Green Flag

Our 2nd Green Flag

On Tuesday, March 8th 2011, Mrs Colleran and two members of the GREEN SCHOOL COMMITTEE, Rosemarie Corry and Laura McNamara, went to The Galway Bay Hotel to receive the 2nd Green Flag for the school. It was awarded to Knockanean N.S. because they have been working on the theme of Energy. The committee has done great work in encouraging all classes to reduce their use of electricity by turning off lights, computers, overhead projectors and music centres when not in use. The classes have responded brilliantly and overall our energy bills have been reduced. It is so much better for the ENVIRONMENT when we make the effort to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels whenever we can.This is an International Award and is held in high esteem in many countries.

The children will have received questionnaires checking on their energy consumption at home and we hope that parents will take a look at these and put the recommended practises into operation. Enda Kenny, our new Taoiseach, recalled recently that he became aware of the practises to reduce energy and water use when his young daughter insisted that he turned off lights and to turn off the tap when he was shaving....He was duly chastised by the same young environmentalist!

We will have the Raising of the Green Flag in the next couple of weeks and if anyone out there knows any famous person who is willing to do the honours, please let us know. Likewise if any parent wants to join our committee, give us some new idea or give a little talk on their chosen GREEN theme, please feel free to call in to 5th class at any time.

Visit to Derrybrien Windfarm

The Green Schools Committee took off once again on May 12th 2010 to check out the workings of a wind farm in a place called Deerybrien in our neighbouring county of Galway. The day was cold but dry and all the chat was about the turbines and whether or not we'd get to go inside one! We headed off towards Gort and then took a right turn in the town out to Derrybrien which is located high up in the Slieve Aughty mountains. The closer we got, the bigger the turbines seemed to be. There were lots of them dotting the landscape and we had a game to guess how many were actually on the site. The guesses went from 20 to 200 but the actual figure is 70. This is the biggest windfarm in the whole of the Republic of Ireland. Aoife O'Connor and Brian Kelly were very close to the correct answer!

The long road into the site soon came to an end and we were met by Kieran and Sean who explained a few things to us about the day to day workings of the wind farm. Wind of course is the main component and if that does not blow then the potential of the turbine is naturally reduced. The amount this year is generally down because of all the cold but calm weather since Christmas. We learned that one turbine could power 50,000 homes if the wind blows for long periods of time. That is really good and will reduce our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

We also learned that each turbine cost the staggering total of 1 million euro each, yes, one million each! They are very high tech and the maintenance on them is very costly too. When we got to go inside one of them we saw how compact they were and how dangerous they can be if the proper procedures are not followed every time !There are really long ladders inside which the men can climb up to see if there is a problem up there. Recently, one poor guy had a heart attack up there and unfortunately died there. The height of each one is 49 metres and the span of each blade is 26 metres. Pretty big, don't you agree?

We got to go in then to the main control room where all the data is collected and the men showed us the general working of the computers. The ESB hope to expand the number of windfarms in the country but the people need to realise that this change is really good for our country and for our environment! Change can be slow but with all the new technology coming on board we can all help to make this change possible.

We had a great day out and thanks to Kay O Donnell and Mrs Colleran who accompanied us on the trip. We stopped in Coole Park on the way home and had great fun there, especially around the famous Autograph Tree. W. B . YEATS and Lady Gregory carved their names there many years ago.

Visit from ESB's Electric Vehicle

Friday February 5th, The Green Schools Committee organized an ELECTRIC VEHICLE to come to the school so the children could see the use that is made of alternative fuels as opposed to petrol and diesel! The vehicle was a big hit with all the children and 18 lucky pupils got to get a spin in it. They ranged from 2nd class to 6th class and as they drove noiselessly away, all others waved them off. Take a look at our photos below - a great morning was had by all.

A million thanks to Sean Hegarty who was the chief man behind the venture and to his employers, the ESB, for facilitating us. Also to Paul Mulvaney who is the leading light in the promotion of the electric cars and vans. They both gave a presentation to 5th and 6th classes and they were brilliant with the children. A Goodie Bag and lots of other little prizes were given out. Mile Buiochas.
The Green School Committee will continue to raise awareness of saving energy both at school and in the home. Sean and Paul were both delighted with the level of awareness in the school already.

Green Schools Committee

The Green Schools Committee was established about a year and a half ago and has been very active since then. Our first priority was to get as many children as possible involved and they have come in great numbers to all our meetings. They undertoook to tidy up the school grounds and more importantly, to keep it as litter-free as possible. They are a great bunch of kids and they all help whenever they can. Next year we will be able to take on more pupils from the new third class.

The parents were also very willing to come on board and a huge thanks to Mairead and Michele for their support. They are now concentrating their efforts in the wonderful Gardening Club which makes our school look so well. The Daffodil Spiral is a credit to all.

Now, Anne-Marie Custy is our super secretary and diligently takes all the minutes of the meetings and Kay O'Donnell is a valued member of our present committee.

Knockanean National School