosen as one of 8 schools to participate in a pilot programme for Global Citizenship – Food. Our theme was about raising awareness of growing food locally and food miles. Check out some of the work we did on Food Miles.

Next year we will be working towards our 10th Flag, Global Citizenship – Marine Environment. This theme focuses on raising awareness of marine eco-systems and the work being done to save them.