Green Team News

Visit our Farm Project !


‘Green Schools’ Programme We are eagerly awaiting news of our 5th Green Flag. In the meantime, it’s business as usual and last week 4th Class pupils were busy re-stocking the bird-feeding stations around the school grounds. Our ‘travel’ theme is about to move up a gear and we are hoping to get you active with our ‘ Walk around Ireland’ passport and the ‘Park and Stride’ programme. A parents walking group and ‘dance fitness’ class have also been suggested by parents at the Active School assessment meeting. (Details to follow shortly)

We are again taking part in the annual GREENWAVE project.

Learn more about the project and the signs we are looking out for in our area by clicking above to visit the Greenwave website. Our school is registered with the Project, so please tell your teacher if you spot hawthorn, ash or horse chestnut buds opening, frogspawn in your local ponds or swallows returning from Africa! You might also be the first to spot primroses in bloom. If you have a camera handy please take a photo of your sighting and bring your photo or your camera card into school, so that we can upload the photo to the Greenwave website. Your detective work is important and adds to the scientists' knowledge of Spring in Ireland 2010 !

		4th class are busy looking after our little feathered friends with feeders and nesting boxes!

Green Flag Assessment ‘Travel Theme’
On Thursday 26th November, The Green Team Travel Committee had their assessment visit from Suzanne Tinney, Environmental Officer, Donegal County Council. She was accompanied by Denise Gallinagh Woods, Travel Officer, An Taisce. Before the assessment visit the travel committee had to collect evidence of their travel theme in a travel booklet. There were four representatives from 5th and 6th Class and two pupils from 3rd and 4th Class. The pupils also displayed photos and projects relating to the travel theme on their ‘Travel Noticeboard’ in the school hall. Our ‘travel theme’ has taken us on a very interesting journey … a journey of discovery and a journey of challenges. The Green Team Travel Committee had to really polish up their ‘thinking caps’ and began brain-storming ideas for their project. Out initial findings from the travel survey showed that the majority of staff and pupils travelled to school by car or bus. Our aim was to encourage walking and cycling to school. Although a large number of pupils expressed an interest in cycling to school, the location of our school on a busy main road with major road junctions to negotiate made cycling to school impossible. Parents who were notified of the project’s aims had major safety concerns regarding bicycle travel in the absence of bicycle lanes. The Committee instead decided to organise a bicycle safety course to improve our safety skills. They also decided to lobby local T.D.s and councillors by sending a letter to demand provision of bicycle lanes in the locality of our school. This would greatly improve our chances of promoting a ‘cycling to school’ campaign. We also focused our attention on SUSTAINABILITY by selling from our school farm and vegetable garden. We decided that we could set up a mini company and elect farm managers from the senior classes to organise sale of eggs and animal welfare. We grew our own vegetables and used rhubarb to make jam and we made soup from our vegetables. Last year we made €220 profit from the sale of sale of school eggs. We marked the eggs as ‘Woodland Way Free Range’ eggs. Donegal Creameries were so impressed with our farm project that they agreed to sponsor the food for the hens. Our ‘Grow your own’ campaign will help to reduce the CARBON FOOTPRINT and also encourage organic gardening methods free from pesticides and sprays. We will continue to promote walking to school during the current school and hopefully reduce traffic congestion in our school car park in the long term. Let’s continue our environmental journey… on yer bike!! Our main themes included bicycle safety, promoting walking to school, sustainability and carbon footprint. Our school has also recently had an energy audit from Jim Duffy, SEI. He gave us lots of useful advice on ways to reduce our electricity bills! We had six ‘Action Days’ during this two year project. ACTION DAY 1: ‘Pedal Power’ Bicycle Safety Course ACTION DAY 2: ‘Walk around the Block’ ACTION DAY 3: ‘Country Market’ ACTION DAY 4: ‘Positive Ageing Party’ ACTION DAY 5: ‘Traffic Survey’ ACTION DAY 6: Carbon Footprint Survey We also developed a School Travel Code. • Walk or cycle to school if it is safe. • Be bright, be seen. • Travel safely! • Wear reflective clothing • Wear a bicycle helmet at all times when cycling • Sit in the back seat of the car • Always wear a seatbelt • Always cross the road at a pedestrian crossing • Stay on the red track in our school car park • Walk a safe route to school • Always check out your bike During the visit, the enthusiastic Travel Committee outlined school initiatives to promote an ‘eco friendly’ approach to travelling to school. They also used the opportunity to highlight the lack of cycle lanes in Letterkenny for pupils who would like to cycle to school. They also demonstrated how sustainable living and growing your own vegetables can help to reduce the carbon footprint. Our ‘Travel Theme’ booklet will now be forwarded to An Taisce and we hope that in Term 3 we will receive our 5th European Green Flag. Well done to all our Travel Committee for all their hard work!

	Well done to all the green team members this year for keeping the various playground areas and habitats so well. The grounds look beautiful and are full of insect, bird and pond life. A Letterkenny oasis! The birds were consistently supplied with food and water, especially during the Winter and Spring. Any litter that blew in to the playground was carefully gathered. Vegetables were harvested and new crops recently planted. Lately the various classes have really enjoyed the beautiful dappled shade, quiet and calm haven of the woodland during breaktime, complete with its wonderful growing willow hut where the hens cluck contentedly nearby. Thank you very much for making our playground such a wonderland !
T.D. and J.C. help with planting

The butterfly garden is full of delicious scents from the honeysuckle, lavender, etc.	Here comes the summer!	4th class grew sunflowers

Flag iris appears at the pond	the pond is lush and beautiful	Froggy keeps an eye on progress

Cash for Clobber !

Well done to everyone who cleared out their wardrobes recently to raise cash for the school. This certificate is from 'Cash for Clobber'. Congratulations to Heather McCarthy on the excellent 'Cash for Clobber' campaign. An amazing 303 bags were collected and a total of €1026 has been raised.


		2nd class plant potatoes in the vegetable patch

Beautiful sunflowers in the courtyard



Aromatic Butterfly Garden	Strongly scented sweet pea - we enjoyed them in every hallway and room in September


		A.S. with sweet pea


Marvellous mushrooms in the woodland!


Autumn dahlias and begonias	butterfly patch	poppies


courtyard looking lovely	pond planting	the willow hut has grown tall !

Happy Harvesting !

courgettes	rhubarb and vegetables	shady woodland


E.D., O.F., J.D.R. and A.S. with the harvest of courgettes, rhubarb and sweet pea	E.D. with round courgettes	O.F. and J.D.R. with rhubarb

The Ballyraine N.S. 'Green Team' for 2008/2009: 2nd Class: 3rd Class: 4th Class: 5th Class: 6th Class:

A list of 'helpers' has been drawn up for each class. This will provide an opportunity for more pupils to get involved in this important work. The 'Green Helpers' look after the school compost bins, bird feeders and garden tasks.

Recycling Zone Worksheets and paper are shredded and used as animal bedding Some of our art materials come from 'The Source' Recycling centre in Derry We also recycle - batteries - Postage stamps - Computer ink cartridges All items for recycling should be brought to the school office. Don't forget to visit your nearest recycling centre and bottle banks.



	top