Two Athlone projects win Young Environmental Awards
Two eco-projects by young students from the Athlone area claimed prizes at this year’s ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA), which took place last in Dublin's Convention Centre last week.
The two successful local schools, Athlone Community College and Ardnagrath National School, were among more than 1,000 people who attended the major event. Over 100 competing projects were showcased at the event, representing 65 schools and youth organisations in 28 counties across the island of Ireland.
Athlone Community College won the Junior Energy category for their project: “A system to test and develop low-cost eco-friendly energy storage materials.” For the project, the group developed low-cost heat storage items in a bid to conserve energy and increase sustainability. The students researched extensively and applied the use of a Raspberry Pi 3 to automate the testing process. The project was displayed within the school, increasing awareness of the benefits of applying heat storage over electric batteries.
Ardnagrath National School was the winner of the Overall Super Junior award, entitled "What can Athlone learn? Ardnagrath's Green Team returns!” The project saw students from the school meet with local councillors to discuss litter black spots and increasing the number of public bins, as well as researching how other cities manage waste, and what practices could be adopted in Athlone.
A third eco-project from Westmeath was also listed among the winners. Loreto College in Mullingar won the Senior Energy category for their project “Comparing Early Adopters vs Late Adopters of EVs”, for which the group researched the price range and costs of fuelling diesel, petrol, and electric vehicles. They then presented these in an easy-to-read document to dispel myths associated with electric vehicles.
Now in their 26th year, the Young Environmentalist Awards recognise the work of young people who are tackling key issues in relation to climate and biodiversity loss, taking environmental action in their school or community and coming up with creative solutions to solve environmental issues.
Congratulating the award finalists and winners, national director of ECO-UNESCO, Elaine Nevin said every project submitted this year "deserves recognition" and she spoke of how inspirational it was to see the "passion and creativity in young people as we continue supporting youth-led environmental action across the island of Ireland.”
Commending the winners and runners-up, the event’s special guest, the Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain said the Young Environmentalist Awards showcase "the passion and dedication of Ireland's young people in tackling some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time."
She described the projects showcased at the YEA finals as being projects thoughtful, impactful and a reminder that meaningful change often starts at a local level."