Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, today paid tribute to the sterling environmental work being done by pupils from St. Patrick’s Primary School, Armagh.
The Minister met with the pupils’ Eco-Committee who lead the school and the wider community on changing attitudes and behaviours towards the environment through their Eco-Schools Programme.
The school is working on its recycling and waste reduction and how they can save more energy in school and at home.
Mark H Durkan said: “I commend the pupils of St Patrick’s school for the sterling work they do in helping to protect and promote the environment, not just in their own school but in the wider community.
“Everyone of us has a role in helping to protecting our environment. Whether we recycle more, re-use what we have more, cut down on using up energy, it all adds up to a much rosier greener future. It is heart-warming to see so many young people buying into that.”
Commenting on St Patrick’s role as an eco school the Minister continued: “Eco-Schools is the world’s largest environmental education programme operating in 59 countries from South Africa to the USA, Mongolia to Malaysia. It involves over 15 million pupils, more than 1.2 million teachers and numerous other parents, governors and caretakers.
“When I took up the post of Environment Minister one of my goals was to see every school an Eco-School. We have now achieved that, making us the only region in the world to achieve this level of success.”
Mark H Durkan concluded: “Our young people care deeply about the environment, something that we can all learn from and encourage. I believe passionately that this work with schools and young people is vital not only for the local environment and wider community in the here and now, but for generations to come.
“Now, I look forward to a new goal, seeing all our schools and young people continuing on their long-term Eco-Schools journeys and to seeing more and more schools achieving the prestigious, internationally-recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag.”
