Waterford City and County Council hosts Second Waterford Student Climate Conference
Waterford City and County Council’s Climate Action Team hosted its second Student Conference at the Fusion Centre in Dungarvan last week (Wednesday, March 26th).
Eight secondary schools from across Waterford City and County sent teams to the conference which was also attended by members of Waterford community groups.
Each partaking school was represented by a teacher and a small team of ‘climate ambassadors’. While the first Student Climate Conference in 2023 focussed on contributing to the writing of the Waterford Climate Action Plan, the emphasis this year was on community action.
Welcoming the students to the Fusion Centre at Dungarvan, Grainne Kennedy, Climate Action Coordinator, Waterford City and County Council said, “While we have achieved a tremendous amount already in the first year of Waterford’s Climate Action Plan, there is still a lot of work to come. And taking the longer view, our successes will come from cultivating an informed, engaged youth who can build on the great work communities are already doing.”
Students then had the opportunity to learn from various Waterford communities and businesses that have carried out a great variety of climate actions.
Cian Gill, Climate Action Officer with Waterford City and County Council said, “Sometimes people might have an idea that climate action is something technical, very scientific, and maybe even a bit mysterious – definitely not the sort of thing that anyone can do! They are often pleasantly surprised to learn that many actions they already feel positive about, and may already be doing, are a part of climate action.
“Today, we’re hearing from groups such as Árdscoil na Mara who have a ‘walk-to-school’ campaign, Affane-Cappoquin-Tourin, who have been saving and reusing rainwater, and Clashmore Community Council, who have made unused green areas more biodiversity-friendly. We also learned how to set up school sustainability squads with Education for Sustainability, and how to grow our own food with specialist Colman Power.”
Students from Abbey Community College talked about how they had been inspired saying, “We could utilise the spaces we already have for flower planters and to grow vegetables and organic produce in them, so we can use them when we come back to school in September to maybe cook them in Home Ec.”, while Waterpark College said, “We’ve been inspired by the speakers to create some sort of zen garden or pollination path.”
For more information about Waterford City and County Council’s Climate Action Plan, visit https://waterfordcouncil.ie/services/environment/climate-action/ or email climateaction@waterfordcouncil.ie
