Our Sustainable Village

We meet Ellen Hegarty, a Climate Ambassador with An Taisce, who shows us how local environmental actions can make our communities healthier and contribute globally to fighting climate change. Lots of small environmental actions, have a big impact!

It’s Cabra Climate Con day! An Taisce Climate Ambassador Ellen Hegarty leads local kids and environmental experts. Ellen stresses the urgency of climate change, followed by Caitriona Kenny from Connecting Cabra, who highlights the impact of local actions. Six schools then meet experts to start working on their environmental projects.

The kids reveal their chosen projects at the Climate Convention. Under themes like Biodiversity, Waste, Energy, and more, each school shares their focus for the next six months. One school will even organize an eco-friendly event. Plus, we learn how excess greenhouse gases are causing global warming and extreme weather.

In today’s show, Christ the King Girls School in Cabra meets Éanna Gallagher, a community water officer, and Averil Rafferty, an expert in the circular economy, at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun. They’re planning to eliminate single-use plastic bottles at school. Check out RTÉ Learn for tips to do the same in your school.

The kids from Gaelscoil Bharra take on the role of "Energy Detectives" as they use the Home Energy Saving Kit to uncover where their school is using—and losing—the most energy. Want to become an energy detective too? You can borrow the kit for free from your local library! Visit RTÉ Learn for all the details.

In today’s episode, the boys from Christ the King Boys School take on the exciting challenge of organising an eco-friendly end-of-series event at Bohemians Football Club. With a mission to make it as green as possible, the excitement is through the roof—especially since they (and their families) are die-hard Bohs fans!

In today’s episode, the girls from St. Catherine’s Senior School launch their Food Waste projects with help from expert Michelle Darmody. They set two goals: reduce waste in school lunches and at home. The girls create a comic strip with tips and plan a survey, plus, learn to make smoothies from leftover fruit and veggies!

The boys at St. Finbarr’s School Cabra are excited to begin their biodiversity projects. After learning how vital ponds are, they plan to build one on their school grounds! They also start creating more space for nature to help fight climate change—an action we can all take.

The students from Broombridge Educate Together explore how to set up a walking or cycling bus at their school to encourage more active and eco-friendly travel. Why not try it in your own school? Head over to RTÉ Learn to download the survey students used to kickstart their initiative. Let's get moving and make school travel fun and sustainable!

In today’s show, the Gaelscoil Bharra kids met with our climate experts to discuss reducing energy through Active Travel—getting more kids and parents out of cars! Local councillor Declan Meenagh also joins to tackle barriers to walking and cycling, and they plan real-world changes to promote active travel.

Ellen Hegarty visits St. Finbarr’s National School to see how the boys are transforming their school into a biodiversity hub with planter beds, a wormery, and a native wildlife campaign. Plus, Ellen has exciting news about their dream pond! Why not start your own wildlife campaign too?

The students at St. Catherine’s Senior School are on a mission to reduce food waste at home and in school lunches. They share insights from their daily food waste audit at school, and, with the help of experts, find effective ways to reduce or eliminate it. It’s all about taking action, learning, and inspiring others to make a difference!

In today’s show, Broombridge Educate Together updates us on their plans for a walking or cycling bus. Francesco Pilla from UCD surprises them by helping set up their Bike Library and demonstrates the dangers of car idling. Why Don’t You! use the No Idling Toolkit on RTÉ Learn to start a No Idling campaign at your school! ??

It’s an exciting day as team leaders from six schools head to Leinster House to meet with government ministers! The kids are eager yet nervous to discuss their environmental projects and share their views with Minister Smyth from the Department of the Environment. Power to the kids!

We revisit the kids at Gaelscoil Bharra as they tackle energy consumption. Discovering dog poo on footpaths blocked their walking bus plans, they launched an Anti-Dog Poo Poster campaign. Meanwhile, expert Diane O’Connor helped put up posters at school, and the kids visited a local shop to show energy-saving tips with the Home Energy Saving Kit!

We visit St. Finbarr’s, where the boys dive into biodiversity projects with Mick Kelly—hacker grower, TV presenter, and founder of GIY (Grow It Yourself). Mick helps them plan a school garden for growing fruits and veggies, with guidance from Stephen of Connecting Cabra, aiming to harvest within the school year!

Broombridge Educate Together continues their Transport and Travel projects as Francesco Pilla from UCD Sustainable Cities returns with Bleeper to deliver refurbished bikes for their school bike library!

Christ the King Boys launch their Zero Waste plan for Bohemian FC with a halftime announcement at Dalymount Park! They're thrilled to see their "Put Your Litter in the Bin" posters displayed around the stadium as part of their mission to help Boh's go litter-free.

Things are getting serious for the girls at St. Catherine’s Senior School as they prepare for a big meeting with politicians, An Taisce Green Schools, and a school lunch provider. They’ll discuss the food waste in free lunches, its causes, and potential solutions. This is their chance to make a real difference!

The big day has arrived—the Eco Event! Over six months, six schools have worked hard on environmental goals like Transport, Biodiversity, Waste, Energy, and Food. Now, for the first time since the Climate Convention, the kids reunite to share progress and showcase their efforts, joined by experts and Cabra to celebrate their achievements!