Eco-Schools Silver Award

Congratulations to Thornhill College and in particular the hard work of the Eco-Schools Committee (under the guidance of Miss McCay and Mr McSorley) as we have recently been presented with the prestigious Eco-Schools Silver Award by Eco-Schools Northern Ireland. This award is in recognition of our schools achievement this year in working towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Eco-Schools is an international environmental education programme (run by F.E.E. – Foundation for Environmental Education) operating in over 50 countries worldwide, offering a way for schools to take environmental issues from the curriculum and apply them to the day-to-day running of the school.

Since beginning our quest to embark on the Eco-Schools programme in September 2014, the Eco-Schools Committee have undertaken a number of key initiatives aiming to make environmental awareness and action an intrinsic part of the life and ethos of our school.  These initiatives addressed a range of sustainability issues including:

Biodiversity & School Grounds

- Native tree and wild flower planting

- Expansion of the school garden

Energy

- Installation of solar photovoltaic panels

- Energy reduction schemes / reminders

- Earth Hour celebration workshop with guest speaker from SSE Airtricity (Mr Donal Gormley)

Global Perspectives

- Weekly Fair Trade Tuck Shop on ‘Fair Trade Fridays’

- Fair Trade ‘Big Breakfast’ to celebrate Fair Trade Fortnight

- Fair Trade Debate with St. Columb’s College to celebrate Fair Trade Fortnight

- Awarded the ‘FairActive’ school status by the Fair Trade Foundation

- Organised a Fair Trade Workshop for Year 9 students with the Foyle Fair Trade Group & Fair Trade Ireland with guest speaker Maria Genoa (a banana farmer from the Dominican Republic)

Waste

- Recycling of paper, card, hard plastics, used stationary and batteries across the school community

- Pilot of composting in the Geography and Music Departments

Thanks to the support of everyone in our school community and the hard work in particular of the Year 13 Eco-Schools enrichment class, The John Muir Award enrichment class and KS3 Eco-School Prefects guided by Miss McCay and Mr McSorley. We are now one-step closer to achieving the coveted Eco-Schools Green Flag Award.