Schools should take action on climate and biodiversity

A secondary-school teacher is putting out a call to other schools to join together in forming a local branch of the Irish Schools Sustainability Network (ISSN).

Codie Preston, from Jobstown, who is a teacher in Rockbrook Park School in Rathfarnham is looking to connect with other schools nearby that are interested in taking action to address the twin Climate and Biodiversity crises.

“We are all being affected by the changing climate and the loss of nature and young people will be affected most in the future,” Codie said.

“Lots of schools are already taking actions to address environmental issues but are often working in isolation. Being part of a network gives students and teachers the opportunity to work with other like-minded peers and to share ideas and work together on bigger projects,” said Codie who is a member of St Anne’s

GAA Club.

The ISSN is a national network that was set up in 2020 to provide a forum for teachers and students to work in partnership to accelerate climate action, address the loss of nature, and prioritise sustainability in the Irish Education System. They meet online once a month to share ideas and collaborate on joint projects.

One joint project that they ran last year was the Plant a Planet campaign. The campaign run by five schools from the ISSN encouraged families to buy a native Irish tree sapling to plant in their gardens. The schools, from around Ireland, sourced, distributed and planted over 1,000 native Irish tree saplings as part of the project.

“It was a great campaign to be involved with and our students got real satisfaction from seeing families and teachers take trees home and plant them. It’s an investment in the future,” explained Preston, “we plan on running the campaign again this year and we would love to get more schools involved.”

Last year the ISSN also hosted the first ever Climate and Nature Summit, a series of online sessions on topics such as energy use, food production, biodiversity and oceans. Over 2,500 schools registered for the summit and sessions had over 11,000 views. The Climate and Nature Summit will run again from November 7 to 11.

It is hoped that a local Irish School Sustainability Network will meet in person once a month and that different schools can host the meetings in different months.

For more information on the ISSN or the Climate and Nature Summit check out www.issn.ie.

If you’re from a school in Tallaght, Firhouse, Knocklyon or Rathfarnham and are interested in joining a local network contact Codie Preston at cpreston@rockbrook.ie.