Galway Community College, (GCC ), GRETB is welcoming an Erasmus+ delegation of 30 students and four teachers from a school in Croatia and a school in Spain, to Galway city this week. The students are here as part of the endangered species and biodiversity project, a climate change research study in the European Union, that all three schools have been working on.
Erasmus+ coordinator Thomas Flanagan has put together an itinerary of events for their visit, where the group will explore local attractions to include the Aran Islands, a boat trip on the River Corrib, a walking tour of Galway, and a visit to Galway Wind Park in Oughterard. The highlight of the week will be the unveiling of GCC’s outdoor classroom and rewilded nature reserve on the eastern shores of Lough Atalia. Thanks to its participation in the Climate Change Studies and Research in the European Union, Galway Community College was chosen as a champion school for the Galway National Park City initiative, led by local environmentalist and climate activist Brendan Smith, a project initiated and supported by a group of ‘champions’ who are aiming to help Galway to achieve National Park City status.
The group have been working on the environmental study for the past few months and the launch of its findings will be launched in City Hall tomorrow, Friday April 8, with the support of Mayor Colette Connolly. The delegation will then travel to Lough Atalia where Mayor Connolly will officially open the outdoor classroom designed and developed in conjunction with the biodiversity project.
The schools, Susacka Hrvatska Gimnazija in Rijeka, Croatia, and IES Felix Muriel in Rianxo, Spain, and GCC students, are delighted to be part of the National Parks initiative for Galway city, according to Thomas Flanagan.
“We are delighted to host our environmental partners from Spain and Croatia in Galway to show them our wonderful home and showcase some of the amazing work being carried out by our students and other valuable organizations to make Galway a cleaner, greener, healthier, city for us all to enjoy,” Mr Flanagan said.
