Tubber Children and Conservation



    In our school recently we had a Grassroots Puppet Show with the theme "Litter and Waste Management". It emphasised the Green Code "Reduce, reuse, recycle" and our own individual responsibility in caring for our environment for future generations.


Grassroots Puppet Theatre
Birds in the Schoolyard Project

    A member of Birdwatch Ireland visited us in February because we became involved in the "Birds in the School Yard Project". He showed us slides of the common birds to be seen in our local area and focused on identification of birds. A bird table was erected in the school grounds and we observed that the greenfinch, the bluetit and the goldfinch were the most common visitors. He will be returning to us in mid-June to bring us on a field trip in our locality.
    We joined the Green School Initiative in October 2004 and part of our action plan was to improve the landscape of the school. We planted a school shrubbery and set up a composter in the garden. We have reduced the quantity of paper being used in the school including tetra-drink cartons. We have a battery recycling box and we segregate our waste. We are also participating in the can-recycling initiative. In the classroom we have increased awareness of recycling options in the home.

Our Green Code is: -

        "Litterbugs need not apply
        Change your act and then retry".

    We have organised a "Spring Clean" at the site of our local G.A.A. pitch.

    Every year we take part in the Esso Wildlife Challenge. Last year we had a national winner and this year we had a county winner. On both occasions part of the prize was a class visit from environmentalist Don Conroy who brought wildlife to the classroom through art and stories. A beech tree was then planted in the school grounds to mark the occasion.

    Our school website was launched in April 2004. Its focus is largely on our locality and its rich heritage. Over the past few years we have been trying to develop an archive on the website of various aspects of our rich heritage (historical, wildlife, christian and cultural) Our website address is: http://homepage.eircom.net/~tubbernsclare/ As a school we are playing an active part in the conservation of our valuable heritage by providing an awareness of, and information on the heritage of Tubber.

    Our Mural is an extension of our website and this year we became involved in the Artists in School Scheme funded by Clare County Council. We had an artist residing in our school for 25 hours aiding us in putting our mural idea of "Tubber Through the Mists of Time" together. Children were involved in all stages of planning, selecting, designing, researching, drawing, mixing paints, transferring, painting, gridding and finalising the mural.
     
Working on our mural