By Dan Walsh
Uisce Éireann has confirmed its continued sponsorship of An Taisce’s Green-Schools programme to support schools working to gain a Green Flag under the Water Theme. Now in its 10th year, the sponsorship has seen over 2.6 billion litres of water saved, which is equivalent to filling 1,040 Olympic size swimming pools.
52 students across Wexford and the Southern Region are water ambassadors for the programme with 161 schools involved with Green Schools. In total over 370,000 students across Ireland have completed the programme, to date, achieving 1,310 Green Flags, as well as participating in a range of additional initiatives, including poster and video competitions, Walks for Water, Water Ambassador programmes and a range of workshops with Irish Water and other stakeholders in the water sector.
Speaking at the launch, Eamon Gallen of Uisce Éireann, said; “We are immensely proud to continue our sponsorship of the Water Theme and our association with Green Schools. This partnership is the perfect fit as it and embodies our core values while helping the next generation understand and appreciate Ireland’s water resources and encourage conservation from a young age.
“It is truly inspiring to see how the schools taking part in the Green-Schools Water Theme are setting an example for how we should all value our precious water resources and have proved just how much water can be salvaged.”
Joanne Scott, Green Schools Manager, added; “We are delighted to have the continued support of Uisce Éireann. The support over the past nine years has enabled us to create and develop resources, events, and ongoing initiatives to assist schools as best we can with their work on our Water Theme. Each year our schools have achieved incredibly low water use and a strong school-wide culture of water conservation which is demonstrated in the massive water savings made since the sponsorship began.”
The Water Theme is tailored to students at all stages of their development, from junior primary to secondary level with a range of activities to suit all ages. In addition to developing awareness around water conservation the sponsorship incorporates wider engagement around stewardship of our water resources, including raising awareness of the impacts of wastewater on inland and coastal waterways.
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