On the 17th of January, six members of the Green schools committee, attended the Irish Water Forum in the Meadow Court Hotel. There they met with water facilitators from Irish Water and the Green Schools Ireland
The Water theme looks at developing awareness around water conservation and how to effectively manage this important resource in our schools and at home.
The forum employed a mixture of interactive demos, water related games, PowerPoint presentations, water themed clips, videos and, importantly, group work to deliver a water conservation message to committee members. The forums enabled schools to engage with each other and share their knowledge and experience of the Green-Schools Water theme. The forum provided an opportunity for schools to discuss any issues they encountered during their programme and to seek advice from other schools, Irish Water, Local Authorities and Green-Schools staff. During the forum, students also learned about the Seven Steps of the Green-Schools programme, how to successfully complete the water theme and important issues surrounding water.
The pupils discussed their ideal water school and drew up a water action plan. They learnt how to read the water meter and took part in a workshop from Seán Corrigan of Irish Water.
Ideas, notes and items for further exploration taken from the forum.
• Water survey
• Water Audit
• Turn it off Day
• Blue Day
• World Water Day
• Water Poster Competition
• Water butte
• Hippo bags
• Eco cleaners
• Basins for sinks
• Check for leaks
• Raindrop graph- to record water sayings- GS noticeboard- 1 drop equald 100 litres
• Water mascot
• www.beatthemicrobeads.com
• Environmental review
• Push taps vs. swivel taps