Green School’s Programme 2010/2011

1. Green School’s Programme 2010/2011 Tubber N.S.

2. Our Green School Committee • Our Green School Committee was formed in October 2009 and is made up of Ann Comyn, (Principal), Patricia Lee (Teacher), Mary Clancy (Secretary) and Mary Fogarty (Caretaker) Paddy Fahy& Patricia Taaffe (Parents) and the most important members are the pupils from Tubber N.S. We decided to have all the pupils from Tubber N.S. on the committee as we are a very small school. The pupils attend monthly meetings and share their ideas.

3. Environmental Review The committee felt that the Green-School Environmental review booklet was the basis for our third review. Four areas were identified for attention: • Water Awareness/Conservation • Waste Management/Litter Management • Ongoing Maintenance of School Landscape • To Reduce Heating loss in Tubber N.S.

4. Action Plan • Our school prior to registering with an TAISCE had already been working on environmental issues. • The committee made a list of all the areas needing attention and activities that would promote the campaign in our school. • We identified targets and action to be undertaken to attain these targets. We assigned roles of responsibility to people to oversee these targets and a reasonable timeframe for the implementation. • Monitoring methods are also included in our action plan along with any progress to date which is being updated regularly.

5. Monitoring & Evaluation • Yes, we think monitoring and evaluation is a great idea. • It makes us go back to looking at our action plan and examine how we are doing. • It has helped us to see where we are doing well and where are there areas for improvement. • Our Action Plan helps us to monitor and evaluate the work being done also by carrying out the various surveys.

6. Dripping Tap Water Log

7. Toilet Flush Survey(based on 2 teachers+18 children) Old system (Pre Sept 2010) New System (Sept 2010) % reduction in water use = 360/585 x 100/1 = 62%

8. Urinal Sensor Device Before implementing the programme, the urinals were on constant flush, they flushed automatically with water continuously flowing through them. A urinal without controls will simply keep filling and flushing water 24 hours, seven days a week and are very wasteful. As a result we applied for a water conservation grant and have now installed a battery operated urinal sensor device. Thus water is not wasted when the urinal is not used.

9. Litter & Waste Survey Litter We carried out a litter survey in October 2010 in both classrooms and around the school grounds. We followed this up with a further survey in January 2011. After the initial survey the committee felt that the message needed to be driven home about the disposal of rubbish in the bins provided. The results of the second survey showed an improvement in attitudes to littering and a decrease in the amount of littering Waste A waste survey on our wheelie bins was carried out in February 2010. A further waste survey was carried out in February 2011. We are very happy that we have maintained our initial targets to reduce the recycling bin to ¾ full every fortnight and the general waste bin to ½ bin every fortnight. We recently set up battery collection points (sponsored by E.R.P. Ireland) in each classroom.

10. Lunchbox Survey Lunchbox Survey In January 2010 the committee decided to carry out a lunch box survey to get information about primary packaging and secondary packaging used for lunches. The information gathered was used in the classroom by the teachers to educate the children about different types of packaging and how we as members of our community can contribute to the reduction of packaging going to landfill. A follow up survey was carried out in January 2011. The results told us that the children of Tubber N.S. are very keen to take an active part in our Green School’s campaign and have taken on board the recommendations of the committee following on from the first survey.

11. ESB Energy Use Reduction: 232 units % reduction 232/1612 = 14%

12. Heating Energy Costs % Litre Reduction 363/1822 = 20%

13. Display Energy Certificate We obtained our first DEC on the 6-1-10. We were delighted this year when we renewed our certificate with the more recent energy improvements, to discover that our BER is now a B1, a substantial improvement from our first D1 rating.

