A rainy Monday afternoon saw a group of children from St Kevin’s National School, Laragh, Co. Wicklow, help the Environment Minister Phil Hogan to launch the Leave No Trace schools online teaching resource.
LeaveNoTraceSchools.org will help primary school teachers share the Leave No Trace message of caring for the environment with children. The resources were funded by the Department of the Environment and developed by the Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce for Leave No Trace Ireland.
At the launch, Minister Hogan emphasised that by becoming ‘Leave No Trace’ Champions, primary school pupils will learn life-long lessons that will enhance their respect, appreciation and enjoyment of our countryside.
Leave No Trace Ireland were delighted to hear the Minister encourage all primary schools to take up the Leave No Trace challenge and for other organisations to affiliate to Leave No Trace and help spread the message.
Afterwards, Chair of Leave No Trace Ireland Cormac MacDonnell urged primary school teachers to avail of the resource as not only does it engage children with a range of fun learning activities, the lesson plans have been designed to link into the curriculum across a number of subjects.
Leave No Trace differs from other codes as it promotes the concept of an ethic which fits particularly well with young children. Learning alongside their teachers they can develop an appreciation of the impacts we have had on Ireland’s natural environment and learn how to make good choices to protect it.
The main funding partners of Leave No Trace Ireland are Coillte; Department of Environment, Community and Local Government; Fáilte Ireland, the Heritage Council and the Irish Sports Council.
Teachers can access the new resources on www.leavenotraceschools.org
Source: Green – Schools Ireland – Minister Launches Leave No Trace Schools Website
