Three groups of young people from Mayo were jubilant at being shortlisted for the all-Ireland ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards Final Showcase and Awards Ceremony to be held in the Mansion House, Dublin, on May 23.
From a list of 84 national finalist groups from across Ireland that will showcase their environmental action projects at the event, two projects from St Louis Community School, Kiltimagh, and one from Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, have reached the prestigious finals with their innovative projects that range from promoting good eating habits at school, to raising awareness of the dangers of microfibres, and producing a sustainable fertiliser from seaweed.
There were two groups from St Louis Community School, the first project nominated being 'Making Our School a Healthier Place' by Aoife Begley, Sabrina Cunnane, Sinead Guinnelly, Kirsten O'Neill, Aislinn English, Aoibhinn English, Samantha Clarke, and Chloe Connaughton. The second project from the school to be nominated was 'Clean the Fleece, Dirty the Planet' by students Katie Mc Nicholas, Lorcan Conroy, Eshal Skaria, and Michael Maloney.
The Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, students to be nominated were Croia McDermott, Holly Morahan, Kyra Hamilton-Byrne, Michaela O'Malley, and Eimear Courtney for their project ‘Clew Bay Seaweed Fertiliser’.
The young environmentalists recently travelled to the Connaught ECO-DEN at NUI Galway to pitch their environmental action projects to a panel of experts. The young people were challenged with the task of carrying out action projects in their school or community to make a positive contribution to the environment and raise awareness of environmental issues.
While hoping that their work will sufficiently impress the judges to take home a prestigious award, they will also seek the public’s support through the People’s Choice Award. The People’s Choice Award is one category that is out of the judges’ hands, with the public having all the power. Until May 15, the public can vote online for their favourite project at www.ecounesco.ie