14. Curriculum Work-Junior Room • Weather-Geography- •  Water Conservation Posters-Art •  Story of Saint Brendan –History •  Commotion in the Ocean big book-English-ocean wildlife • Frogs-Life Cycle of a frog •  Litter Survey tally-maths • Toothbrush demo- • Electrical appliance audit • Water and health- Comenius Project • Toothbrush Demo-Science • Lovely Water video-world of water • Aquatics-Water Safety

15. Water Conservation Posters

16. Curriculum Work-Senior Room • Something Fishy – Learning about Fish & Fishing • Bradán (A Salmon tells her story) • Water Based Experiments / Surface Tension / Salt Water / Fresh Water • Environmental Awareness / Science in the Environment • The Geology of the Burren and its impact on sourcing water • The Titanic – visited the Titanic Exhibition in City West in Dublin in June 2010. • Famine Today / Examining Cause / Effect / Famine in Ireland in 1800s • Water Experiment - Salt Water

17. Water Poems We all need water to survive. And fix leaking taps. Together we need to save water. Environmental care is our responsibility. Really tell others about this. Water Water looks a glittering ocean. Water feels hot or cold and relaxing. Water sounds swishy and sometimes harsh. Water smells salty if it is at the beach. Water tastes refreshing. Water is extremely important to us because it keeps us alive.

18. Informing & Involving • Green School’s Noticeboard • Green School’s Newsletter • Website-www.tubberns.com • Water Conservation Tips • Water Action Week • Our parents and the members of the Board of Management are also informed.

19. Water Saving Tips (1) Water Conservation Tips for Home Bathroom: • Turn off tap while brushing your teeth/washing your hands/lathering your hair/shaving. • Take a shorter shower. • Share a bath with younger children. • Use the half flush in the dual flush toilet when possible

20. Water Saving Tips (2) Kitchen/Utility: • Make sure the washing machine/dishwasher is full • Use the economy wash. • Use a stopper/basin if washing. • When buying new electrical appliances try to buy an A rating. • Fill the kettle for the amount you need. • Wash vegetables in a basin and reuse the water in your garden. • Chill a jug of water in the fridge instead of running a cold tap.

21. Water Saving Tips (3) Garden: • Invest in a hose, which can be turned off and on at the head. • Turn down the pressure on the hose. • Use a bucket instead of a hose. • Use a rake/brush to clean the path instead of a hose. • Use sprinklers in the garden according to the time of year. • Water your plants in the morning or evening. • Use wastewater to water plants e.g. fishtanks or vegetable water. • Invest in a rain water harvester. Dripping taps and leaks: • Fix the dripping taps. • If there is a leak you get the advice from a plumber

22. Water Action Week / Days of ActionJanuary 31st – February 4th , 2011

23. Working in our Garden We all enjoy working in the garden. We plant bulbs in autumn for spring flowering. We plant window boxes in spring. We take care of our flowers by weeding and keeping the garden neat and tidy.

24. Titanic Exhibition On June the 9th the Senior room went to the Titanic Artefacts Exhibition in Dublin as their school trip.

25. Galway Atlantaquaria In May we visited Galway Atlantquarium in Salthill, there we looked at all different types of sea creatures and carried out some experiments.We carried out a series of experiments with all classes in the school to achieve the Discover Primary Science award.

26. Visit to the Rine with John Murphy Birdwatch Ireland Studying a jellyfish with John Murphy A ringed plover’s nest

27. Comenius Project We are currently involved in a Comenius Project focusing on healthy eating and raising activity levels amongst other European schools in England, Spain and Turkey. A Health Professional visited it our school over a few afternoons talking to us about the food pyramid and making a healthy menu.

28. Links to Wider Community • John Murphy from Birdwatch Ireland • Sherkin Island • Atlantaquarium in Galway • Coole Park Education Programme • Comenius Project Partnership • Joan Tarmey & Sean Hartigan Environmental Awareness Officers • Enda O’Connor Tubber Gun Club

29. Our Previous Green slogans: “Litterbugs need not apply Change your act and then retry” “Be energy smart, Be energy aware, Let’s all work together For a future to share”.

30. Water Code Water is precious Always conserve it Think before you use Every living thing needs water Responsibility for our environment.

31. Thank you for watching our Green School’s Presentation.