Maria Dignam from Glanduff NS, Kiltoom recently took the top prize in the Connacht/Ulster region of the Green-Schools Irish Water Poster Competition in the senior primary school category.
Maria was presented with her prize at a ceremony in Dublin yesterday Wednesday.
Picture Credit: Mark Stedman, Photocall Ireland
This year’s Poster Competition theme was ‘Be Water Smart’ and 11 other winners also received prizes on the day. The awards recognise the dedication and innovation shown by schools that have been working on the Water theme and are receiving the Green Flag award for Water this year. This is the third year of the awards, which also honoured four new regional Green-Schools Water Ambassadors for the first time.
Greystones Educate Together, Co Wicklow was crowned the overall winner in the primary schools category and Seamount College, Kinvara, Galway took the top prize in the secondary school category.
Commenting on the awards Jerry Grant, Acting Managing Director at Irish Water said: “Irish Water is delighted to be supporting the Green-Schools Water theme for a third year. A huge congratulations to Maria on winning the poster competition in her category. The success the students have achieved in reducing their school’s water usage and raising awareness about water issues highlights how important it is to learn about the value of water and water conservation from a young age.” He added: “I would like to congratulate all those who entered the awards, they should be very proud of their achievements.”
Speaking at the awards was Green-Schools Manager Cathy Baxter: “Thank you so much to all our fabulous students and teachers who have achieved such impressive results on the Water theme this year. We’re particularly excited about the Water Ambassador Programme – well done to all our Ambassadors! We look forward to continuing to work with you all in the future.”
Schools were shortlisted for the award based on their application for the Green Flag award, the deadline for which was on Friday, March 11 2016. An Taisce Green-Schools presented the winning schools with their Green Flags for Water last week. This month 191 schools from across the country will be awarded with the Green Flag for Water.