Pupils from Clonbonny NS, Kayden Hynes, Zara David, Carajean O’ Connor, Paddy McGinley, Veronika Krumina and Joane Donnelly teacher at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS recently. Photos: Paul Molloy.

Green shoots: Thirteen local schools feature at Arcadia Climate Awards in Athlone

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The Arcadia Creative Climate Awards for 2024 were hosted recently at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) in Athlone, where the students and schools exhibited their green initiatives to fellow pupils, teachers and the public.

The annual exhibition this year featured contributions from ten primary schools and three secondary schools from Athlone and across the Midlands.

Students proudly displayed their favourite climate-focused and environmental projects, showcasing the green initiatives undertaken by their schools.

The participating schools this year were: St Oliver Plunkett Boy's NS in Moate; Ardnagrath NS; Coosan NS; Mullingar Educate Together NS; St Mary's NS; Mount Temple NS; Milltown NS; Clonbonny NS, Ballinahown NS, Scoil na gCeithre Maistri, Marist College, Our Lady's Bower, and Athlone Community College.

Pupils from An Grianan NS, Annie Doyle, Nemhain Doolin, Gerald Norton with their teachers Carmel Rooney and Laura O’ Sullivan at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS Athlone.

This Arcadia Creative Climate Awards serve as a platform for schools to highlight their efforts towards sustainability and environmental stewardship.

The event not only recognises the dedication of young minds to making a positive impact but also inspires others to join in the movement towards a greener future.

Pupils from St. Columcille’s NS Ballinahown, Megan Killian, Charley Brazil, Fionn Dolan, Harry McGuinness with their teacher Tom Keena at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition.

The awards are run in conjunction with the Cllr Frankie Keena's ‘Junior Mayor’ initiative, which has a central theme of "giving young people a voice".

Cllr Keena thanked the schools who participated this year, saying: "It was fantastic to see the level of confidence and depth of knowledge of the students on the subject matter as they explained their respective projects to members of the public. The student voice was just exceptional on the day.

"These climate awards would not have taken place only for the marvellous sponsorship received from Fiachra McLoughlin of Arcadia Retail Park. The financial and hands-on support from Fiachra is just fantastic, and he was ably assisted by Katie Gleeson and Morgan Fagg.

Pupils from St Oliver Plunkett’s NS Moate, Michael Horan, Billy Malone, Tom O’Connell and Conor Fox at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS.

"We were absolutely thrilled to host these awards for the second year in a row at the TUS campus thanks to the marvellous and endless support from Joanne Gillivan.

"This brought the status of the event to a much higher level and it created a 'wow' factor for the students and staff," Cllr Keena added.

Pupils from Coosan NS, Evelyn Cleary, Baylie Dunning, Callum Hannon and Yousef Elhadidy with teachers, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Elliott and Fiachra McLoughlin Arcadia ceo, and councillor Frankie Keena at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS recently.

Joanne Gillivan, TUS Library Outreach said: "TUS Library was delighted to host the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition and to see such a diverse range of projects addressing climate change.

"It is inspiring to witness the passion and dedication of the students and their teachers who are actively working towards a more sustainable future.

"The event was opened by Senior Law Lecturer Alison Hough, from the Faculty of Business and Hospitality.

"Alison welcomed the students and their teachers and gave a brief insight into many of the exciting research and community engagement projects across the TUS campuses, which are helping communities find pathways forward in a time of climate transition.

"The students also heard from pioneering TUS postgraduate researchers Sheila Plunkett and Mairéad Quinn on their fascinating research in this area.

"TUS lecturer Dr Rita Scully, from its Limerick campus, spoke about approaches to teaching environmental sustainability, and Dr Maeve O’Reilly Lecturer in Veterinary Nursing and Bioveterinary Science, spoke to the students about her voluntary role as vice chair of the TUS Athlone Green Campus committee.

"It was great to collaborate once again with Cllr Frankie Keena and Fiachra McLoughlin the sponsor of the Arcadia Creative Climate Awards, and to increase awareness among primary and secondary school students around the most defining issue of our time."

Students from St. Mary’s NS in front, Harry Fallon, Pranav Tejesh, Thoguluva Shaktipriya Kumari, Yusra Shaik, Adam Dempsey, at rear Alan Grace teacher, Yashika Nallabothula, Varvara Vorontsova, Sofia Rahyzina, Purity Eghosai, Teodora Simion and Mark Lennon teacher at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS.

Fiachra McLoughlin, Director, Arcadia Retail Park, added: "We were delighted with the support of Joanne and all the team in TUS. The campus environment provided an inspiring area for the students to show off their projects in a third-level university campus, and there was a real buzz on the day.

"We would like to thank each of the schools for their participation, there was a tremendous amount of effort put in by all the teams and their teachers. The standard of work done by the students was exceptionally high."

Students from Our Lady’s Bower, Minna Gaafar, Eni Jamgbadi, Orlaith Farrell, Iffah Rahmat, Dorothy Obikoga, Hannal Heneghen and Kate Maynard at the Arcadia Creative Climate exhibition in TUS. Photos: Paul Molloy.
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