Over 100 students take part in the Glendalough Walk for Water event
By William O'Connor
Students from Scoil Chaitlín Maude, Tamhlacht and St Mary’s NS, Saggart joined over 100 students from Leinster primary schools to participate in a Green-Schools/Irish Water ‘Walk for Water’ event in Glendalough to mark World Water Day 2019 last week.
The students walked six kilometres carrying six litres of water to highlight water scarcity and experience the journey travelled every day for clean water by women and children in affected countries.
Students at the Walk for Water
The theme for World Water Day 2019 is ‘Leaving no one behind’.
This is an adaptation of the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit.
Last week in Glendalough students learned about how important access to clean water is and what actions they can take to help ensure a clean water supply is available globally.
Green-Schools Manager, Cathy Baxter, highlighted the importance of the event: “This is our seventh year holding Walk for Water events to celebrate World Water Day. Each year we can see the difference the experience makes for the attending students.
They go home with a greater awareness of what water scarcity is, how important conservation and sustainable development has become and, of course, with a greater appreciation for the beautiful surrounds of places like Glendalough.”
The event is a key part of the Water theme of the Green-Schools programme, which is supported by Irish Water.
The students from schools in Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Wexford and Wicklow carried their water along a route to the Poulanass Waterfall and Lugduff Valley. For the next part of the walk students climbed the steep steps of the boardwalk along the cliff of the Spinc.
Commenting on the Walk for Water, Annabel FitzGerald Regional Communications Lead in Irish Water said: “Helping the next generation to understand that the importance of conserving water is a key part of our role in safeguarding Ireland’s water supply, so we are delighted to be partnering with An Taisce’s Green-Schools Water Theme for the sixth year running.
The Walk for Water is a creative way for the students to understand that clean water is a precious resource and that we all need to take action to conserve it.”
