Monday, 29 May 2023 – Ireland’s young water champions were celebrated recently at the annual Green School Water Awards hosted by An Taisce Green-Schools and Uisce Éireann.

There was success for First Year student Rory Fitzgerald of CBS Ennistymon who declared regional winner in the Secondary School Poster Competition. 

Over the past school year, over 12,800 students in 432 schools all over Ireland have participated in the Green-Schools water theme which is sponsored by Uisce Éireann. 

The water theme looks at developing awareness around water conservation and how to effectively manage this precious resource in our schools and at home.

Eight regional winners were chosen to attend an award ceremony in Dublin where they were recognised for their exceptional commitment to delivering water conservation measures, awareness raising and sustainability actions.

Kinsale Community College in Cork was named the Secondary Water School of the Year, while Scoil Fhionain/Kifinane in Limerick, were the winners in the Primary category.

Speaking at the awards, Geoffrey Bourke of Uisce Éireann congratulated all the winners for their efforts to highlight the value of water. “It is truly inspiring to see how the schools taking part in the Green-Schools water theme are setting an example for how we should all value our precious water resources and have proved just how much water can be saved. Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who has taken part in this excellent program.”

Green-Schools Manager, Joanne Scott said: “Once again this year we have seen some inspirational ideas from the participating students. They have shown great leadership, not just in their schools but also in their wider communities. Our Schools of the Year winners have showed a genuine willingness to reach out beyond the schools themselves to engage with a wider audience. 

“Well done to all the schools who took part in the programme this year for their outstanding efforts.”

Among the awards announced at the event were the regional and national Water Schools of the Year and the Green-Schools poster and video competition winners. The country’s top Water Ambassadors were also honoured at the special ceremony which took place in Dublin.

This is the tenth year of the Green-Schools partnership with Uisce Éireann, and in that time over 630,000 students have taken part, attending interactive water workshops or Walk for Water events, hosting talks from Uisce Éireann staff or visiting their local water and wastewater treatment plants.