DDG Drimnagh’s Dream Garden wins UNESCO award

IKEA announced Drimnagh Castle Secondary School for their project ‘DDG Drimnagh’s Dream Garden’ as the recipient of the ‘Special Award’, at this year’s ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards.

The ceremony was held in the Convention Centre in Dublin on Friday, May 26.

This year is the first time that this prize has been awarded, which is supported by IKEA and sees submissions from 5th and 6th year students.

ECO-UNESCO is a leading environmental education and youth organisation.

Drimnagh Castle ‘Dream Garden’, aims to revive and rejuvenate their school garden while promoting biodiversity and sustainability.

Fergal Kelleher, Transition Year Coordinator at Drimnagh Castle Secondary School, said: “Peer education is very important to us at Drimnagh Castle. The best way to learn is to teach others and getting the students involved to teach each other about the likes of environmental awareness and permaculture was key to taking part in this project.”

Greg Lucas, Sustainability Manager at IKEA IE & UK, said: “At IKEA, we believe in introducing sustainable initiatives to create a better future, and hope this experience encourages children, their parents, and their teachers to make small changes that collectively have a big impact. We’re looking forward to working with Drimnagh Castle Secondary School to bring their dream garden to life using our products and expertise.”

The ‘Special Award’ also provides an opportunity for the winners to bring their project to life in the coming months. IKEA will provide the advice, tools, resources, and workshops to help the school realise their vision of enhancing their school garden.