Mount St Michael became a Green School for the first time in 2005 when the hard working committee of that time achieved their first Green Flag from An Taisce under the theme of LITTER and WASTE
A very successful paper recycling initiative was set up then along with awareness of the importance of maintaining a litter free environment.
Work involved surveys, reviews, action plans, evaluations, forming curricular links, informing and involving the wider community along with numerous committee meetings where the ideas emerged.
Since then the school has achieved a further four Green Flags as part of the Green Schools Programme under the themes of:
ENERGY
WATER
TRAVEL
BIODIVERSITY
The school received its most recent Green Flag for Biodiversity in 2019. This project, with the help of an Ecologist and our local Environmental Awareness Officer helped us learn about the vast array of Flora and Fauna that is to be found around our school, in our community and on the wider scale of our Planet. The students linked up with Claremorris Tidy Towns on a number of occasions by helping out with the planting of bulbs and trees at Clare Lake among other projects undertaken.
Students have now formed a new Committee and they meet every week with Ms Commons, Green Schools Coordinator.
Current priorities include:
- Encouraging the whole school community to dispose of litter and waste into the proper designated bins at all times to promote a cleaner school environment.
- Promoting the continued use of reusable drinks bottles since single use plastics bottles have been completely banned.
- Starting up a Battery Recycling initiative with the aim of:
- collecting old, used batteries to be sent to WEEE Ireland and remade into new usable materials
- collecting funds for the Laura Lynn Foundation as every battery recycled raises a one euro donation