March 22th 2017
Convent of Mercy National School in Kanturk, Cork became the first group in Ireland to be awarded the Water, Air, and Food Youth Award (WAFA).
The school participated in Global Action Plan’s water explorer programme and their project has now received international recognition for their valiant efforts.
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WAFA commends exceptional pioneers in water, air and food security. The top projects are selected by international experts and a global audience votes for their favourite project.
They were presented with their award at a ceremony on Monday. Representatives from UN Global Compact, Dichiarazione di Bruxelles Pledge to Peace and The Green Organisation were in attendance. Social activist, Ayrton Cable presented the award to the swash-buckling, water saving students and congratulated them on their efforts in his presentation
Water Explorer is a fun, competitive and interactive online educational programme inspiring young people not only to learn about global water issues but also to take action. Students navigate through customized online platform, completing a series of water challenges, and benchmark their progress interactively with their peers nationally and internationally.
This free, highly competitive programme and schools/youth groups can win prizes, workshops along with a place at National and International Water Explorer Finals. It is delivered in 11 different countries and has engaged approximately 79,000 in water saving exercises since 2015. For more information on Water Explorer, click here
“Not only have we found ways to reduce our water footprint at school, but pupils have also spread that knowledge far and wide into their homes and the local community. As part of the programme, pupils get to interact online not only with their peers in schools from other parts of Ireland, but also as far as Bermuda and South Africa. We would really encourage other schools in the area to get involved and to become Water Explorers!”
Ann Marie Hearne- Teacher- Castlebridge National School, Wexford.
“Water explorers is a fantastic global programme that helps raise awareness of water conservation in schools. The comprehensive resources are child friendly and engaging and the children love completing challenges and seeing their points add up as they do so. As a teacher all the resources are provided for you which makes the programme very easy to implement in the classroom and the Water Explorers team are always there to offer help and advice. My class have gained so much from participating in this programme aside from a deeper understanding of conservation issues: teamwork, leadership and the confidence to present their work to others are just some of the many benefits I have seen. The programme links well with the Green Schools theme of Water and it has been a very beneficial programme for our school this year. I would highly recommend the Water Explorers programme for other schools!”
Sharon Murphy- Teacher – Scoil Bhríde, Cork.
