Student conference in County Waterford focuses on climate action

Waterford City and County Council’s Climate Action Team hosted its second Student Conference on Wednesday, March 26, with eight secondary schools from across the county represented along with members of Waterford community groups.

Each school was represented by a teacher and a small team of ‘climate ambassadors’. The first Student Climate Conference was held in 2023, when the focus of attention was placed on contributing to the writing of the Waterford Climate Action Plan, and this year the emphasis was on community action.

Welcoming the students to the Fusion Centre in Dungarvan, Grainne Kennedy, Climate Action Coordinator with Waterford City and County Council said: “While we have achieved a tremendous amount already in the first year of Waterford’s Climate Action Plan, there is still a lot of work to come. Taking the longer view, our successes will come from cultivating an informed, engaged youth who can build on the great work communities are already doing."

Students then had the opportunity to learn from various Waterford communities and businesses that have carried out a great variety of climate actions. The local authority's Climate Action Officer, Cian Gill, also commented on the event and said: "Sometimes people might have an idea that climate action is something technical, very scientific, and maybe even a bit mysterious – definitely not the sort of thing that anyone can do."

"They are often pleasantly surprised to learn that many actions they already feel positive about, and may already be doing, are a part of climate action," said Cian, who went on to comment: “Today, we’re hearing from groups such as Árdscoil na Mara who have a ‘walk-to-school’ campaign, Affane-Cappoquin-Tourin, who have been saving and reusing rainwater, and Clashmore Community Council, who have made unused green areas more biodiversity-friendly."

"We also learned how to set up school sustainability squads with Education for Sustainability, and how to grow our own food with specialist Colman Power," said Cian. Students from Abbey Community College talked about how they had been inspired, commenting: "We could utilise the spaces we already have for flower planters and to grow vegetables and organic produce in them, so we can use them when we come back to school in September to maybe cook them in Home Ec.”

Meanwhile, Waterpark College students said the speakers inspired them to create "some sort of zen garden or pollination path".

For more information about Waterford City and County Council’s Climate Action Plan visit https://waterfordcouncil.ie/services/environment/climate-action/ or email climateaction@waterfordcouncil.ie