School Recognised For Lowering Its Footprint
21st April 2008
Pupils at St Kevin’s Primary School recently got a visit from representatives of the Carbon Trust and Phoenix Natural Gas.
They were there to present Principal Angela McLoughlin with a certificate confirming that since the school switched from its original fuel source to high efficiency natural gas systems in 2004, it has reduced its central heating carbon footprint by around 30%. This means that over these years the school has cut its carbon emissions by 71 tonnes.
Mrs McLoughlin commented:
“As a school we are very mindful of our responsibilities in terms of doing all we can for the environment, and this includes creating a recycling ethos within the school, being aware of saving energy in the classroom and pursuing the possibility of obtaining recycling bins for school use. We were delighted to find out that on top of these things we are also reducing our carbon footprint substantially just by using natural gas central heating".
Donna McBride from the Carbon Trust was impressed that the children seemed clued in about what a carbon footprint was and also that they seemed very aware of the need for society to reduce it. Miss McBride reflected:
“Climate change is one of the biggest threats we face and it’s really heartening that schools like St Kevins are actively taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint and are encouraging their pupils to be involved in this effort. Providing the school with recognition of their carbon reduction efforts is a very positive act as it highlights its importance to the children and gives them a sense of pride in the school’s achievement. We would urge all schools to act now to reduce their carbon footprint.”
In the last ten years local natural gas customers across business, public sector and domestic households, have helped prevent over 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere – this is the equivalent to removing half a million cars from Northern Ireland’s roads for a full year.
Lift Off: Pupils celebrate the news with (L-R) School Principal Angela McLoughlin, Simon Little of Phoenix Natural Gas and Donna McBride of the Carbon Trust.
