Loreto Kilkenny girls team up with Lions Club for special environmental programme

Kilkenny Lions Club and Loreto Secondary School, Kilkenny recently teamed up to promote environmental issues with tree planting on the school grounds.

Kilkenny Lions have been involved in a number of these projects around the city and county over the last number of years. The aim of the tree planting projects is to raise environmental awareness and the need to maintain biodiversity among secondary school students. The club encourages the active participation and leadership of the students and their teachers. Kilkenny Lions envisages that this programme of tree planting may well develop into more substantial projects in the near future.

There was an enthusiastic response and a warm welcome from the school staff. Attending the tree planting were the school principal Niamh Fitzpatrick and Claire Treanor, Transition Year co-ordinator along with 16 Transition Year students and several of the teaching staff. Also present was Tony Joyce, Chairperson Loreto Education Trust. The school had prepared the site in advance and the weather was beautiful for this outdoor event.
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Attending from Kilkenny Lions were Gerry McGovern, Kilkenny Lions President, Philip O’Neill, Kilkenny Lions Environmental Officer and PRO, and Niall Murphy Kilkenny Lions Environmental Project Leader. Students and staff of the school dug the holes and planted the trees, which included eight semi-mature apple trees, which were sourced at Kilkenny SOS Gardeners World.

The school provided an excellent fenced in area which hopefully will become their own small orchard. The trees are intended to promote biodiversity by providing flowers for insects in the early part of the year and fruit for birds and other insects in the autumn.

Loreto has an active and long established environmental programme, earning their first Green School Flag back in 2009. Led by Margaret Dempsey, the Loreto’s Green School Committee have planted spring bulbs, adding much colour to the school grounds.

They have also put up bird boxes and feeders to provide nourishment and shelter for the birds who live on the school grounds or are just passing through, as well as setting up a compost area for leaves and grass cuttings. The students, who have responsibility for watering the flowers and minding the environmental areas, are constantly thinking of innovative ways to promote the idea of stewardship amongst the school community.

The Lions, who congratulated the Loreto on their environmental initiatives, hope to work with the school on other projects in the future.
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