In March, we received the exciting news that our school was awarded its 11th Green Flag for our work on the theme of Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity. This is an amazing achievement and one we can all be proud of. Our journey to achieving this flag began with forming a committee. Ms. Kelly and Ms. Connolly were asked to coordinate the committee while Ms. Mulvey kindly hosted our meetings and guided us through the process. Children from 3rd – 6th class were also invited to apply to be on the committee. We had to commit to attend meetings, come up with ideas and help organise events. We met regularly to discuss ideas and make plans.
One of our main areas of work was the school garden which was in need of some care. We were lucky to have the support of our Parents’ Association, Board of Management and our caretaker John in upgrading some of the infrastructure. We are hoping to continue adding to the school garden over the next number of years. Children from lots of classes were involved in preparing the beds, planting seeds and tending to crops. 3rd and 4th classes cultivated a great crop of peas, 2nd class planted carrots and we have even had our first (small!) crop of Ballybay potatoes!
We organised workshops from GOAL, from Heritage in Schools expert Michael Bell and a class visit from local dairy farmers Eimear and Francis. 4th class participated in a tree planting day, 1st and 2nd class took part in the Incredible Edibles programme and we all contributed to the WEEE battery recycling campaign. The infant classes led the way with our litter pick days which were organised with the help of our school council. John helped us to create a luxury bug hotel using recycled and repurposed materials. The children from 5th class designed and modelled amazing outfits for Trash Fash using bits and bobs they had lying around. The 6th class children presented very informative projects on a variety of global biodiversity topics.
I think you will all agree that we worked very hard on our theme so it was no surprise when it was announced that we had been awarded our flag for Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity. We look forward to continuing our work to make Ballybay NS a more welcoming environment for plants and animals.
Pictured here are some of the committee members old and new during the flag raising ceremony that took place in the school on Tuesday June 25th 2024. In a fond farewell to Ms. Mulvey who piloted the scheme in Ballybay all those years ago, she had the honour of raising our last and 11th Green Flag. Also pictured are the current committee members Emma Connolly and Claire Kelly. It was a proud moment for all of our school community.
