St. Mary's secondary School, Baldoyle is still the first and only secondary school in Fingal to be awarded the prestigious Green Flag from an Taisce for our Waste Management Programme. We have now been awarded a second Green flag for Energy Conservation as part of the Green Schools Competition.

We put our programme for Waste Management and recycling into operation at the beginning of February 2003. By the end of March we had reduced the volume of waste for landfill by two thirds. This was achieved by the hard work of the Green School Committee which consists of two students from every non-exam class, two teachers (Mrs. Griffin and Mrs. Moloney), the Principal (Sr. Elizabeth) and the school caretaker (Mr. Burke). All the students are encouraged by the committee to separate their rubbish and there are collection points within each classroom and on every corridor. The school has two "Recycone" compost bins, three compost heaps and a Worm Compost unit for recycling organic waste.

As part of the Green School Programme we hold an annual Green Action day on which the whole school is involved in environmental issues and projects. Last year we had a visit from R.T.E 2 television and appeared on News 2. The feature showed how we earned the Green Flag by outlining our Waste Management Programme. 

We put our programme of Energy Conservation into operation at the beginning of September last year and thanks to the hard work of the Green School Committee we were awarded a second Green Flag. 

As you enter the doors of St. Mary's you will be reminded that this is a Green School by:

* An Taisce's Green Flag
* A wll hanging made from reused materials
* A sculpture made from reused plastic bottles, aluminium cans and plastic bags
* Seven different labeled bins urging you to separate your rubbish
* Two Green School Notice Boards announcing Green Events and awards won
* A Wormery to recycle organic waste
* Two compost bins and a compost heap in the garden
* Numerous bird and bat boxes
* A log pile to encourage hedgehogs
* A pond
* A wild area in the garden set aside to encourage natural wildlife
* Water butts attached to drainpipes to conserve water
* "Switch Off" notices on light switches and appliances
* Energy efficient light bulbs
* Draught excluders on doors
* Radiator reflectors
* Timers on water heaters

If anyone is interested in finding out more about the Green school Programme, please contact the school at 8325591 or come along to the school's Open Evening on May 5th. We would be delighted to link with any NAtional School involved in the Green school Programme