The below article highlights the amazing benefits that Cahersiveens Colaiste Na Sceilge has achieved one month into their Reusable Journey with Narcissips (28,988 single use plastic bottles saved from entering the school grounds in one month).
It is amazing to see students of this age and parents/teachers alike working together to make change and I am honoured to have helped! Special thanks to Francis Courtney who led the way with several students also leading the charge including Amy Quirke.
The one thing I will say about assisting schools with reusables is that it is vital we can enable students, parents and teachers alike to be motivated and enabled to make the change via correct, efficient and affordable pricing. It is the only way we can actually make change by ensuring the masses can adopt reusables, especially in 2022 with inflation running rife with increased costs of living across all necessities from electricity to petrol which can easily deter families away from reusables.
However, I really do feel that reusables are an investment. Not only in terms of saving money in the long term but also in working towards a better environment for our children, our families and our friends. For more on how reusables can assist with these benefits, I will highlight in another Blog post however this blog is solely to thank all at Colaiste Na Sceilge and highlight the amazing attitudes of the students and benefits they have achieved in their first month.
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The below is from the Independent.ie, penned by Fergus Dennehy in May 2022. You can follow the link here to the direct article.
Staff and students from the Coláiste na Sceilge secondary school in Cahersiveen have this past week, with the installation of new CrystalClearwater.ie filtered fountains as well as each student receiving their very own Narcissips.com crested reusable water bottles, shown their commitment and dedication to eliminating single use plastics from their school environment.
The introduction of these new measures in the school is just another step on the school’s mission to do their part for the environment as well as highlighting many of the aims within Ireland’s Climate Action Plan such as ‘making small changes in our daily lives and to engage with climate action at a local level’.
Amongst those leading this sustainable products charge for the school over the past few years has been teacher Francis Courtney and his students and he has received wonderful support from all the staff and the students in the school to help implement the necessary changes.
The students educational journey for this campaign has led to them planning and partaking in lessons throughout the process which has been a great learning experience for the group.
“I was delighted with the response of the students throughout this process. They led the project from start to finish. Taking an idea and planning for its success is something we covered over a number of lessons and the students in particular felt very strongly about the product which Cathal O’Reilly and his company Narcissips were offering given the story behind his success,” said Francis to The Kerryman this week.
School Principal Maurice Fitzgerald has shown great support throughout the process and his mission to implement sustainable practice into Colaiste na Sceilge is at the core of their future plans.
As well as receiving great in-school support, another great supporter of the school’s sustainable campaign was Kerry County Council. They showed great support in helping the school with the installation of the water fountains which includes a digital count for every 500ml of water dispensed and currently, the school has saved a whopping 28,988 single use plastic bottles from entering the school grounds.
