Secondary schools throughout Waterford and Tramore recently took part in a litter challenge to help make Waterford a cleaner city. Nine secondary schools took part in the challenge and De La Salle College was the overall winner of the prize of €1,500, sponsored by Tom Murphy Car Sales Volkswagen.
As part of the Tom Murphy Car Sales Volkswagen – Waterford City and County Council – Schools Litter Challenge, students carried out regular litter picking, identifying black spots for litter in their area, learning about the sources of litter, and about the benefits of using reusable items instead of single use items. Throughout the programme students identified that wrappers, disposable masks and cigarette butts are the most common types of litter.
The students at De La Salle College carried out twice weekly clean ups of the streets around their school and Poleberry. They created videos highlighting attitudes towards litter, tackled black spots they had identified and fostered a sense of ownership of the area over the course of the competition.
Ella Ryan, Environmental Awareness Officer with Waterford City and County Council commented: “The nine secondary schools taking part in this challenge really enjoyed getting out in their local community and helping to make it a cleaner neighbourhood. We had an incredibly tough decision to make when it came to choosing a winner due to the level of work invested in this by all the schools involved. However, the students at De La Salle College went above and beyond what we could have expected to win this challenge. I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Tom Murphy of Tom Murphy Car Sales for their continuing support of this great initiative that helps develop a sense of pride and ownership in our communities.”
Congratulations to the Transition Years at De La Salle College and their teachers Eoin Tallon and Claire Ryan for driving the project in the school.
TY students of De La Salle College, with teachers Claire Ryan, Eoin Tallon and Stephen O’Neil, sponsor Tom Murphy of Tom Murphy Car Sales, and Ella Ryan Environmental Awareness Officer. Photo: John Power
